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Paraffin heater?

• Message 1.聽

  Posted by Don Kidick (U13987773) on Tuesday, 27th September 2011

  
  Hi everyone.
  
  I would like a bit of advice on paraffin heaters for the greenhouse if you would be so kind, specifically how to use them efficiently, how to get the best from them.
  
  I have recently purchased one and what I have noticed is that it burns itself out when it reaches the bottom of the exposed part of the wick, if I make the wick longer then it just burns more vigorously so still goes out after about the same length of time.
  
  As I want to start sowing and growing earlier I obviously need to warm the greenhouse in the cold winter months, electricity isn鈥檛 an option (GH too far away from house) and I cant keep running up to the GH every couple of hours to replenish/renew the wick.
  
  So any advice on the best way to use it would be gratefully received and faithfully applied.
  
  Cheers. Don
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Kleftiwallah (U13700999) on Tuesday, 27th September 2011

  Good afternoon Don. You haven't told us how long your heater lasts from one filling. I have a very old heater (paraffin) and it will run for 8 - 10 hours so overnight is no problem. It is paraffin you have in there isn't it?
  
  I've kicked it into touch as the price of paraffin is getting ridiculous and the only place that used to sell it 'on draught' has packed in. Cheers, Tony.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by MIKEWW (U14827031) on Tuesday, 27th September 2011

  i HAVE TWIN FUNNELS WITH A 1 GALLON TANK AND IT LASTS 24 HRS PLUS.
  YOU SHOULD MAKE SURE THE WICK IS TRIMMED AND ADJUSTED FOR A BLUE FLAME ONLY.ALSO MAKE SURE OF GOOD VENTILATION IF NOT PLANTS ARE KILLED.
  
  BUT AS PREVIOUSLY STATED THE COST OF PARAFIN IS PROHIBITIVE, ESPECIALLY LAST WINTER.

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Tee Gee (U10012255) on Tuesday, 27th September 2011

  (GH too far away from house)聽
  
  How far is far?
  
  Like you I used parafin heaters in the past ( one burned my greenhouse down)
  
  Then paraffin quality became an issue, i.e. industrial / commercial quality with varying prices.
  
  Then I went on to bottled gas (LPG) and I got a back draught and this caused another fire so I went to the trouble of fitting the overhead line and have never regretted it,
  
  Considering the cost of the various fuels and their relative efficiency or nefficiency as the case may be I find my set up with all its thermostats quite ecconomical to run.
  
  My frost stat keeps my greenhouse ( when not in use) at around 3掳C (37掳F) through out the winter.
  
  I only alter the setting as necessary when I start propagating.
  
  I even have a wireless gadget fitted in the house that keeps me informed of the current temperature in the greenhouse to save me trailing up the garden to see that all is OK
  
  IMy overhead line is in the order of 40 ft from my house, so buying around fifty foot of cable and an RCD has well and truly paid off for me.
  
  Knowing what I know now I would even say it is worthwhile, even if it had to travel twice that distance
  
  I would suggest you reconsider!
  
  This is my set up;
  
  
  
  (click on the pictures to enlarge)

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by Don Kidick (U13987773) on Wednesday, 28th September 2011

  Sorry it took so long for me to get back, work gets in the way sometimes.
  
  I am finding that the wick burns out before the paraffin runs out, I am getting a couple of hours tops so I think I must be doing something wrong. Con you buy slower burning wicks? Or do I need to do something different? I just wind a length of wick out (about an inch or so) light it and leave it.
  
  As for distance of greenhouse from house, it鈥檚 about 300 feet; I hadn鈥檛 thought about overhead cable and didn鈥檛 want to dig up the garden as it has taken me a long time to get it where it is now.
  
  
  Cheers. Don.
  

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by Don Kidick (U13987773) on Monday, 3rd October 2011

  Anyone got anymore advice on this?
  
  Cheers. Don.
  

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by poshHebeJeebie (U9319867) on Monday, 3rd October 2011

  I'm sure there's someone out there currently using paraffin who can advise better than I can, but, for what it's worth - here goes!
  
  I used to have a paraffin heater in the GH. Once it was lit and the chimney replaced, I would carefully turn it down (slowly) until there was just a gentle flame. (I didn't leave an inch of wick, which, if I read your post right, is what you seem to be doing - and burning far too much fuel as a result). It would last at least overnight, and usually a lot longer. It kept the GH frost-free, but I didn't raise the wick/flame for propagation in the spring, but kept the very low overnight temperatures under control. Seemed to work OK.
  
  There was a problem a couple of times when I miscalculated the amount of fuel left, and the wick burnt smokily, leaving a greasy, sooty residue on everything.
  
  I now have an electric heater - set on a frost-control thermostat, and it works extremely well and very economically, since the heater doesn't kick in on a sunny winter's day, for example.
  
  And I insulate the GH with bubble wrap, too, which reduces the amount of fuel used.
  
  Hope this helps.
  
  PHJ

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by bookertoo (U3655866) on Wednesday, 5th October 2011

  One of the main troubles with parrafin heaters is that for every litre of fuel burnt you get the equivalent amount of water, thus huge condensation, given out. I gave up with them because of this, everything was just dripping wet much of the time - not a good idea in a greenhouse.
  
  Also, as others have mentioned, the price and sourcing of the fuel raised questions.
  
  Several years ago when having some work done in our house, I had an electric cable run down to the greenhouse, buried under the garden in a length of heavyweight garden hose. This was, and I suppose still is, a distance of about 30 yards. With that I have been able to run a small heater and provide a light in the greenhouse, for very little cost.
  
  I keep it running to just keep the area just over freezing point, I don't have to go down to it every day and there is no moisture from it. If we have very hot summer weather, it can act as a cooling fan as well. (used very rarely for that in quite a few years to be honest, but the facitlity is there if needed). I wonder if there are suitable battery powered ones, or even solar ones?
  
  This however is not helpful if you can have no power to your g/h, paraffin does work but the lamp does need good care - the wick should be barely out of the winder, our wicks lasted for ages - we bought them from a - now sadly defunct - little hardware store for very little money. There is no way it should eat a whole wick overnight. Are you filling it to the top? Check that the wick is the one advised by the manufacturer, it should have come with at least one wick so you can see how long they actually should be. Is the winder sticking? I am baffled as to why an inch of exposed wick should be wanted - sounds as if there is a problem there. If you bought it locally I'd be inclined to take it back to the vendor and ask their advice.

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by Don Kidick (U13987773) on Wednesday, 5th October 2011

  Thanks for the replies and advice.
  
  My heater is a 鈥淗ozelock鈥� (I think, or something like that) bought from B&Q.
  
  When I say an inch of wick, I did start with just a little showing but this soon burned out so I kept trying with a bit more each time, but with the same results. The wick is the one that came with the heater; it鈥檚 like a double length of flat rope like material.
  
  I would prefer to run electricity to my shed and greenhouse, but as I said it is about 300 feet from the house (maybe I could plug into a neighbours ) and I don鈥檛 want to start digging up what I have already done. Overhead is also out of the question because of the difference in height.
  
  Does anyone know of a battery or solar powered heater?
  
  Cheers. Don.
  

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 9.

  Posted by Thesassenach (U14884672) on Wednesday, 5th October 2011

  I typed solar powered greenhouse heater into google, and found this:
  
  Solar panels charge a battery, that powers the device. Get a big "leisure battery" from a chandlers, or caravan shop, they last for ages, Car batteries are not suitable, as they are designed to produce a large amount of power for short periods, rather than a low wattage for a long time. If for some reason, you aren't getting enough charge, you can disconnect the battery and charge it with a standard Halfords battery charger.

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• Message 11

  , in reply to message 9.

  Posted by farmerSteve (U2644680) on Thursday, 6th October 2011

  your wick is far too long
  the longer it is the quixcker you use the fuel and often will get a lot of smoke
  The wick burns only when the parraffin has run out
  adjust the wick to as short as you can that way you get a small flame which should burn clean
  
  You are wasting your time trying to get heating out od a solar panel unless you have a very big one
  it is fine for lighting
  they also tend to disappear unless in a private place
  not an allotment

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• Message 12

  , in reply to message 11.

  Posted by Don Kidick (U13987773) on Thursday, 6th October 2011

  Steve.
  
  I did use a smaller length of wick; I only tried a longer one when it went out.
  
  Paraffin hasn鈥檛 been a problem; I have never run out because the wick has never burned long enough to run out!
  
  Cheers. Don.
  

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• Message 13

  , in reply to message 12.

  Posted by Engineer (U3135859) on Thursday, 6th October 2011

  Sounds like it just isn't a very good quality wick. I would try replacing it. There's on online shop called Base Camp that has just about every size wick available, if you wanted to try that idea.

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• Message 14

  , in reply to message 12.

  Posted by farmerSteve (U2644680) on Thursday, 6th October 2011

  honest Don the wick does not burn if there is fuel
  possibly your fuel is duff
  basically the flame is the vapourised fuel burning
  if the fuel does not vapourise the wick burns

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