Mr. Heater ventless wall heater convert to LPG

[blair683]

I have a Mr. Heater wall mounted ventless heater. It has a tag that says “use natural gas only”. I was wanting to hook it up to a 100lb propane tank. Is this possible? I found this regulator and hose (see link) at Menards. Is this made to allow the natural gas heaters to run on propane? Any help is appreciated.

https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...80-c-6860.htm?tid=-2085600600035887016&ipos=1

 

[DavidR8]

I have a Mr. Heater wall mounted ventless heater. It has a tag that says “use natural gas only”. I was wanting to hook it up to a 100lb propane tank. Is this possible? I found this regulator and hose (see link) at Menards. Is this made to allow the natural gas heaters to run on propane? Any help is appreciated.



https://www.menards.com/main/heatin...80-c-6860.htm?tid=-2085600600035887016&ipos=1

I’m no expert but there’s likely some internals that need to be changed.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[ljhhontx]

You will need a propane combo valve, pilot assembly, orifices etc. Not a job for someone without some experience and understanding of the operation. Probably doable but not an easy task. Please do not just hook it up to LP. LP gas is at least 3 times more volatile than natural, would be a blow torch at best.

 

[blair683]

Thanks guys. That’s why I came here first. Another option is to have a natural gas line ran from my house to the garage (60’ run).

 

[pbon]

In the past you could convert bbq grilles from one fuel to the other with orifice kits often sold by the grill maker. I don’t think they are sold anymore, maybe due to liability. I am sure the Mr Heater could be converted but you would have to know the sizes used for lp to calculate the size needed for ng. I don’t know how hard it is to get to the orifices but my guess is not that hard.

 

[Jackfre]

No! Vent free heaters are not, by regulation convertible. Vent free htrs have a very precise pilot set-up. Do not mess with them. I would suggest that you contact Mr Htr for confirmation.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

No! Vent free heaters are not, by regulation convertible. Vent free htrs have a very precise pilot set-up. Do not mess with them. I would suggest that you contact Mr Htr for confirmation.

X2.

Tommy

 

[Adk Mike]

Go buy one for LP Gas they are cheap enough.

 

[blair683]

Thanks everyone! I already had this heater, which is why I was hoping it would be easy to convert. I now understand that it’s not worth the hassle.

 

[pbon]

Mr Heater supports converting the Big Maxx 50 and 80 from NG to LP and sells a kit with the orifices for $25.

https://www.mrheater.com/big-maxx-fuel-conversion-kit-ng-to-lp.html

 

[Jackfre]

For budget purposes. I just bought 100' of 3/4" gas poly pipe for $50. Risers at $55, couplings $25, Tee $50. All of which goes in the hole today to feed the new generator, now that the utility turrns the power off with some regularity. If you dig the gas line, include a tracer wire and photos. 18" depth min. It is worth it to do this, but check with your utility on meter/pipe size.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Mr Heater supports converting the Big Maxx 50 and 80 from NG to LP and sells a kit with the orifices for $25.

https://www.mrheater.com/big-maxx-fuel-conversion-kit-ng-to-lp.html

Those units are not direct vented.

Tommy

 

[pbon]

And they are not wall heaters. But do you think it makes a difference whether a heater is direct vented or not, in terms of whether it can be converted from NG to LP? I did not do exhaustive searching to answer the OP’s question about his particular heater but I was able to very quickly find that Mr Heater supported conversions and supplied parts to do the job.

 

[brewchief]

And they are not wall heaters. But do you think it makes a difference whether a heater is direct vented or not, in terms of whether it can be converted from NG to LP? I did not do exhaustive searching to answer the OP’s question about his particular heater but I was able to very quickly find that Mr Heater supported conversions and supplied parts to do the job.

Searching for the manual online it states not convertible and do not convert to a different type of gas two times in the first two pages.

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[yeldogt]

And they are not wall heaters. But do you think it makes a difference whether a heater is direct vented or not, in terms of whether it can be converted from NG to LP? I did not do exhaustive searching to answer the OP’s question about his particular heater but I was able to very quickly find that Mr Heater supported conversions and supplied parts to do the job.

A "ventless" heater is a different animal .. not the same as one with a flue.

I would never use a ventless for anything other than emergency or outside use.

 

[Git]

A "ventless" heater is a different animal .. not the same as one with a flue.

I would never use a ventless for anything other than emergency or outside use.

Why?

 

[yeldogt]

Why?

why .. what?

Different animal?: They have no flue ... so the supply and control of the gas has to be very accurate. Also ..propane is a byproduct fuel and can be very dirty .. must burn correctly. They also tend to be low end products -- I guess it's just cheaper to make one or they other vs making a more complex system with replaceable gas control

Never use?: Because, they throw all of the gas into the room. That's why they have an O2 sensor ... so they don't kill you. In addition -- since they have no flue and the result of burning gas is a lot of H2O -- they throw off a lot of moisture.

I'm surprised they still can sell them .. all too often they are used incorrectly. Like a ventless fire place .. same thing. They get away with it because they are sold as being used as a supplemental heat.

With a gas stove/range -- there should a fan that exhausts to the exterior

 

[LS6 Tommy]

But do you think it makes a difference whether a heater is direct vented or not, in terms of whether it can be converted from NG to LP?

Yes. It's also illegal to convert a ventless heater.

Tommy

 

[Git]

why .. what?

I was asking about why you would never use a ventless, natural gas heater indoors.

I bought one back in May for about half off, from Amazon warehouse and have not gotten around to installing it yet. In S Cal, it doesn't really get that cold, and I have been using my mini-split, but I would prefer to heat with gas. All the garages out here have vents in the sidewall for airflow, since that is where most water heaters are installed. I also have a Co2/smoke detector.

Indoor ventless natural gas heaters appear to be pretty popular still. I just wanted to see why you wouldn't use one.

 

[yeldogt]

I was asking about why you would never use a ventless, natural gas heater indoors.

I bought one back in May for about half off, from Amazon warehouse and have not gotten around to installing it yet. In S Cal, it doesn't really get that cold, and I have been using my mini-split, but I would prefer to heat with gas. All the garages out here have vents in the sidewall for airflow, since that is where most water heaters are installed. I also have a Co2/smoke detector.

Indoor ventless natural gas heaters appear to be pretty popular still. I just wanted to see why you wouldn't use one.

See my second part.

Notice they say not to use in some areas ... because .. should the O2 sensor fail .. they can kill you.

 

[Jackfre]

Ahh, vent free heaters. They are terrific when used properly. I have rolled out a couple I keep in storage as PG&E is going to turn off the power again soon. They are designed to be "supplemental" heat. Where you get into trouble with them is trying to use them as the sole source of heat. VF Htrs have ODS pilot assemblies. Oxygen Depletion Systems operate just a described by the OP. In a confined space without sufficient make-up air the burner consumes the oxygen in the space. Normal air is 20.9% O2. As the O2 level gets into that 18-18.5% range there isn't enough O2 to support a strong enough pilot flame, the thermocouple cools and the gas vale drops out, as designed. I used to have an ODS box I used for sales demos. The flame of an ODS pilot will just touch the very tip of the T-couple. As the O2 drops you can see the pilot flame feather off and the MV's aren't generated causing the gas valve to drop out.
Cleanliness is key on a VF htr. That is especially so on the pilot assembly. Compressed air is the tool of choice for cleaning, but be careful. My Rinnai Vent Frees I clean with 100# of air. Use 50# on almost any other ceramic burner and you will blow it away. Get a can of compressed air with the small tube to clean the pilot and blow right back down the the pilot tube. The other thing about VF is odors. Anything that is airborne in the space, dust, fumes, perfume, po-pourri (sp) is going to go through that burner and I can guarantee that it will come out smelling worse than when it went in. Try painting around one
The State of CA in its infinite wisdom is the only state in which VF is illegal. They are not illegal to sell or buy. They are illegal to install. That is a neat trick, don't you think?
I prefer ceramic VF to Blue Flame VF htrs. Ceramics burn much hotter than the BF's The very best vent free heater is the Rinnai 824 & 510. Modulating from 8-24kbtu and 5-10kbtu, quiet and cool to the touch. Ihave taken my oxygen analyzer and put it in the throat of the 824 and gotten 0 CO reading. Rinnai dropped the other styles VF's back in '07 once the cheap Chinese junque hit the market.

 

[Git]

If I do go ahead and install that Mr Heater, I had planned on adding some additional safeguards. Z-wave controlled motorized ball valve (like I have on my air compressor) that will automatically turn off the gas supply during certain times (overnight for example) will only allow the gas to be turned on for a maximum number of hours before automatically turning off (4 hours for example), and perhaps a motion detector - if no motion detected for X number of minutes, gas gets shut off. Also, if there isn't power, the valve automatically closes. The only extra cost would be about $50 for the motorized ball valve, I have everything else. Still thinking about, we'll see...

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I agree with JackFre completely. Very well said.

Phil