Old floor heater - questions

[Vinko]

Hi -- this heater is in my Craftsman house (c. 1905-1910) though, of course, I think the heater is older -- I presume much older I'd be curious if anyone has some links to any manuals / trouble-shooting guides on-line.

It's been working intermittently and I've had two HVAC guys who've worked on it. The first replaced the thermostat a "simpler" one as I had replaced the thermostat previously with one I picked up at HD, figuring the thermo. was old. But the guy said sometimes the digital ones don't work well with the older units.

Second HVAC guy claimed there was something that needed to be done (I'd have to look at what -- some part that needed to be replaced -- I've no reason to doubt that it was a legit. diagnosis) and a crack in one of the heating pipes, which are aluminum. I had the best certified welder in the area repair the pipe, so that's sorted.

And for last season, the heater worked great. This season, it's coming on intermittently -- I'll flick the thermo. sometimes 20-30 times, and maybe I'll get lucky and thing will turn on, and work for a few days. Or I'll leave the thermo on and the heater might turn on in 30 mins or an hour.

Anyway -- my questions are: 1) any suggestions for trouble shooting? Can a new thermo these days **** out within a year? If so, that's a cheap fix. 2) What's the deal with carbon monoxide on these units? Is some carbon monoxide "leakage" inevitable from these old heaters? Or might there me another leak in a pipe that wasn't spotted? If the former, is it more useful to think of it not as "leakage" necessarily, but as a byproduct of this sort of technology?

Replies appreciated. Thanks.

 

[paullie]

i got a floor heater as well, my guess is, the lil clicky things that are made to kick out if it get to hot, are needing replaced or just need cleaned. mine did/ does the same thing, click the t-stat and no fire, step on the grate and whoosh fire. i just clean once in a while all good

 

[philjafo]

1 a digital thermostat will have no trouble with that heater, its an on off switch it don't care what its turning on and off.

2 carbon monoxide is no joke it is lethal!!!! If you even suspect some CO leakage get it tested by a professional, I think the fire department does checks for CO also but they can only say you got it or you don't they can't do anything to fix it.

3 I am simply amazed that anyone was willing to accept the liability that comes from welding a cracked heat exchanger. In my opinion get rid of that antique, replace it with something safer, more efficient and more reliable. Im not familiar with how many heating hours you've got where you live but here in WI the average life expectancy of a high efficiency furnace is 12 to 15 years.

Get a carbon monoxide monitor, look at the ppm (parts per million) rating. Most won't alarm till 60 to 70 ppm, some not till 400 ppm, fire department people wear breathing gear at anything over 35 ppm. Search for nsi, national safety institute, they're the best ones out there alarms at 15ppm.

 

[Vinko]

i got a floor heater as well, my guess is, the lil clicky things that are made to kick out if it get to hot, are needing replaced or just need cleaned. mine did/ does the same thing, click the t-stat and no fire, step on the grate and whoosh fire. i just clean once in a while all good

Thanks for the reply. What are those "lil clicky things" and where are they? What (if anything) does this have to do with "stepping on the grate"?


@Philjafo: thanks for the info.

 

[paullie]

Thanks for the reply. What are those "lil clicky things" and where are they? What (if anything) does this have to do with "stepping on the grate"?


@Philjafo: thanks for the info.

stepping on the grate "wiggles" the contact points, i guess.

the clicky things on mine are the side have wire running to them and can be seen looking down at it.

mine look lokw this-guess they are called a "roll out switch"

http://images.monstermarketplace.co...-roll-out-safety-switch-hh18ha211-121x141.jpg

or

http://www.furnaceparts.com/Images/dsc/463_400_300.jpg

 

[Vinko]

Thanks Paullie, I'll take a look!

 

[Vinko]

Just an update that a thorough vacuuming and cleaning of everything made the difference. I was amazed how much build up of dust, etc had gotten lodged down in there. Thing's firing up like a champ now.

 

[Vinko]

******'s on the fritz again. I'll check it out in the morning.

 

[philjafo]

In my opinion get rid of that antique, replace it with something safer, more efficient and more reliable. Im not familiar with how many heating hours you've got where you live but here in WI the average life expectancy of a high efficiency furnace is 12 to 15 years.

New equipment usually comes with warrantys too.

 

[Vinko]

Found the culprit: 1950's wiring from the thermo to the unit itself. Was the only thing not changed out in the last service. Hell, wouldn't have cost much to wire it either (10'-15' of wire max) when underneath the house.