Mr heater giving off smell stinging my eyes

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zartan

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I have one of these guys for my garage http://www.mrheater.com/ProductFamily.aspx?catid=45

It's giving off a smell that's stinging my eyes. There web site says its due to part cleaners and such. What the hell! If I knew this I wouldn't have bought it. What should I get now I have a garage i rent but I can't hard wire or use a ton on electricity with out my rent going up. Anyone I upstate by have anything or want to trade for the heater I got ?
 
Mine did the same when I owned one like that. It goes away after a while. Remember to ventilate the area.

Riddler
 
Not long... I ran it for about an hour, vented.. Ran again.

It's the packing oils and the paint burning off the VOC's

I sold my heater as my new house has the garage attached. I'm planning an electric heater or gas heater.

Riddler
 
Cool thanks I beat I don't even have a hour on it. Thanks
 
I am like an 02 sensor if anyone uses one of these, I get dizzy easy, everyone ells
seems to be fine, but not me, gives me a head splitting head ache the next morning.
I walked in a girl friend house back before I met my wife 35 years ago.
She had Lp vented gas wall heaters and I did not last 30 minutes in her house and had to lay down and get up and go outside, Her parents had the system checked with a
carbondyoxid (how ever you spell it) tester and sure as heck the level was to high.
I guess some folks can handle more of this stuff then some of us.
 
That's funny you say that a friend of mine isn't bothered buy it at all
 
My friend uses a turbo barrel looking one that is loud but heats a very large area
when the winter time comes I don't say anything about it because he lets me use his shop, he is not affected at all, I stay low close to the floor as I can and walk outside
and pretend I am on the phone to get fresh air in me.. the poison gases go up unlike unburned Lp gas, it goes to the floor. be careful this stuff has taken many people life
 
My garage is heated OK by one of these but in upstate NY it gets so cold my feet can't take it very long. The posion gasses are not something you want to work in day in and day out even if it doesn't seem to bother you too much.
 
You have several areas of concern here:

1---Ignition hazard, if you are working in an area with gasoline, paint or other flammable materials. One thing that helps is elevating the heater. Codes require any ignition source in a garage to be at least 18" off the floor.

2--Products of combustion of the unit itself. Poor ventilation makes this worse, as does poor ventilation ALSO causes worse combustion in the heater, ramping up the amount of CO (monoxide)

3--Mixture of the heater combustion and combustion products with shop chemicals. I used to service HVAC, and anyplace such as bodyshops, beauty parlors, laundries, photo/ print shops, that had much in the way of chemicals were VERY hard on heat exchangers and combustion chambers of older gas units without outdoor combustion air intakes.

ANY chemical, cleaner, thinner, etc, etc, in your shop is drawn into the burner and reforms into "something worse."

Probably the best/ worst example I can think of is the older HC based refrigerants, R-12/22, etc. You run those through a burner, and you get DEADLY PHOSGENE gas. Yeh....Just like Hitler used!!! You ever get a whiff of that, it feels like a knife up your nose!!!
 
"vent free" gas appliances are FINE... as long as you don't mind living in a chimney. Because thats what your heated space becomes.
 
I like mine. 80000 btu max propane unvented. I run it at 25k setting. I run a fan blowing down at an angle mounted on the ceiling to equalize the temperature from floor to ceiling. The fan keeps my floor fairly warm by forcing the heat down. I have a decent level of ventilation in my shop during the operation of the heater.

At night I leave a roof vent open and another cross flow open to purge the building.

I have zero issues period. I have no headaches, no one I know has issues being in the shop for hours. I have no unusual moisture issues either. I think the key is a decent ventilation during operation and leave the air vents open at night so the shop can exchange fresh air and dehumidify.
 
I have used kerosene turbo heaters for years and finally this winter got tired of the smell.
I bought a Mr. Heater propane torpeto heater, it just hooks up to you gas grill bottle.
No smell but you still need some vent for fresh air.
Lowes had them for $109.00 right before christmas.
 
ANY unvented heater can bother your eyes, in the "right" environment. All it needs is not enough ventilation, improper adjustment, or chemicals in your heated space causing a reaction in the flame. This can be as SIMPLE as such things as laundry soaps, and most certainly be caused by paint supplies,/ other automotive chemicals.

The other thing to keep in mind, regardless of what these guys think, is that ANY unvented combustion heater, regardless of fuel, generates a TREMENDOUS amount of water. This means when the garage cools off, this all condenses on everything -- your tools, lathe, car, engine block, etc.
 
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