[kerrijeansmith]

We got one from a friend and it warms up the room well in a short time. But is there a proper way to turn it off?

Having a big propane tank (or whatever it's called here) in the living room is a bit freaky for me. When we turn it to off, the pilot light stays on. Then should I close off the gas tank, or blow out the pilot light first? I don't want the pilot light running all the time, but I have visions of it turning into a bomb.

Yes, I'm paranoid.

Kerri

[Ngeru]

I would turn off the valve on the gas bottle, those things freak me out too.

ETA: I would also advice taking extra precautions to ventilate and air your place out, because those unvented gas heaters cause a LOT of moisture and condensation

[JandM]

You need to be careful, not paranoid. They're no more likely to be a bomb than is a gas cooker (which works in a similar way). They are not a problem if you use them according to the instructions, which are probably on a label on the inside of the compartment where the gas bottle goes, or ask your friend who passed the fire on to you. Please, please, for your safety and your neighbours', always make sure you know how an appliance works before you start it up. You definitely turn off the gas - otherwise, if you blow out the flame, you're leaving the (flammable) gas to escape into the room.

[kerrijeansmith]

Thanks. I had visions of the flame somehow getting sucked into the tank or something. I told you I'm nuts. ;)

[NikT]

Thanks. I had visions of the flame somehow getting sucked into the tank or something. I told you I'm nuts. ;)

The gas heater should have a thermocouple, which senses when the pilot light goes out.
This then closes a gas safety valve.:nice1
But, always turn off the valve on the gas bottle when not using.:yes

Nick.:cheers

[Kanga]

Unvented gas heaters seem really common here in NSW but I feel edgy about them, which is perhaps silly as I can recall having one as a kid with NO central heating- just a jotel stove- although the house was well insulated, and I'm fine! I feel edgy about the moisture issue as much as the gas poisoning issue I suppose.

[925dancer]

As a property manager these things are a pain the behind. They cause so much moisture, mouldy ceilings quickly follow. Damp and mould, joyful combination.

Also, with an unflued gas heater, it is important to ventilate because the waste product from burning gas without any way of disposing of the waste can be deadly.

As someone else said, we had one as a kid and never did me any harm but they make me nervous now!

[Ngeru]

Quite frankly I personally would avoid using one for all of the above reasons, apart from which they put out potentially lethal carbon monoxide fumes. I don't think people should even consider them as a long term heating option; they are fine for perhaps in emergencies or power cuts, other than that, they don't actually have a lot going for them at all.

They are also the most expensive heating appliance to run. LPG is very expensive compared to electricity.

http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/heating-options/fuel-prices-compared

www.consumer.org.nz don't recommend them at all:


Gas options include flued or unflued natural gas or LPG models. We don't recommend unflued gas heaters, as they release water vapour and potentially-harmful exhaust gases into your home (see our March 2009 news item for more on this).

We prefer gas heaters to be fixed to the wall, and we recommend you use the type that has the flame totally enclosed. That way the heater can't tip over and there is no naked flame to create a fire hazard.

There are plenty of other heating options which are safer and more cost effective. Fan heaters and oil filled column heaters are safer, have thermostats, can be put on timer and are more controllable.

[kerrijeansmith]

We also have a heatpump that seems to do diddly-squat in this old house with no insulation. When it's running the living room is warm-ish as long as it's not windy.

We have a dehumidifer going to deal with dampness when/if we are drying clothes inside or running the gas heater. I really don't know what else to do because the gas heater actually does warm things up pretty quick. I mainly got it for emergencies, but want to know how to use it now too.

Kerri

[Derv]

I agree with everything that Ngeru says except that I would rather be in a freezing house than use an unflued portable gas heater. These heaters can easily kill you (1) by being knocked over, (2) from the carbon monoxide fumes (which don't have any smell so you won't notice them) and (3) any other way you can think of. In addition, they give out a great deal of water vapour which will damage the house and its contents, and could make you ill too.

Please be safe and get an oil-column heater, a fan heater or something similar - they're not very expensive if you try somewhere like Briscoes or the Warehouse where you'll find lots of choice of bargains at this time of year.

[Ngeru]

We also have a heatpump that seems to do diddly-squat in this old house with no insulation. When it's running the living room is warm-ish as long as it's not windy.

We have a dehumidifer going to deal with dampness when/if we are drying clothes inside or running the gas heater. I really don't know what else to do because the gas heater actually does warm things up pretty quick. I mainly got it for emergencies, but want to know how to use it now too.

Kerri

Not wanting to state anything really obvious here, but just wondering what setting do you have the heatpump set at?

They usually have three modes: heat, cool and auto. The best thing is to have them set at 'Heat' during the winter. If you have the unit set on 'Auto' they tend to blow quite cold from time to time as they heat and cool intermittently to maintain the air temperature. If you have it set on 'heat' only, it doesn't keep doing a constant battle with itself and you get less of the cold air blowing. Hope that makes sense?

Also perhaps see if you can clean the filters, if you're in a rental ask the landlord about getting it serviced.