InfraRed radiant shop heater - need help !

BigBand

I need some help with a Ray-Tec heater. It's a radiant, unvented, natural gas heater @ about 110,000 BTU,  It comes on normally, but soon at least one of the four 'panels' starts making a wooshing noise, and the flame starts coming out the top. I've temporarily taken out the nozzle that supplies that panel, and blocked it with a 1/8 pipe plug, but now another panel is doin the same thing.

It's located in N. Idaho, and the days are starting to get chilly!

Anyone have any ideas? It's older unit that has served me well for at least 15 years, and I'd like to fix it if possible.

Unknown

junk it

Junk it.. install radiant floor heat...

nicholas bonham-carter

Maybe the last thing you hear

That "whoosh", before the carbon monoxide gets you.

There are vented infra red heaters out there which are much safer and more efficient. The flue would distribute the heat over a larger area, instead of the one area now heated. Look in the Grainger, or Johnstone catalogs for the details. Until you get this replaced, a CO alarm would be a good safety measure.--NBC

BigBand

I'd really like to fix what I have

I guess I could have offered more information -

I do have a CO monitor in the shop.

The shop is a 30x40 pole building, 14' sides, which is insulated and paneled.

The heater has worked fine for at least 15 years. I like it because it doesn't blow any air around. I do woodworking, and blowing dust is a bad thing on fresh varnish! 

I'd really like to fix what I have.

RJ_4

heater

I recommend you have a hvac contractor look at it   could be gas press. defective element.  Remember unvented radiant heaters require a minimum of 4 cfm of fresh air per 1000 btus, either mechanical or gravity per code

JUGHNE

Humidity issues

I know of a paint shop that had an unvented hanging radiant heater and had problems with auto paint drying.  After being vented to the outside, things improved.  Water vapor is a product of combustion and this adds a lot to the building.   I would look into something such as "Space-Ray" infrared hanging gas heaters, they can be vented thru the side wall with standard B-vent.  Any configuration may be installed to concentrate the heat where you want/need it.  No air movement other than convection which you probably have already. Not that expensive considering what they do.