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paulz
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2018 09:17 - Edited by: paulz
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Installed my direct vent propane wall heater yesterday, fired it up this morning and it really took the chill off, nice. I have a CO detector 12' away, 5' up the wall.
As I understand it, propane flame should be blue. Mine is for the first inch or so but a lot of yellow too. Just want to make sure I'm ok. Hard to tell from photo. What do you think?
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2018 09:20 - Edited by: Cowracer
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Propane can give a yellow flame. It don't hurt nothing. My vent-free fireplace flames are mostly yellow and haven't tripped the CO monitor yet.
Tim
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ICC
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2018 09:59 - Edited by: ICC
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The flame in a direct vent propane fueled heater should be almost all blue with orange tips. Have a look at this link. The webpage is about kitchen ranges but the combustion principle is the same. Note that propane and natural gas show yellow at different places. Too much yellow indicates an incorrect propane/air mix. That will happen at higher altitudes, but most heaters should be okay up to 4000 feet or so as they come from the factory. There is not enough air (oxygen actually) to fully burn the propane. The heater is incorrectly adjusted or needs a new orifice (jet) with a smaller hole.
A flame with lots of yellow is making a lot of CO. That's not dangerous to you with a properly installed direct vent heater. But the yellow color indicates a colder flame. You are not getting all the heat you are paying for.
As for fireplaces that make lots of yellow flame I have wondered if the ceramic logs have some coating that makes a yellow color when heated. I don't know if that is a case, just me wondering, as the yellow color makes for a more pleasing visual.
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Cowracer
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2018 12:27 - Edited by: Cowracer
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Quoting: ICC As for fireplaces that make lots of yellow flame I have wondered if the ceramic logs have some coating that makes a yellow color when heated. I don't know if that is a case, just me wondering, as the yellow color makes for a more pleasing visual.
Gas fireplaces typically run air-lean to produce the realistic yellow color. Yes, it is lower temperature, but combustion is still complete. The only byproducts are Carbon dioxide and water vapor. If you run so air-starved that you get soot, then you are getting incomplete combustion. I have CO, CO2 and smoke detectors. The fireplace has a built-in oxygen depletion sensor and it has turned off the fire one time on me. Drawbacks of a big freaking fireplace and small, tight cabin.
I don't worry about CO or CO2. I never run the unit at night. Usually, I run it enough to blast the chill out of the cabin, then switch to small electric ceramic heaters. They keep it very pleasant.
In reality, I run the fireplace much less than I ever thought I would. It just puts out too much heat, even on its lowest setting. I have a really nice electric fireplace in my camper, and i thought it was the most absurd thing in the world. Til i realized that it can put out a good amount of heat on the campgrounds electricity, and not on my propane. I am strongly considering changing my propane fireplace out to an electric one.
Agian, its not ideal for a burner where you don't care what the flame looks like, but it doesnt hurt anything if you are not getting soot.
Tim
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paulz
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2018 13:49
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Thanks guys! Problem solved, I had the cap shoved too far in for my wall. Nice blue flame now.
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