Ivan Vegvary wrote:

I have two 30,000 BTU propane heaters that I want to install high in my
shop. Make is Schwank and they are of no help.
Problem is that I want to mount them about 10 feet off the ground and do
not want a pilot light burning all winter. In order to light them you
have to hold the starter button in for a good long minute. No fun on a
high ladder.

Would like to convert this to electric ignition but unable to find any
information that would help me. The advantage of the pilot light is that
it is a safety in case the flame should ever blow out. The pilot
(thermocouple)keeps the solenoid valve open. If flame goes out the main
gas valve shuts in about 1.5 seconds.

Anyway, anybody have any ideas oh how to reconfigure this and still have a
safe system. Would putting an electric ignitor BUT keeping all the
existing controls work? Guess not, ignitor would be able to light the
main burners but not the pilot since there is nobody there to push the
button. This must have already been solved somewhere, somehow.

All ideas appreciated. Buying new units not an option. How about the
freestanding heaters used in outdoor restaurants? How do they work? Does
somebody stand there for a minute lighting a pilot???

There's a gas-fired heater way up high in the shop here that seems to have
been working for a couple of years or more, and nobody's had to go light the
pilot.

That at least shows that _somebody_ knows how to do it; you might ask in
the HVAC NG, but the last time I was there, it seemed to be a very tight-
knit group and not very welcoming towards amateurs.

Have you tried calling the guy who sold you the heaters?

Good Luck!
Rich

On Sun, 12 Jun 2011 01:07:28 -0700, Rich Grise
wrote:

Ivan Vegvary wrote:

I have two 30,000 BTU propane heaters that I want to install high in my
shop. Make is Schwank and they are of no help.
Problem is that I want to mount them about 10 feet off the ground and do
not want a pilot light burning all winter. In order to light them you
have to hold the starter button in for a good long minute. No fun on a
high ladder.

Would like to convert this to electric ignition but unable to find any
information that would help me. The advantage of the pilot light is that
it is a safety in case the flame should ever blow out. The pilot
(thermocouple)keeps the solenoid valve open. If flame goes out the main
gas valve shuts in about 1.5 seconds.

Anyway, anybody have any ideas oh how to reconfigure this and still have a
safe system. Would putting an electric ignitor BUT keeping all the
existing controls work? Guess not, ignitor would be able to light the
main burners but not the pilot since there is nobody there to push the
button. This must have already been solved somewhere, somehow.

All ideas appreciated. Buying new units not an option. How about the
freestanding heaters used in outdoor restaurants? How do they work? Does
somebody stand there for a minute lighting a pilot???

There's a gas-fired heater way up high in the shop here that seems to have
been working for a couple of years or more, and nobody's had to go light the
pilot.

That at least shows that _somebody_ knows how to do it; you might ask in
the HVAC NG, but the last time I was there, it seemed to be a very tight-
knit group and not very welcoming towards amateurs.

Have you tried calling the guy who sold you the heaters?

Good Luck!
Rich

Where is the original post? Anyhow, pilot lights have two functions,
one is to light the burner when it is allowed and to generate voltage
in milliamps from the crystal (forget the name) which travels in a
loop of safety checks such as a high limit (which is when it is too
hot), a pressure switch or flow switch (which is heating a
fluid/swimming pools), and hmmm anyhow most of the wires in a gas
heater are criteria switches.

With an electric start the milliamps are generated from the line
voltage and run the check list to complete the circuit and the
thermostat or on/off start the high voltage start with gas.

So, one could leave it on all year and not worry about the pilot being
on wasting gas or venting it.

I found the hvac groups have secret police.


SW