OT vintage gas wall heater

[John-T-53]

There's a wall heater in my bathroom in the 1930s cottage I rent. I always thought it was electric, but when my curiosity made me finally turn the knob, natural gas spewed out! Not leaving well enough alone, I had to take it apart, clean it, and reinstall it. I fired that baby up - and man, does it put out some heat!!!

Its kinda cool, but very dangerous - open flame, no vent, no pilot or safety valve. If it were to be left on without lighting it....10 to 15 minutes...and BOOM! The roof needs to be replaced anyway....

In no way do intend to use this as a heater. I'll see if the property owners want to have me cap the line.

Edited December 8, 2009 by John-T-53

[Norm's Coupe]

The no vent would bother me more than lighting it. If you think about it, you have the same lighting system on that heater as you have on your outdoor cooking grill. You could use a match to light it too, instead of the spark igniter. Years ago I saw people using matches to light their kitchen stove tops and ovens with a match too.

If the no regulator bothers you, you could probably have a regulator installed on it, or do it yourself. Are you sure there isn't a vent going out the back side of that heater. There are some heaters like that, that have a vent going straight out the backside of the heater.

[tenn.jerry]

that heater is dangerious in no time the co would go up past 24 ppm and that is not good disconnect it and cap the line. take it from an old gas man. ive rode the blueball express more than once in the last fifteen years lol.

[austinsailor]

My brother ended up in a coma for a week many years ago from a similar heater. Got gassed by CO2, if my father hadn't found him when he did, he'd not have made it. It was touch and go for a week, and he's never been right since.

Those things are dangerous. Get a modern heater with proper venting.

[Plymouthy Adams]

looking back it is amazing that the folks even survived growing up...the rural country area I grew up was and mostly still fired by these very same open flame heaters and stoves. Today however with the advances in insulation, double paned thermal windows and air tight doors, the same devices can be lethal as there is no exchange of air that the old drafty houses in past had and still have to most degree. The stove you have pictured would go hand in hand with the decor of this 100 year old farm house I have...and the burner resembles the bathroom heater in the old farm house that my grandparents had when growing up back on the farm...be sure you are well vented if you use this..a slighly ajar window may be just the trick..do use in conjunction with a detector..even if you do not plan to use it, I am sure you probably like to keep it to match the age of the house..

[JoelOkie]

As Tim said, there are a surprising numbers of stoves and heaters like these still in use. I encounter them fairly often while doing remodels. It's also surprising to me that many people don't want to give them up, want to use them back, mostly because they have had them so long, they still work, and they go with the house. I usually leave it to the plumber to try and convince them to change them out.

We used to have a lot of natural gas fields and leases here where people that owned land that had a well or a pipeline across their place got free gas, (in fact some still do, though much fewer than in the past). These open valve stoves and heaters were very dangerous with the oilfield gas in that the condensate in the gas which would freeze off during a very cold night, shutting off the supply of gas, the fire goes out, then the gas thaws enough to come back on and pour through the open valves. I can remember that happening usually once or twice a year to some person, or even an occasional entire family, well up into the 1960's.

Edited December 10, 2009 by JoelOkie
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