Quote:
Originally Posted by Cobb
Do you have a link for your vented kero heater?
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Here's a link to Monitor's homepage.
Monitor Products I didn't check the web page, but there's probably contact information there for the company. If so contact them they should be able to give you information for one of their product distributors in your area or if you do a web search for "Monitor heaters" it might turn up someone in your area.
When I bought mine in 1996 I lived in NC, but when I moved from NC to KY in 2010 I removed the heater from the house there, covered the hole for the vent tube and brought it to KY with me since there are no dealers in this area.
Monitor has quit making the kerosene units, but they are still available from many suppliers. Since kerosene prices have increased over the last several years I suspect their sales were down on the kerosene units so they have gone to making a similar unit that operates on propane and from what I've heard and read they are very economical to operate as well.
If you buy one of their kerosene heaters new it will likely be a newer model than the one I'm currently using in my house and has a time/temperature selector you can set up to 4 different time/temperatures per day for a week in advance, so if your weekday and weekend schedule are different you can set it up accordingly.
The model number of mine is a 422 (20K BTU), the larger unit of that same era is a model 441 (40K BTU) which they claim will heat up to 2000sf and with the performance I've received with my 422 I have no reason to doubt it.
On account of parts availability I wouldn't recommend going with a unit any older than the 4 I mention in this post. Monitor is still making service parts for their kerosene units and are currently scheduled to make them though 2014, but I don't think even when they quit making the service parts they will be out of circulation for many years, my guess would be upward of 20 years or more because, some parts can still be found for their earliest models which I think were made in the 80's, but I'm not sure of the manufacture date on the first of their units.
My 422 is 18 years old, they discontinued that model several years ago and far as I know any replacement parts needed for it are still available.
The model numbers of the last of the kerosene units they made were the 2200 (20K BTU) and the 2400 (40K BTU).
If you can't get any information on the kerosene units and that's what you want send me a PM and I'll give you the information to a supplier I know about in NC where I bought my burn chamber rebuild kit from in 2012, they also sell new units.
You might also check eBay, often there will be used units on there that people are selling. Sometimes the eBay units are pretty nice looking units and sometimes they're pretty rough. I've also seen some suppliers selling new units on eBay.
My son bought a used unit (422) off of eBay a couple years ago for $500. + $50. shipping that had minimal usage in California. He had it shipped to my house and it looked and worked as good as new. We disconnected my Monitor and put his in it's place (about a 10 minute job) and ran it for a couple weeks to make sure it was going to run without any problems before drilling a hole in his wall to make the installation.
If you need/want more information feel free to send a PM, I'll be glad to help anyway I can.
I think I noticed you were from VA so I feel pretty confident there would be some dealers in your area.
Many people in the northeastern US and Alaska use the Monitor heaters because they are so efficient.
If you can't get information on or find a Monitor, Toyotomi still makes kerosene units and are very similar to the Monitor and have about the same efficiency rating.
ToyotomiUSA - Homepage I'm not sure, but I think Rinnai may also make some kerosene units that are also very efficient.
#1 Selling Tankless Water Heater in US | Rinnai
If you do buy one of these type heaters BE SURE TO UNPLUG IT DURING THE SPRING/SUMMER AND ANY OTHER TIME THERE ARE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA. THERE ARE ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT BOARDS THAT ARE SENSITIVE TO CURRENT SPIKES AND ARE VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE. I always unplug mine in the spring and leave it unplugged until fall of the year. If a thunderstorm with lightning involved comes up during the months it's plugged in I unplug it until the thunderstorms pass. My neighbor in NC left his plugged up year around, it got a surge from lightning one time which cost him about $600. in repairs and that was in the '90's or early '00's so who know what it would cost today.
Less than 10 hours left on this eBay auction of a Monitor 441
Monitor Heater 441 | eBay, if I contacted them and found the heater was in good working order and shipping costs weren't outrageous I'd say this would be a good deal if it goes for the opening bid cost of $650. or slightly over. If you were close enough to pick it up in person they're even including an outdoor 275 gallon tank and 40' of copper tubing to hook it up which I think is a great deal. I think they made that unit from about 1995-2000 so it's probably between 14 and 19 years old. This is the large unit that's capable of heating up to 2000sf and was about a $1300. unit new back in 1996 when I bought my 422. With the this model you do have to run it off of an outside fuel source, no capsule tank. The 422 can be run off of a 1.32 gallon capsule tank or it can be hooked up to an outside fuel source.
If anyone buys one of these heaters let me know, I have some valuable information I can pass on to you. It's the Monitor service manual that tells how to troubleshoot problems and gives all the electronic specifications for testing electronic components within the heater. Very few dealers will even sell a copy to Monitor owners, therefore it's nearly impossible to get your hands on, but I lucked up and found a PDF copy a couple years ago and saved it to my hard drive.
To the owner of this thread and other members, I'm sorry for hijacking the thread and when I started this reply I hadn't planned on writing a book, but it looks like I succeeded.