Gas heater

A gas heater is a device used to heat a room or outdoor area by burning natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.

The first gas heater made use of the same principles of the Bunsen burner invented in the previous year. It was first commercialized by the English company Pettit and Smith in 1856. The flame heats the air locally. This heated air then spreads by convection, thus heating the whole room. Today the same principle applies with outdoor patio heaters or "mushroom heaters" which act as giant Bunsen burners.

Beginning in 1881 the burner's flame was used to heat a structure made of asbestos, a design patented by Sigismund Leoni, a British engineer. Later, fire clay replaced the asbestos because it is easier to mould. Modern gas heaters still work this way although using other refractory material.

Modern gas heaters have been further developed to include units which utilize radiant heat technology, rather than the principles of the Bunsen burner. This form of technology does not spread via convection, but rather, is absorbed by people and objects in its path. This form of heating is particularly useful for outdoor heating, where it is uneconomical to attempt to heat a large volume of air.

Gas Pre-Heater term is especially used in the casting industry. Cold-box machines use some gases to harden the sand. However before purging the gas inside the box the gas has to be heated by a pre-heater. Otherwise the liquid form of the chemical will not be efficient to harden the box. These kind of pre-heaters heat up the liquid for the gases up to 130°C.

Home heating safety

Essentially indoor household gas heaters can be categorised in one of two ways: "flued" or "non-flued".

Flued heaters would always be permanently installed. The flue, if properly installed with correct overall height, should extract most heater emissions. A correctly operating flued gas heater is usually safe.

Non-flued heaters may be either permanently installed or portable. Non-flued heaters can be risky if appropriate safety procedures are not followed. There must be adequate ventilation, and they should always be switched off before sleeping. If operating correctly the main emissions of a non-flued gas heater are Water Vapour and Carbon Dioxide. If there is poor ventilation the oxygen level in a room will begin to decrease, and as the available oxygen decreases, the heater emits an increasing amount of Carbon Monoxide, which can have fatal consequences.

External links

[Heater Safety information]
[Identifying your flue]

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