50K BTU Radiant Heater Not Firing

Hi All:
I am new to this forum so please excuse any ignorance I have. I have a 50,000 BTU natural gas radiant tube heater from enerRadiant (enerco), model number EGTH-50. I have had the heater for a while but have only got it installed recently. When I turn on the heater I can hear the blower motor start to run. Then I hear a click which I assume is the igniter, but not sure. I can hear the blower stop running after about 2-3 minutes. I have done some troubleshooting, but have only gotten to the point where I know I have gas at the heater. The user manual is not very clear since it seems to mention the obvious (like gas at heater), but does not get into any details on how to troubleshoot. One thing that I need to mention is that the distance between the meter and the heater is over 100' plumbed with 1" black pipe. I don't have a gauge to measure low gas pressure so not sure what pressure I have at the heater. My house also uses NG for the water heater, stove and furnace.

I know normal gas pressure is about 6", but is this too low for the heater that far away from the meter if any of the other things in the house are running? If needed, can I have the gas company increase the pressure a little? If the NG pressure at the heater a concern to any of you, what is the best way to measure the pressure at the heater? Sorry for the lack of information. I am hoping for some guidance to suggest what to check next. Let me know if there is anything else you need from me.

Thanks,
John

 

Welcome to the forums.

100' of 1" black iron pipe is good for 126k btu.
Even with a few fittings inline... you should be good to 100k btu,

I need a link to exactly what you have. I couldn't find it.
Every gas appliance has a gas valve. On that gas valve is a port for measuring the manifold pressure.
The manual should tell you the pressure required.
Unfortunately there isn't a way around using a pressure gauge.

Most of the tubular heaters I've worked on start the draft inducer, then either spark light a pilot or spark light the burner or use hot surface ignition.

 

Thanks Pete. There is a 1/8" pipe plug on the gas valve that I was going to tap for pressure testing, once my manometer arrives.

My heater uses a spark ignition system. When I was working on the heater today I could hear what sounded like a spark attempting to light the heater, no ignition. I went through the entire heater control today and found that the pressure switch is working and the gas valve is getting power and there is an audible click.

A thought came to mind today and I wondered if I purged the gas line properly. I opened the flexible gas line at the heater and turned on the valve. The moment I smelled anything I closed the valve and reconnected the gas line. It seemed to take a while (approx. 20-30 seconds) for the smell of gas to be noticeable at end of the piping. How much of a gas smell should I smell before I can be sure the line is properly purged? About how long do you think it should take to purge the line with 6 inches of pressure? What is the best way to purge the gas line so enough of the air is removed so the gas can be ignitable?

Thanks again for the help.

John

 

Usually when you smell gas the line is purged.
You can't over purge a line.
Just make sure there is nothing in the immediate area that can cause ignition.

Now when the gas valve opens... you should get a noticeable gas smell if it doesn't light.

 

I fixed the issue! The problem was two fold. There was a valve further up the line that was not open all the way. Once I made sure that the up the line valve was completely open, I purged the line again. It took longer than expected to purge the line so I am assuming that I did not do a proper job the first time. The heater starts now with no issues and the output tube is getting to about 500 degrees F. That should make it nice and toasty in the winter. Thanks again for your help.

John

 

Good job. Thanks for letting us know how you made out.