Cindy,
Thank you for the clarifying remarks.
I think mine, though forty, is structurally the same as yours.
Sounds like I may need a new 'cartridge' though.
Appreciatively,
Courtney
Cindy Ballreich wrote:
Courtney Thomas wrote:
Cindy,
Mine is an old one ['63] and I've come onto it with no instructions,
etc. I'm not even sure that I have all the parts. The Origo
manufacturer, U.S. distributor, as well as W.Marine, Defender, and
Swego vendors also have no information on my model [HEAT-PAL].
Courtney
Wow! 40 years old! It may be different than the current ones.
Ours is the HeatPal 5000. It consists of two nesting aluminum "buckets".
One has a bracket which holds the heating part, the other is a cover
which helps collect and radiate heat. The heating section has 2 parts:
An Origo stove cartridge - a canister about 2" hight and 12" in diameter
completely filled with a wick material with a hole in the top exposing
about 3" of the wick surface. The other is a cover for the cartridge
which has a flame diffuser, a lever that partially or completely covers
the flame to control the heat, and little grate for setting pots and
things on.
You fill the cartridge by simply pouring alcohol onto the wick until it
won't take any more. (Yes, it's messy.) The fuel is just denatured
alcohol or "stove" alcohol. This can range from the Origo brand alcohol
(expensive, but not much smell and less water vapor) to the generic
alcohol they sell in the paint section of the hardware store.
Once the cartridge is full and you have it all reassembled, you light it
by sticking a match or a BBQ lighter tip through the diffuser. It
usually takes two tries because there's an initial "pop" which usually
blows out the flame. You control the flame by moving the lever back and
forth. The second bucket gets turned upside-down and is placed on top of
the first.
Our boat has excellent ventilation so we haven't had any problem with
gases. I don't think these produce much carbon monoxide, but they do use
oxygen. Use common sense and I think they're very safe.
Why aren't they popular? I really don't know. I think most people only
sail when it's warm and just don't want to mess with heaters. Others
want a built-in diesel or propane heater. We bought our HeatPal when we
were chartering in cold weather (cheaper rates) and still use it on our
own boat. We've also used it at home when the gas was out.
I'd be really careful about a 40 year old unit. These things are dirt
simple, but combustion is a tricky thing. Be sure to try it out of doors
before you use it on your boat.
Cindy
Here's what ours looks like...
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...roductId=12130
--
s/v Mutiny
Rhodes Bounty II
lying Oriental, NC
WDB5619