Vintage Fyrside Kerosene Heater First Run 

Brings back memories of when i was a teenager. Thanks.

Thanks for that, it was worth the try, brings back memories.

Like a warming rock on the white heater, nice touch with the design.

This is an interesting demo, I would be pleased to get my Fyrside going, and the Model of the apparatus would help to locate a new wick.

nah I just leave the aircon units in my backyard running all night ;) its very easy to get that cold or colder here, ice on the ground, sleet and even snow in higher altitudes is normal in the winter season in Victoria

This one is interesting as I think it was Valor that made something very similar to this, as that one also didn't have an adjustable wick, but heat output was controlled by the quantity of fuel going to the wick. -BoomBoxDeluxe.

a good way to hydrate the wick i found out is to just use a Q-tip and put a few drops directly on the wick. then let it sit for a second and light it up.

Always forget it's winter over there! I was thinking what on earth would make you want to try out a heater in the middle of summer!

don't know about down there ,but up here they dope the jet "A" with a dewaxer /antigeller called Prist ( DGME) and you do not want to breathe the fumes from the stuff when it burns as it can cause respitory problems .

I picked up two of these from my Grandmas shed the other day. They have been in there for long long time. It was bone dry and I managed to free up the valve on the side to sit on low but it doesn't go higher. I put some standard kero through it in the hope to loosen up the valve. No leaks either! After looking at it and prying the crusty wick out I thought about how one would turn it off? I am guessing just turn the valve off and then the remaining kerosine just burns off?

nice old heaters!

I love the smell of avtur in the morning... :)

yeah they do block sometimes a bit. after sitting for a long time. i had one like your national also a fyrside, was circa 1980's was shit but worked well, mum wanted to get rid of my stuff from her shed so i threw out the modern heater and kept the old one. that's it's more complete story

well apparently it has enough lube oil to satisfy inline jerk type injection pumps. but rotary pumps will eat themselves if run on straight jet-A

i miss my old kero heater :(

that,s all i use to heat my house with is three kero heaters . Minnsota,USA . last winter was $3.75 a gal. for K 1 kerosine clear as water...oh ya a seven bedroom house...

Are those short wick heaters able to burn vegetable oil? I know long wick won't because svo doesn't travel up, but i actually need to find out if on those drip models could work..

some of the really nice old ones go for a few hundred on ebay, these more common models not so much, but you could get $50 - $100 depending how desperate the buyer is

Just wondering what wick you used and where you got it. I have a slightly earlier version of the one you have that I am restoring.

i have 5 , can you tell me where to buy the wicks from , thanks

Ed what does the catalytic converter in this do, does it reduce emissions to make it less toxic in closed environments like a car?

I just opened a '97 gmc side mirror & the 2 servos said "made in Australia"! weird.. The Webasto (diesel) heater gained popularity here after the 9/11 fuel price hikes..

I did dribble about 5ml down it but its so badly soaked in crap it has to come out and get washed :(

Just guessing here, but if the catalytic converter works similar to a car it could increase efficiency and increase the BTU output through the reaction. I know the glow plugs for RC engines work the same way, palladium element that reacts and glows.

I used to run my car on kerosene when it was cheaper than diesel, but the goverment relised that people were running their cars of is so they incresed taxes on that aswell (diesel price now is $2,08 (US) per liter)

Lo bueno de estas estufas es que se pueden usar con diesel, y que las mechas las puede hacer uno mismo con una tira de tela de algodón o fibra de vidrio!

id say its a R5 wick thats needed for that. the problem with running jetA1 will be tar balls on the wick but thats simple fixed. i should get some jetA1 from ye :D

what you think of them oil convection heater i think that work well for my shop aye?

Does that heater gives out lot of kerosene smell and black carbon particles ?

hows that old heat pump doing?

Are these kero heaters worth any money?

it burns up sooty deposits and unburnt hydrocarbons, essentially like that of a car

yer boil the billy on it for sure, not sure about kerosene flavored toast tho ;)

......and a lot of fire extinguishers on hand :D

lol yer, no AC videos till it warms up, just heating

Just a bit more tinkering and it will be ready for service :-)

Mate, any idea where I can get the non adjustable wick from?

last run like 5 years ago

how do you get down to 3 degrees celcius in australia? do you live in a fridge

no idea, I get it for free :D, its the only reason I run it