Dyna Glo Heater Is Blowing Smoke, Why And How To Deal With It?

During the colder months, a Dyna Glo heater can help keep your home at a comfortable temperature. However, you may notice that it is occasionally blowing smoke. What causes this to happen?

When you first turn on your new Dyna Glo heater, it will emit smoke as it burns the oils used in its construction. Other causes of smoke from the Dyna Glo heater include a dirty burner, incomplete combustion, using the wrong fuel, and the heater having a defective wick.

Smoke coming from your Dyna Glo heater does not always indicate a serious problem. As a result, you do not need to contact an HVAC professional as soon as you notice smoke.

Instead, start by diagnosing it. Please continue reading to learn how to do this. We’ll also answer any other heater-related questions.

How To Diagnose A Smoking Dyna Glo Heater

We all want the advantages of having a heater to help keep our homes warm without having to deal with smoke. Furthermore, the smoke produced by a kerosene-powered heater can contain high levels of carbon monoxide, which can be fatal if inhaled.

In comparison to kerosene-powered heaters, Dyna Glo heaters that burn natural gas or propane rarely blow smoke. However, the presence of smoke in either situation implies that something is wrong.

Here are some of the possible causes of your Dyna Glo Heater blowing smoke and what you can do about it.

Burning Oils Utilized In Manufacturing
It is not uncommon for a new heater to produce smoke the first time it is ignited. So, don’t be alarmed if this occurs. The smoke is caused by the heater burning the oils used in the manufacturing process. And these oils are intended to keep the burner from rusting.

While you cannot avoid this incident, you can make it more bearable by lighting your portable Dyna Glo heater for the first time outside to allow the smoke to dissipate quickly.

However, if it is windy, you should light the heater in the garage, porch, or another well-ventilated area. Not lighting the heater outside when the weather is not calm or windless reduces the risk of the heater catching fire.

Dirty Burner
When your heater is not in use, the burner can collect dust. When you light it at the start of the heating period, smoke from the combustion of the accumulated dirt and debris may blow out.

Clean the burner before lighting the heater to avoid this. You can remove the dirt with compressed air. To avoid damaging the burner’s pilot assembly, use compressed air no higher than 30 PSI. To clean the burner, you can also use a vacuum in the blow position.
When the debris is completely burned, the smoke from lighting a heater with a dirty burner usually dissipates quickly.

Incomplete Burning
Heaters that use kerosene to generate heat energy must have enough oxygen for complete combustion to occur. As a result, if you use the heater to zone heat a small or poorly ventilated room, it may emit smoke.

Although natural gas and propane heaters burn cleaner than kerosene heaters, they may still produce smoke if not enough oxygen is available to complete the combustion process.

When there is incomplete combustion, the smoke is typically sooty-black.
You can also disassemble the burner assembly and brush off the debris. This method may be more practical for a kerosene-powered heater with soot-clogged burner cylinder holes.

To ensure proper combustion, use your portable Dyna Glo heater in a well-aerated space. Also, make sure the burner is level over the wick to allow for proper combustion – you can adjust its position with the burner knob until it is.

Furthermore, protect the heater from drafty doors and windows, as incomplete combustion can result from insufficient burning time and poor air-fuel mixing. These conditions may be common in a windy environment.

Incorrect Fuel
Because it produces cleaner burns, Dyna Glo recommends using water-clear or red-dyed 1-K kerosene on your heater. When other fuels are used instead of 1-K kerosene, the heater may emit smoke.

However, some Dyna Glo kerosene heaters are CSA certified for use with multiple fuels. As a result, you can run them on other fuels, such as heating oil numbers 1 and 2, JP8/Jet A fuel, or diesel numbers 1 and 2. However, there may be soot if these fuels are not burned cleanly.

Please keep in mind that the fuel you use should be of high quality. Use new kerosene instead of old kerosene because kerosene degrades over time. As a result, using old kerosene may result in smoke.

If you suspect the heater is using old fuel, drain it and replace it with new, high-quality fuel. You may need to light the heater from the outside and let all of the kerosene in the wick burn before checking to see if the smoke has dissipated.

At the end of the heating season, empty the heater’s tank of all fuel and dry-burn the wick to ensure that it will be in good working order for the next heating season.

Faulty Wick
A kerosene-powered heater’s wick absorbs and delivers fuel to the heater’s combustion chamber for combustion. However, the combustion process produces carbon and tar, which accumulate at the wick’s end.

If you do not perform regular wick maintenance to remove the carbon and tar, the heater may produce soot and smoke.

Bad fuel also has an impact on the wick’s condition. As a result, it is prudent to replace the fuel in the heater’s tank every time you clean the wick to eliminate the possibility of water or other liquids contaminating the fuel.

The wick may be in good condition but incorrectly positioned, resulting in smoke production. It is best to use the wick adjuster knob here and keep turning it as you lower it until the smoke stops.

Cleaning the wick after the first week of using your heater and then on a regular basis after using two tankfuls of fuel or weekly during the heating season is ideal.

When using red kerosene instead of clear kerosene, you may need to clean the wick more frequently.

How To Determine If Your Heater’s Wick Requires Maintenance

Keep an eye out for the following signs, which may indicate that it is time to replace your heater’s wick:

• The wick is tough and difficult to light.
• It becomes difficult to adjust the wick upwards or downwards.
• When you turn off your heater, the wick does not completely drop.
• The heater takes a long time to transition from ignition to normal burning.
• When you use your heater, there is a strong odor.

How To Clean The Wick Of A Kerosene Heater

To determine the type of wick in your heater, consult the user manual.

Dry burning is used to clean a heater’s fiberglass top wick. Dry-burning is the process of allowing the heater to burn until it runs out of kerosene and shuts down.

For the best cleaning experience, keep an eye on the process and increase the wick when the flame begins to burn out. Wait for the wick to cool before inspecting it for hard parts. If the wick does not feel smooth to the touch, repeat the procedure.

Please keep in mind that dry-burning the wick will result in a strong odor. As a result, it is best to do this exercise outside or in a well-ventilated room.

However, if your heater has a cotton wick, you will need to trim the top 1/2 inch to clean it.

Cleaning the wick may not always solve the problem. In that case, replacing the wick is the best way to restore the heater’s proper functionality. Please choose a high-quality replacement wick because cheap generic wicks can cause your heater to produce a lot of smoke.

How To Replace The Wick On A Kerosene Heater

The steps you take to replace the wick on your Dyna Glo kerosene heater will vary depending on its type and model. Furthermore, the type of wick used in your heater will influence the procedure you should use.

To replace the wick in your Dyna Glo kerosene heater, use this visual guide as a starting point. Please ensure that you have burned through all of the kerosene in the heater and the wick before beginning the exercise for your own safety.

If you follow all of the steps above and your heater still emits smoke, it may require specialized attention. Contact the nearest Dyna Glo service center and request that they inspect your heater as soon as possible in order to restore its functionality.

Conclusion

A new Dyna Glo heater produces smoke as it burns the oil used in its manufacturing process, which is visible on the burner. Also, if the burner is dirty, the heater may emit smoke when turned on at the start of the heating season. The smoke dissipates after a short time in both cases.

Other causes of smoke from your Dyna Glo heater include an incorrect fuel-air mix, which results in incomplete combustion, the use of the incorrect fuel, and the heater having a defective wick. Each of these situations necessitates intervention.

We hope this article has provided you with useful information to assist you in understanding and resolving the smoke problem in your heater. If the problem persists, contact the nearest Dyna Glo service center for professional assistance.