monitor heater

[ulaff]

I bought a monitor 40 today and I'm thinking of putting it in the bus and was wondering if anyone had done this ? I put one in the workshop last fall and it's done a pretty good job of keeping it warm and seems to run fine on the old diesel fuel i drained out of the bus

[Dallas]

I have no opinion either way on the Monitor System, but, here is a link to a place that rebuilds them and the complaints from customers and the service techs.

Wait for the whole page to load and read all the way down.

http://www.alsheating.com/MonitorHeaterProblemsComplaintsRepairs.htm

[oldmansax]

I used to sell Monitor heaters. They need to be level in order to run reliably. You should also burn only K1 kerosene (the clear stuff). They will run for a while unlevel and on other fuels but that practice eventually destroys the flame mat and other parts of the combustion chamber. The fuel supply is gravity fed meaning the tank has to be higher than the heater. You can use the internal tank for that purpose but the reservoir the fuel drains into is open so bumpy roads would mean a fuel spill. A monitor heater would probably do well on a stationary bus but it would be a hazard on one that is going to be driven. FYI, a model 40 Monitor produces 38,800btu on K1.

[ulaff]

thanx for the info, Oh well I geuss Ive got a spare for when the one in the shop quits

[Ross]

I used one in a boat for 6 years.  The boat was 42' and I lived aboard in Maine.  The Monitor worked great.  Even through pretty severe storms it never flamed out.  I sold the boat after 6 years and kept the Monitor.  You might take a look at the Toyotomi.  It's basically the same as the Monitor but it will run on diesel.  Install the optional lift pump and it should run off your main diesel tank.  I think dealing with kerosene would be a pain.  I had a 60 gallon tank on the deck of the boat that I removed in the summer.  Every few days I had to cart kerosene down the dock in 5 gallon jugs.

Ross