Dry burning is a cleaning process that burns your heater and wick completely out of kerosene. Do this process outside because it can get smelly and produce harmful gases. For best cleaning, turn the wick up to the maximum height just before it goes out. If the wick is very dirty, it may need to be replaced or dry burned a second time.
If a wick has been used for long periods of burning or if red colored kerosene was used, your wick will collect deposits of black/hard material. These deposits cause the following symptoms and require a dry burn or a replacement wick:
- Ignition of the wick becomes difficult.
- Up and down movement of the wick becomes difficult.
- For radiant heaters, the radiant screen in the glass enclosed heat chamber does not glow red hot.
- For convection heaters, the flame tips cannot reach the top of the heat chamber.
- The time between Ignition and normal burning is too long.
- Strong fumes or odors develop.
For your heater to burn to its maximum efficiency, you should regularly dry burn the wick as it accumulates deposits. Many people dry burn the wick as much as once a week. The first dry burn should take place within a week of using the heater or after burning 3.5 tanks of kerosene. In addition to keeping your wick clean, dry burning keeps the fiberglass of the wick stronger, leading to a longer wick life and less odor.
Please refer to your Kerosene Heater Owner's Manual for detailed instructions for your particular heater.
