Monitor M411

[HayZee518]

I have a monitor m41 heater that is my prime source for house heat. I am looking for a complete service manual for the heater. I've asked around also the place I buy replacements parts and they never seem to have one. This unit is 18 plus years old so I expect the damper o-rings to be worn out. I want to overhaul the heater before the cold weather is upon us again. I got the tools (manometer etc, CO-2 analyzer) The main circuit board is still working (Thank Gawd) but figure there are tweeks to adjust to make the heater more efficient. Currently the set point is at 70 degrees and the temp overshoots by two degrees (acceptable) Also, where should the cold junction temp sensor be located?

[leone184]

You might try the Sears web-site, I was amazed at how much product information they had for Kenmore appliances, as well as most major brands. You can order owner's manuals if they are still in print, or print some things right from the website. It might be worth a shot... good luck.

leone184

[LazyPup]

Hayzee,,,i found a customer service email address for Monitor Heaters...

info@monitorproducts.com

[redearthenware]

monitor 40

Hello!
I recently got a monitor mpi 40 at a Habitat store - a friend of mine spotted it who knows how great monitor heaters and we just went for it cause I'm needing to change my old clunky oil furnace out. I have a 1,000 ft home so it should be fine. However I know next to nothing about them but getting some idea after reading some posts... the only wordage I'm seeing so far is Monitor 40 which I read on another post they were all made defective... pff.. meanwhile I have about 20 days left to test it and return if not working. Have also just gotton 150 gal of #2 fuel oil at peak price which I'm learning I cannot use in this heater. rrr.
Any thoughts on quick check to see how she runs? Also a manual would be a good idea... Got it for 400 bucks and if ya'll have better suggestions for me I'm open to it. Was originally thinking getting natural gas run here and using another furnace tho I like the idea of taking the furnace and ducts out of the small basement and fixing the main beam where they chopped thru the center of the house to put it in (can you believe that?) but that's another story. I also like the efficiency of monitor heaters and hear the heat is great.
So whadya think?

[HayZee518]

Al Luce is the source of all the bad mouthing on Monitor heaters. He is based in Maine and talks about his cat most of the time. When called upon for parts or a video he WAS to have been making - He doesn't produce. His site links you to another part of his site where he bad mouths Monitors.
Anyway Monitor products M20, 40, 41, 441, 422, 2200 and 2400 are at the most 93% efficient for reclaimed heat. They all use K-1 clear or dyed. No Biodiesel, no #2 stove oil - you use it you're looking for trouble and an expensive repair.
To check it out you'll need a five gallon container of K-1, a 3/8" flare tubing connection, hose for temporary kerosene feed. A close source of 120 volt power and an exhaust fan for the venting of the exhaust. The heater receives its combustion air from the outside part of the exhaust tube. It goes into the combustion blower which is a small rpm vacuum cleaner motor. air is fed through the blower for a 3 minute purge through a rubber elbow and aluminum ducting to another rubber elbow underneath the combustion pot. air is routed around the burner pot and comes out through very small perforations around the inner burner pot. In the burner pot is the kero inlet and a hot surface igniter. When you start the heater, the combustion blower starts first and the igniter starts to heat up. after the purge, kero is pumped from the float chamber through the small tubing to the burner pot where it lands on the burner mat. this absorbs the kero and because of the igniter, the kero vaporizes and ignites. the combination of the air flow and vapors makes for a blue flame which is distributed around the burner head. when the heater is operating correctly the burner head glows cherry red to orange hot. the fan kicks in and blows the warm air into the room. on the 20, 40, 41, 441 and 422 you'll see eight orange leds light up depending upon the burner status and what heat it has chosen low low med hi-lo and high high heat.

[bkwood]

filing the flame rod

I've had a lot of trouble with my monitor shutting itself off . I couldn't find any info on it. It has a good flame. I tried cleaning the burner several times, and what finally worked was using a small file between the flame rod and burner ring (not sure about terms). I cleaned between them like cleaning points on a car in the old days. After that it worked great for about 3 weeks. This morning the lights were flashing meaning that it had shut itself off. I turned it on again and it has worked the rest of the day.

Does anybody know about this? I want to to file it again. But am I likely to damage the flame rod this way? Why did doing that work?

Thanks, Brian

[HayZee518]

you should check to see if carbon soot is being formed as it burns. normally the flamerod more/less cleans itself because it is in the flame. however if the heater is putting out black powdery soot, then your combustion blower is on the way out. look inside the first elbow at the dual inlet/exhaust pipe. There should be a washer with a 3/4 inch opening in it. this is the damper for the blower. It enables the heater to burn with a hotter flame then no washer. if the combustion blower isn't up to its specified rpm-s then the air flow path through the combustion pot isn't combusting the kero with efficiency. your flame at the burner head "vents" should be a blue color. if it flames up at start and during heating then something's wrong with the blower. the carbon soot will coat the flamerod and the porcelain insulator and will lock out your system. you shouldn't have to clean the flamerod with a file. best to use steel wool.

[HayZee518]

look in the hvac section. I wrote up a three page paper on the monitor heater.

[bkwood]

Thank you very much.

B