Monitor 20

[Home Wrecker]

I recently bought a used Monitor 20. Tested if for a few minutes on the workbench and it seems to work OK, but I want to give it a good once over before I put it into actual service.

Anyone know if there's any literature available on-line for this old heater?

I see a lot of chatter here about the newer monitors like the 44x, but not much discussion about the 20's... Are there other 20's in the house?

Wrecker

[Home Wrecker]

So..... No other 20's out there? Nobody else has one of the old ones?

All of the others have been retired and taken out of service by now?

[HayZee518]

Probably are a couple of 20's out there but replacement parts are very difficult to come by. 41's used a tristan fuel pump and controller which are very hard to find.

[Home Wrecker]

Yeah, I was figuring that parts availability could be an issue. When I bought this heater, I didn't realize how old it was...

So while you're here, the burner looks basically like the one in the M41 that you posted over in the illustrations sub-forum. And with that in mind, I would expect that it would benefit from the same type of cleaning.

I was looking at the gaskets on the burner and the heat exchanger and they're looking really crumbly. I doubt they'll survive a disassembly. I'm familiar with McMaster and order frequently, so replacements should be something I can handle, but.....

What do you think the gaskets are made out of?

I'd believe that the gaskets on the newer Monitors are asbestos free, but what about one that was made over thirty years ago?

Any of your information sources ever talk about asbestos?

[HayZee518]

ceramic fiber are the gaskets used now

[Home Wrecker]

Right... That's what they use now. But what about back in 1977 or 1978?

Research indicates that asbestos use was prolific "through the 1970's" before the health risks were fully known. Haha!! So, what does "through" mean?

I'll take some pics of my new old heater next chance I get and upload them for discussion. You ever seen the insides of one this old?

[HayZee518]

my estimates are that they used asbestos for anything flammable which would require encapsulation to comply with the abatement rules of now a days.

[Home Wrecker]

So you're thinking that in 77/78 the gaskets were asbestos?

I wonder if Monitor is required to know the answer to that question (and required to answer it if asked...). I don't know anything about the regs.

So what do you suppose would really happen if I were to take it to my local Monitor service dealer and asked him to give it a good cleaning inside and out?

[HayZee518]

if the heater required dis assembly of a part that had asbestos for gaskets, they would be required to replace with non asbestos. but if the part didn't need servicing if it ain't broke, don't fix it! the original gaskets would stay with the machine unless you specifcally requested to replace the old with new. I see where this is going.................tentative lawsuit against monitor.

[Home Wrecker]

Haha! I'm not headed to court.

I'm just thinking now if I should follow through on my original plan to take it apart and clean everything out myself or if I should take it to someone who (should) know what they're dealing with, or if I should simply give up on it completely and chalk the whole thing up as learning experience.

[HayZee518]

write a letter either snail mail or email to Monitor Products Inc in New Jersey and see what they say.

[Home Wrecker]

Yeah, that probably can't hurt. Cost is a stamp, right?

I bet you a nickel that they're answer is something along the lines of:

"Sorry sir, but we have no way to know for sure as we don't have records going back that far. Besides... You shouldn't even really need to know, because you shouldn't be messing with it yourself anyway. You should take it to authorized service center."