avdavesound Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 hi everyone. today I had a mad idea while I was walking through a local diy store I saw a really great looking patio heater and I taught it would look great converted to a flambeaux. something similar to this only it has a great cast design.would it be possible? and to use the same gas pilots and so fort? the reason I ask is because my metalwork guy is just about to start making some flambeaux's for me and I came across this great design. I have some 550mm wide bowls ordered from sugg lighting already and I thing they would look great on the patio heaters. my main concern is the gas/flashback etc.what feature's should I be looking for? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Hate to say this but if you dont know the safety aspects then you should not be doing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdavesound Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 if you dont know the safety aspects then you should not be doing itthats why im asking! your not born with infinitive knowlage! is this not a forum? sorry but I see that answer to 2 many questions on the BR! (rant over) ;) safety is always no1 with me.I run a company I'm not going to send out something without it properly tested and certified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 safety is always no1 with me.I run a company I'm not going to send out something without it properly tested and certified. if you are having it certified by someone then thats who you should field any questions at. Safety is not always about just sending kit out its also about the use production and maintainability of it. the honest answer to your first question is that without knowing the product you are thinking of modifying its impossible to say if it can be done and if it will be safe. I dont mean to have a go at all but this sort of thing can go bang easily if not done just right and having seen it happen would hate to hear about it happening to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 thats why im asking! your not born with infinitive knowlage! is this not a forum? sorry but I see that answer to 2 many questions on the BR! (rant over) :) safety is always no1 with me.I run a company I'm not going to send out something without it properly tested and certified.Hmmm... Interesting riposte, there.Your company is an AV company, yes? From your above reply it sounds as though you're contemplating 'sending out' these modified heaters as hire items? Just sounds a little strange for an AV supplier, but I could be wrong... ;) As to the original query, I can't give any direct response, but would hazard a guess that the control valves/regulators for a d0mestic heater would be different to something that delivers a 'live' flame as opposed to a contained 'wick' style guarded heat source. If that is the case, then it's likely that the two may not be compatible options and you could spend more modifying than it would cost to simply build from scratch. That said, I'd also expect there to be a good deal of safety issues to address, and as has been said - if you're having them certified, then whoever is doing that should be able to advise far better than anyone here. Oh, and yes - we are a forum, but not really the right one to be looking at gas conversions, methinks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdavesound Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 thats why im asking! your not born with infinitive knowlage! is this not a forum? sorry but I see that answer to 2 many questions on the BR! (rant over) :) safety is always no1 with me.I run a company I'm not going to send out something without it properly tested and certified.Hmmm... ™ Interesting riposte, there.Your company is an AV company, yes? From your above reply it sounds as though you're contemplating 'sending out' these modified heaters as hire items? Just sounds a little strange for an AV supplier, but I could be wrong... ;) As to the original query, I can't give any direct response, but would hazard a guess that the control valves/regulators for a d0mestic heater would be different to something that delivers a 'live' flame as opposed to a contained 'wick' style guarded heat source. If that is the case, then it's likely that the two may not be compatible options and you could spend more modifying than it would cost to simply build from scratch. That said, I'd also expect there to be a good deal of safety issues to address, and as has been said - if you're having them certified, then whoever is doing that should be able to advise far better than anyone here. Oh, and yes - we are a forum, but not really the right one to be looking at gas conversions, methinks... thanks Ynotthey would only be sent out when there tested and I wouldn't send them out on dry hire. I'll get them anyway and convert. and ill give them to the local gas guy to sort out . thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Best to consider dressing a certified flambeau with the appearance you like, if appropriate, salvaged from the patio heater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ike Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 You're right, it is a mad idea. Firstly you're going to have to rip the burner out and replace it to get the desired effect. You want a nice bright flame whereas patio heaters are designed to produce heat, once you remove the cage you're likely to have a near invisible flame. Next you have the control side. Even on decent quality heaters sold to pubs, bars and clubs the quality is usually pretty crap so I don't hold out much hope for your DIY store offerings. Knobs falling off and breaking looks unprofessional while a FSD deciding to play up meaning you can't light the thing looks very unprofessional. All this assumes that the control is suitable in the first place which really isn't a given. Then you have the pilot light, this will probably be unsuitable for operating outside the cage so it'll need replacing or a bit of metal bashing to prevent it blowing out every five seconds. You've also got the fact that once you're done you're going to have something that looks like a patio heater that's been turned into a flambeaux which is unlikely to win any beauty awards. Buying everything new you could still only be looking at £20 for the gas carrying components if you wanted to do it on the cheap so I can't really see why you'd want to go with a patio heater to be honest. On a safety note you need to make sure whoever goes out with them is trained. It only needs to be basic things like never using them below ground level and what they can and can't do in the way of repairs but it should be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Shepperd Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Speak to a specialist company who do this professionally;MTFX Their advice has previously been very helpful. Cheers, Piers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdavesound Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 buying everything new you could still only be looking at £20 for the gas carrying components if you wanted to do it on the cheap so I can't really see why you'd want to go with a patio heater to be honest. I'm not trying to do it cheap I just taught the gas components might be some way useable. the reason I want to convert the patio heater is because of the design. not to make a cheap flambeaux! which will prob cost more by the time its converted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I dont mean any offence but whats the point in asking opinions and then ignoring them all? The fact not one person has said yes its a good idea should be a hint here, shouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ike Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 If you want it just for the aesthetic design then go for it just be aware you're not going to get much in the way of plumbing. It's a safe assumption that you'll be able to use the regulator (about £2.50 new) but that's probably it. If you start with the components and try and work out a way of turning them into a flambeaux you'll probably end up with something that doesn't really do what you want as well as it could not to mention use a ton of gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdavesound Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 I dont mean any offence but whats the point in asking opinions and then ignoring them all? The fact not one person has said yes its a good idea should be a hint here, shouldn't it?how am I ignoring them? I said I'll give them to the local gas fitter to sort out.the gas components was my main concern would they be suitable yes/no and it seems like a no so I'll leave it to the gas fitter.design wise I know it sounds stupid because 99.9% of patio heaters are ugly things. but all I want is the aesthetic design of this specific one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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