lens wrote:
> Sorry if this is too OT, but I can't think of a better forum to ask.
> Last year I got two outdoor gas heaters from Costco (the kind that
> look like steel umbrellas). Last year both worked OK. This year one
> works OK, but the other burns with big yellow flames and smokes like
> crazy. In less than a minute, it sooted up the entire underside of the
> heat reflector.
>
> I know spiders can get in these things, but wouldn't that just mean
> less gas and an a smaller flame? It this thing somehow getting starved
> for air? Any ideas on how to go about fixing this or what I can check?
> I am pretty handy and careful mechanically. I'd like to get more than
> one season out of these things.

They are just a burner and need cleaning. Your describing a rich burn
which means the air ports are clogged. The units should have come with
cleaning instructions. Basically it's taking the tops off and carefully
cleaning the air ports with a paperclip.

--
DougW