Wall Heater overheating?

[zephyr]

I'm trying to replace an old wall heater. I've installed the box and fan deck and hooked up the wires, but when I turn it on there's a burning smell which seems to come from the fiber glass insulation above the box. So I'm wondering if this material should not be touching the top of the box, or if something else is wrong that just causes the heater to get too hot (it seems to get very hot very fast). Could it be a mix up of wires? It's a Marley R1500. Thanks in advance!

 

[inspectorD]

My opinion is Get rid of it, those things catch fire too often. Get a new one if you need it, better safe than up in flames.

 

[glennjanie]

Welcome Zephyr:
Check the installation instructions again. Is it a Zero Clearance heater with a UL label on it? If so, you may just be burning the new off.
Glenn

 

[triple D]

On my jobs, I open all the windows and fire off all the heaters together. I spend about 20 min. burning off the shipping residue, that way my customers don't call me late at night wondering what the burning smell is. I've never smelled burning insulation, so I don't know what that would smell like, but my guess is you're firing brand new heaters. So like Glennjanie says, check the instructions before you pull them back out.

 

[zephyr]

Thanks everyone. Will try again and see if the smell burns off. (I guess the insulation may just have been where the smell lingered...)

 

[agatto2a]

Zephyer -- There is usually oil left on the heat exchanger from the manufacturers process,, takes a bit to burn off.