My first TM came with a Little Giant 3HT propane heater (Cleaning Technologies). It worked so well, that I built a second truckmount, and bought another LG 3HT for it also. I used these 2 machines for years, seldom having any issues.
I had to replace 1 copper coil (froze and split and couldn't be repaired), and the other one froze, but we had it silver soldered, and it held.
I had to clean the jets out occasionally (about every year), replace a few Unitrol thermostats, replace several ignitors, replace several thermo-couples, and replaced 2 pilot assemblies, over the 15 years they were in service.
I liked them very much, but there were a few things I
didn't like about the Little Giant propane heaters.
Lighting the pilot at each job, and then turning the pilot off after every job. If you have employees, they sometimes would leave the pilot on when driving to jobs. That is a NO NO. Sometimes employees would leave the heater set to
ON driving from job to job (forgot to turn it off), instead of at least turning it to the PILOT setting. So, the burner would kick ON while they were driving, and with the unit not being pressurized - another NO NO.
The LG heaters were much hotter than HX units I tried, which was over 10 years ago, but I still liked the LG's heat.
Then I was introduced to the Pressure Washer (PW) propane (LP) heaters. They were definitely built much better (heavier duty construction - schedule 80 black pipe for the coils instead of soft copper), they produced way more heat, and they would go for years without having to clean the jets, or cleaning the coils. They are flow fired, so they can't come on unless you are keying the wand while cleaning.
My first PW propane heater worked well for a couple of years, but it had issues going through gas valves, and the heater would spike the heat.
So I set out to design a PW heater for carpet cleaning that would give the cleaner a controllable, even heat.
The first thing I did was to add an electronic automatic pilot system, and an automatic pilot re-lighter that would re-light the pilot if it blew out for any reason. This PW heater has a premium 24V LP gas valve. Our carpet cleaning company's 2 personal PW LP heaters we use when carpet cleaning, are still on the original gas valves after 10 years, with no glitches.
You can't possibly leave the pilot on with our PW LP heater, when you are done with a cleaning job. When you turn the 110VAC power off to the heater, the heater completely goes OFF, PILOT included, until the next job, when it ALL comes on automatically with just the flick of a switch.
The heater's flow switch will fire the burner, even when cleaning with an upholstery tool.
Shawn Forsythe said:
Part of it had to do with standardization. LPG fuel systems have clearly defined rules for using proper fittings, hoses and regulator components. All these parts are designed for safety considerations when the worst happens. When a high pressure line breaks, instantly a safety flow valve shuts off fuel flow. The DOT tanks themselves are designed to survive just about any accident. This is not true for a gasoline tank, especially a portable one.
Shawn points out just how safe these propane heaters are, and, if the technician doesn't have to light the pilot, and turn it off, that alone makes the improved PW heater a clear winner, and just about employee proof (depending on the employee - lol).
This PW LP heater, compared to the Little Giant LP heater, leaves the Little Giant in the dust as far as heat produced, maintenance, and the hands-off all day operation of the PW heater.
The PW propane heater is actually over-built, but I prefer a heat source that can coast all day long, and still provide all the heat you'd ever want, including running dual wands.
