When you receive your new kerosene heater wick
replacement the instructions for installing it will come with
it. There are heaters that use unpinned wicks, mostly radiant
heaters, which may prove difficult for the person who is new to
kerosene heater wick replacement. Luckily, there are standard
instructions that can be followed roughly for a successful wick
installation. Keep in mind the details vary as the wick adjuster
assembly will lock a little differently, the base and cabinets
may be attached a different way, etc.
For all heaters, the wick must be raised and lowered and this
movement is controlled by a gear shaft and turning knob.
These instructions have been written in the hopes that you get
a general idea of how to replace your wick with a new one.
- You must burn your heater dry, which means there will be
no more kerosene in the pump or old wick.
- Allow your heater to cool.
- Take out the fuel tank, batteries and wick adjuster knob
by pulling them straight out.
- Open the front grill and gently remove the catalytic converter.
Be careful. Do not to break its glass chimney.
- Unscrew and remove the screws that fasten the cabinet to
the heater base and lift the cabinet straight up. Keep these
screws handy.
- Remove the mica windshield over the burner.
- Unscrew the wing nuts, which secure the wick assembly to
the base, and raise the entire assembly straight up.
- Remove the wick and wick holder by lifting them straight
up the draft tube part of the wick holder assembly.
- Before the next step - With a marker, draw a line on the
old wick where it meets the collar of the wick holder, this
will make installing the new wick easier.
- Grab the old wick and fold it in on itself to free it from
the teeth that connect it to the wick holder.
- Compare the line you've drawn on your wick to the black
line on the replacement wick. If the lines are not in the
same place, draw a new line around your replacement wick to
match the old one. This shows how much should be inserted
in the wick holder.
- Fold the replacement wick in on itself and insert it into
the holder to the depth you marked. Then release it and let
it pop back into shape, engaging with the teeth inside the
collar of the holder.
- Slide the wick and holder back onto the draft tube. Spin
it around the tube while pressing against its sides to make
sure the teeth in the holder engage fully with the wick.
- Place the wick adjuster knob back onto the shaft. (removed
in step 3)
- Move the shut-off switch on the adjuster assembly so that
it lowers all the way down.
- Rotate the adjuster knob 3/4 of a turn clockwise and hold
the latch attached to the knob shaft in that position.
- Engage the pinion on the inside of the wick-raising shaft
into the latch so that the wick holder and wick are near the
top of the shaft.
- Replace the entire wick adjuster assembly onto the base
and test the mechanism.
- Screw the wing nuts back on loosely. Once loosely attached,
steadily raise the wick using the knob.
- Now tighten the wing nuts. Adjust the height of the wick
using the knob so that about 3/8 of an inch is showing at
the top of the shaft.
- Finally, replace all the other parts of the heater in the
opposite order from when you took them off in steps 3-6.
- Congratulations on replacing your wick!
