South Wind Heater Wick

[usmc320]

Has anybody been able to get replacement wicks for the South Wind heater? I took mine apart last week and found the wick to be in bad shape (broken/charred) along with the vaporizor (??) that it is attached to. I tried calling South Wind but have not been able to get ahold of anybody there. I'm hoping somebody has a good solution to this problem. If not, I guess I'll try to rig something up.

I haven't been able to get the heater to fire up yet and believe the wick is the problem at this point. Anybody with suggestions or insight into this would be greatly appreciated. I would like to get it running before the cold sets in here.

Thanks.

 

[cranetruck]

The wick is difficult to replace and is an important item on the SW heaters. You should be able to get wicks on line. They may be made from fiberglass and should be approx 1/8" dia.
IMHO, the vaporizer doesn't have to be perfect for the heater to work, but it's fragile so handle carefully when installing the wick, which extends into it. The image shows the wick and the vaporizer.

Not much help, I know, but your problem is acknowledged....

 

[usmc320]

Would you happen to have a source for replacement wicks that will work? Have you found a good way to attach them to the vaporizer?

Has anybody had any luck with obtaining replacements from Stewart Warner? I imagine I won't be able to get a hold of anybody there until after Thanksgiving.

 

[cranetruck]

This image shows the vaporizer removed from the mounting plate and it shouldn't be too hard to put a new wick in after all.
Some time ago, I called SW on the heater spare parts and you will not like the prices, the fuel control valve, for example, is over $700 with a minimum purchase of 3 units. You don't need SW for the wick, I found some on ebay and should have a bunch left somewhere. I'll try to find them and finish the repair on this unit. I'll post the result.

A note on the wick; the diesel fuel leaves a residue each time the heater is used, so this should be a routine procedure (replacing the wick).

Edit: result shown in images below (some image distortions from scanner).

 

[usmc320]

Thanks for the pics. I didn't realize the wick goes straight through the vaporizer. I'll look on ebay for a wick that will work. Could you PM a link to the auction you bought the wicks from, so I can see exactly what you decided to use?

Those are some pretty crazy prices from SW. You would think the prices would be a lot less considering all of these heaters they've produced over the years. It's not like it was a limited production run with high R&D costs to cover.

 

[cranetruck]

I don't have a record of my purchase, it's been a year or more, but here is one that should work. I did have to get several sizes and I believe this is it. The one in the images above is almost 3/16 in dia, but then again, not sure how they are measured.
3 ROUND FIBERGLASS KEROSENE LAMP WICKS 1/8" BY 6" - eBay (item 350283118645 end time Nov-29-09 16:01:43 PST)

 

[usmc320]

Thanks. That's what I ended up ordering. Guess I'll look for it in the mail sometime next week and hopefully get this heater to fire up.

 

[usmc320]

Update:

The wicks came in the mail yesterday. I installed one and put everything back together. The heater fired right up and runs great. Thanks cranetruck.

I might need to re-route the heater exhaust though. It appears to be getting sucked up by the heater fan and blown into the cab when the engine is off. With it on, the engine's cooling fan seems to blow the exhaust away from the heater intake though. It's not a big deal as long as I run the heater with the engine on. I'm worried about when I put on my arctic front cover. The radiator fan might not have enough fresh air to blow the heater exhaust away. Guess I'll find out.

 

[Wildchild467]

anybody else find a source for the heater wicks? i was messing aroun with my fuel burning heater tonight and tried using a wic from one of those little oil candle thingies they have at restruants and such. well it didnt work, but it was worth a try. it just melted it in two. i checked lowes and they didnt have anything...

 

[jwaller]

I think I bought a few of them when they were on ebay. shoot me a pm if you want me to look around.

 

[Medic5050]

Considering this is a fuel fired heater, I would call or email this place.
I've gotten some pretty hard to find stuff here. If he doesn't have it, he can get it, find a substitute, or turn you on to another one.

"Miles Stair Wick Shop"

 

[Wildchild467]

I ordered a wick from online, installed it and it fired right up! I didn't measure the temps but everything seemed to work great! Thanks cranetruck with your help and guidance getting this thing up and going!

 

[cranetruck]

I ordered a wick from online, installed it and it fired right up! I didn't measure the temps but everything seemed to work great! Thanks cranetruck with your help and guidance getting this thing up and going!

You are welcome. Glad you got it working, those heaters can be tricky.