Desa FB-10BA User Manual

BLUE FLAME VENT-FREE PROPANE/LP GAS HEATER

OWNER’S OPERATION AND INSTALLATION MANUAL

FB-10BA,

FBS-10BB,

and FB-60BA

10,000 and 6,000 Btu/Hr

Thermostat and

Non-Thermostat Models

WARNING: If the information in this manual is
not followed exactly, a fire or explosion may
result causing property damage, personal in­jury, or loss of life.

— Do not store or use gasoline or other

flammable vapors and liquids in the vicinity
of this or any other appliance.

— WHAT TO DO IF YOU SMELL GAS

• Do not try to light any appliance.

• Do not touch any electrical switch; do not
use any phone in your building.

• Immediately call your gas supplier from a
neighbor’s phone. Follow the gas
supplier’s instructions.

• If you cannot reach your gas supplier, call
the fire department.

— Installation and service must be performed by

a qualified installer, service agency, or the
gas supplier.

WARNING: Improper installa­tion, adjustment, alteration,
service, or maintenance can
cause injury or property dam­age. Refer to this manual for
correct installation and opera­tional procedures. For assis­tance or additional informa­tion consult a qualified in­staller, service agency, or the
gas supplier.

WARNING: This is an unvented
gas-fired heater. It uses air (oxy­gen) from the room in which it
is installed. Provisions for ad­equate combustion and venti­lation air must be provided.
Refer to

and Ventilation

this manual.

Air For Combustion

on page 4 of

This appliance may be installed in an aftermarket*, permanently located, manufac­tured (mobile) home, where not prohibited by local codes.

This appliance is only for use with the type of gas indicated on the rating plate. This
appliance is not convertible for use with other gases.

*Aftermarket: Completion of sale, not for purpose of resale, from the manufacturer

Save this manual for future reference.

PROPANE/LP GAS HEATER

SAFETY
INFORMATION

WARNINGS

IMPORTANT: Read this owner’s
manual carefully and completely
before trying to assemble, oper­ate, or service this heater. Im­proper use of this heater can
cause serious injury or death from
burns, fire, explosion, and car­bon monoxide poisoning.

DANGER: Carbon monoxide

poisoning may lead to death!

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Early signs

of carbon monoxide poisoning resemble the
flu, with headaches, dizziness, and/or nau­sea. If you have these signs, the heater may
not be working properly. Get fresh air at
once! Have heater serviced. Some people
are more affected by carbon monoxide than
others. These include pregnant women,
people with heart or lung disease or anemia,
those under the influence of alcohol, and
those at high altitudes.

Propane/LP Gas: Propane/LP gas is odor-

less. An odor-making agent is added to the
gas. The odor helps you detect a gas leak.
However, the odor added to propane/LP gas
can fade. Gas may be present even though
no odor exists.

Make certain you read and understand all
warnings. Keep this manual for reference. It
is your guide to safe and proper operation of
this heater.

WARNING: Any change to
this heater or its controls can be
dangerous.

WARNING: Do not use any
accessory not approved for use
with this heater.

Due to high temperatures, the
appliance should be located out
of traffic and away from furniture
and draperies.

Do not place clothing or other
flammable material on or near
the appliance. Never place any
objects on the heater.

Surface of heater becomes very
hot when running heater. Keep
children and adults away from
hot surface to avoid burns or
clothing ignition. Heater will re­main hot for a time after shut­down. Allow surface to cool be­fore touching.

Carefully supervise young chil­dren when they are in the same
room with heater.

Make sure grill guard is in place
before running heater.

Keep the appliance area clear and
free from combustible materials,
gasoline, and other flammable
vapors and liquids.

1. This appliance is only for use with the
type of gas indicated on the rating plate.
This appliance is not convertible for use
with other gases.

2. Do not place propane/LP supply tank(s)
inside any structure. Locate propane/LP
supply tank(s) outdoors.

3. If you smell gas

• shut off gas supply

• do not try to light any appliance

• do not touch any electrical switch; do

not use any phone in your building

• immediately call your gas supplier

from a neighbor’s phone. Follow the
gas supplier’s instructions

• if you cannot reach your gas supplier,

call the fire department

4. This heater needs fresh, outside air ven­tilation to run properly. This heater has
an Oxygen Depletion Sensing (ODS)
safety shutoff system. The ODS shuts
down the heater if not enough fresh air
is available. See Fresh Air for Combus-
tion and Ventilation, pages 4 through 6.

5. Keep all air openings in the front and
bottom of heater clear and free of de­bris. This will insure enough air for
proper combustion.

6. If heater shuts off, do not relight until
you provide fresh, outside air. If heater
keeps shutting off, have it serviced.

7. Do not run heater

• where flammable liquids or vapors

are used or stored

• under dusty conditions

8. Before using furniture polish, wax, car­pet cleaner, or similar products, turn
heater off. If heated, the vapors from
these products may create a white pow­der residue within burner box or on
adjacent walls or furniture.

9. Do not use heater if any part has been
under water. Immediately call a quali­fied service technician to inspect the
room heater and to replace any part of
the control system and any gas control
which has been under water.

10. Turn off heater and let cool before ser ­vicing. Only a qualified service person
should service and repair heater.

11. Operating heater above elevations of
4,500 feet could cause pilot outage.

12. To prevent performance problems, do
not use propane/LP fuel tank of less
than 100 lbs. capacity.

13. Do not install models FB-10BA and
FBS-10BB in a bathroom.

2

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OWNER’S MANUAL

PRODUCT
IDENTIFICATION

Front
Panel

Control Knob

Grill
Guard

Glass
Panel

Heater
Cabinet

PRODUCT
FEATURES

SAFETY DEVICE

This heater has a pilot with an Oxygen
Depletion Sensing (ODS) safety shutoff sys­tem. The ODS/pilot is a required feature for
vent-free room heaters. The ODS/pilot shuts
off the heater if there is not enough fresh air.

PIEZO IGNITION SYSTEM

This heater has a piezo ignitor. This system
requires no matches, batteries, or other
sources to light heater.

THERMOSTATIC HEAT
CONTROL ON THERMOSTAT
MODEL FBS-10BB

This heater has a control valve with a ther­mostat sensing bulb. This results in the
greatest heater comfort and may result in
lower gas bills.

Figure 1 - Vent-Free Propane/LP Gas Heater (Model FB-10BA Shown)

LOCAL CODES

Install and use heater with care. Follow all
local codes. In the absence of local codes, use
the latest edition of The National Fuel Gas
Code ANS Z223.1, also known as NFPA 54*.

*Available from:
American National Standards Institute, Inc.

1430 Broadway

New York, NY 10018

National Fire Protection Association, Inc.

Batterymarch Park

Quincy, MA 02269

UNPACKING

1. Remove heater from carton.

2. Remove all protective packaging ap­plied to heater for shipment.

3. Check heater for any shipping damage.
If heater is damaged, promptly inform
dealer where you bought heater.

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3

PROPANE/LP GAS HEATER

FRESH AIR FOR
COMBUSTION AND
VENTILATION

WARNING: This heater shall
not be installed in a confined space
or unusually tight construction
unless provisions are provided
for adequate combustion and ven­tilation air. Read the following in­structions to insure proper fresh
air for this and other fuel-burning
appliances in your home.

Today’s homes are built more energy effi­cient than ever. New materials, increased
insulation, and new construction methods
help reduce heat loss in homes. Home owners
weather strip and caulk around windows and
doors to keep the cold air out and the warm air
in. During heating months, home owners
want their homes as airtight as possible.

While it is good to make your home energy
efficient, your home needs to breathe. Fresh
air must enter your home. All fuel-burning
appliances need fresh air for proper com­bustion and ventilation.

Exhaust fans, fireplaces, clothes dryers, and
fuel burning appliances draw air from the
house to operate. You must provide ad­equate fresh air for these appliances. This
will insure proper venting of vented fuel­burning appliances.

PROVIDING ADEQUATE
VENTILATION

The following are excerpts from National
Fuel Gas Code. NFPA 54/ANS Z223.1, Sec­tion 5.3, Air for Combustion and Ventilation.

All spaces in homes fall into one of the three
following ventilation classifications:

1. Unusually Tight Construction

2. Unconfined Space

3. Confined Space
The information on pages 4 through 6 will

help you classify your space and provide
adequate ventilation.

Unusually Tight Construction

The air that leaks around doors and win­dows may provide enough fresh air for
combustion and ventilation. However, in
buildings of unusually tight construction,
you must provide additional fresh air.

Unusually tight construction is de­fined as construction where:

a. walls and ceilings exposed to the

outside atmosphere have a con­tinuous water vapor retarder with
a rating of one perm (6 x 10
per pa-sec-m2) or less with open­ings gasketed or sealed

b. weather stripping has been

added on openable windows and
doors

c. caulking or sealants are applied

to areas such as joints around
window and door frames, be­tween sole plates and floors, be­tween wall-ceiling joints, be­tween wall panels, at penetra­tions for plumbing, electrical, and
gas lines, and at other openings.

If your home meets all of the three
criteria above, you must provide ad­ditional fresh air. See

From Outdoors

If your home does not meet all of the
three criteria above, proceed

mining Fresh-Air Flow for Heater Lo­cation,

and

page 5.

, page 6

Ventilation Air

.

-11

and

Deter-

kg

Confined and Unconfined Space

The National Fuel Gas Code, ANS Z223.1

defines a confined space as a space whose
volume is less than 50 cubic feet per 1,000
Btu per hour (4.8 m3 per kw) of the aggre­gate input rating of all appliances installed
in that space and an unconfined space as a
space whose volume is not less than 50
cubic feet per 1,000 Btu per hour (4.8 m3 per
kw) of the aggregate input rating of all
appliances installed in that space. Rooms
communicating directly with the space in
which the appliances are installed*, through
openings not furnished with doors, are con­sidered a part of the unconfined space.

This heater shall not be installed in a con­fined space or unusually tight construction
unless provisions are provided for adequate
combustion and ventilation air.

* Adjoining rooms are communicating only
if there are doorless passageways or ventila­tion grills between them.

4

105565

OWNER’S MANUAL

FRESH AIR FOR
COMBUSTION AND
VENTILATION

Continued

DETERMINING FRESH-AIR FLOW FOR HEATER LOCATION

Determining if You Have a Confined or Unconfined Space

Use this worksheet to determine if you have a confined or unconfined space.
Space: Includes the room in which you will install heater plus any adjoining rooms with doorless passageways or ventilation grills between

the rooms.

1. Determine the volume of the space (length x width x height).
Length x Width x Height = _________________ cu. ft. (volume of space)

Example:

If additional ventilation to adjoining room is supplied with grills or openings, add the volume of these rooms to the total volume of
the space.

2. Divide the space volume by 50 cubic feet to determine the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support.

__________ (volume of space) ÷ 50 cu. ft. = (Maximum Btu/Hr the space can support)

Example:

3. Add the Btu/Hr of all fuel burning appliances in the space.
Vent-free heater ______________ Btu/Hr
Gas water heater* ______________ Btu/Hr
Gas furnace ______________ Btu/Hr
Vented gas heater ______________ Btu/Hr
Gas fireplace logs ______________ Btu/Hr
Other gas appliances* + ______________ Btu/Hr
Total = ______________ Btu/Hr
* Do not include direct-vent gas appliances. Direct-vent draws combustion air from the outdoors and vents to the outdoors.

4. Compare the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support with the actual amount of Btu/Hr used.

_____________ Btu/Hr (maximum the space can support)
_____________ Btu/Hr (actual amount of Btu/Hr used)

Example:

The space in the above example is a confined space because the actual Btu/Hr used is more than the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support.
You must provide additional fresh air. Your options are as follows:

A. Rework worksheet, adding the space of an adjoining room. If the extra space provides an unconfined space, remove door to adjoin-

ing room or add ventilation grills between rooms. See Ventilation Air From Inside Building, page 6.

B. Vent room directly to the outdoors. See Ventilation Air From Outdoors, page 6.
C. Install a lower Btu/Hr heater, if lower Btu/Hr size makes room unconfined.

If the actual Btu/Hr used is less than the maximum Btu/Hr the space can support, the space is an unconfined space. You will need no
additional fresh air ventilation.

Space size 20 ft. (length) x 16 ft. (width) x 8 ft. (ceiling height) = 2560 cu. ft. (volume of space)

2560 cu. ft. (volume of space) ÷ 50 cu. ft. = 51.2 or 51,200 (maximum Btu/Hr the space can support)

Example:

Gas water heater 44,000 Btu/Hr
Vent-free heater + 10,000 Btu/Hr
Total = 54,000 Btu/Hr

51,200 Btu/Hr (maximum the space can support)
54,000 Btu/Hr (actual amount of Btu/Hr used)

WARNING: If the area in which the heater may be operated is smaller than that defined as an unconfined space
or if the building is of unusually tight construction, provide adequate combustion and ventilation air by one of
the methods described in the

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National Fuel Gas Code, ANS Z223.1, Section 5.3

5

or applicable local codes.

Continued

PROPANE/LP GAS HEATER

FRESH AIR FOR
COMBUSTION AND
VENTILATION

Continued

VENTILATION AIR

Ventilation Air From Inside
Building

This fresh air would come from an adjoining
unconfined space. When ventilating to an
adjoining unconfined space, you must pro­vide two permanent openings: one within
12" of the ceiling and one within 12" of the
floor on the wall connecting the two spaces
(see options 1 and 2, Figure 2). You can also
remove door into adjoining room (see op­tion 3, Figure 2). Follow the National Fuel

Gas Code NFPA 54/ANS Z223.1, Section

5.3, Air for Combustion and Ventilation for

required size of ventilation grills or ducts.

WARNING: Rework work-

sheet, adding the space of the
adjoining unconfined space. The
combined spaces must have
enough fresh air to supply all
appliances in both spaces.

Ventilation Grills

Ventilation

Grills

into Adjoining

Room,

Option 1

Figure 2 - Ventilation Air from Inside Building

Or

Remove
Door into
Adjoining

Room,

Option 3

Into Adjoining Room,

Option 2

12"

12"

Ventilation Air From Outdoors

Provide extra fresh air by using ventilation
grills or ducts. You must provide two per­manent openings: one within 12" of the
ceiling and one within 12" of the floor.
Connect these items directly to the outdoors
or spaces open to the outdoors. These spaces
include attics and crawl spaces. Follow the

National Fuel Gas Code NFPA 54/ANS
Z223.1, Section 5.3, Air for Combustion and
Ventilation for required size of ventilation

grills or ducts.

IMPORTANT:

inlet or outlet air into attic if attic has a
thermostat-controlled power vent. Heated air
entering the attic will activate the power vent.

Do not provide openings for

Outlet
Air

Outlet
Air

Inlet
Air

Inlet Air

Figure 3 - Ventilation Air from Outdoors

6

Ventilated
Attic

To Attic

To

Crawl

Space

Ventilated

Crawl Space

105565

OWNER’S MANUAL

INSTALLATION

NOTICE: This heater is intended
for use as supplemental heat. Use
this heater along with your pri­mary heating system. Do not in­stall this heater as your primary
heat source. If you have a central
heating system, you may run
system’s circulating blower while
using heater. This will help circu­late the heat throughout the
house. In the event of a power
outage, you can use this heater
as your primary heating source.

WARNING: A qualified ser­vice person must install heater.
Follow all local codes.

CHECK GAS TYPE

Use only propane/LP gas. If your gas supply
is not propane/LP, do not install heater. Call
dealer where you bought heater for proper
type heater.

INSTALLATION ITEMS

Before installing heater, make sure you have
the items listed below:

• external regulator (supplied by installer,
see page 9)

• piping (check local codes)

• sealant (resistant to propane/LP gas)

• equipment shutoff valve *

• ground joint union

• test gauge connection *

• sediment trap

• tee joint

• pipe wrench

* An CSA/AGA design-certified equip­ment shutoff valve with 1/8" NPT tap is an
acceptable alternative to test gauge connec­tion. The optional CSA/AGA design-certi­fied equipment shutoff valve can be pur­chased from your dealer. See Accessory,
page 18.

LOCATING HEATER

This heater is designed to be mounted on a wall.

WARNING: Maintain the mini­mum clearances shown in Figure

4. If you can, provide greater clear­ances from floor, ceiling, and
joining wall.

WARNING: Never install the

heater

• in a bathroom (Models FB­10BA and FBS-10BB only. FB­60BA is allowed in bathroom.
Check local codes.)

• in a recreational vehicle

• where curtains, furniture, cloth­ing, or other flammable objects
are less than 36 inches from the
front, top, or sides of the heater

• as a fireplace insert

• in high traffic areas

• in windy or drafty areas

CAUTION: This heater creates
warm air currents. These currents
move heat to wall surfaces next to
heater. Installing heater next to
vinyl or cloth wall coverings or
operating heater where impurities
(such as tobacco smoke, aromatic
candles, cleaning fluids, oil or
kerosene lamps, etc.) in the air
exist, may discolor walls.

I

MPORTANT:

ture to the air. Although this is beneficial,
installing heater in rooms without enough
ventilation air may cause mildew to form from
too much moisture. See Fresh Air for Com-
bustion and Ventilation, pages 4 through 6.

CAUTION: If you install the
heater in a home garage

• heater pilot and burner must

be at least 18 inches above
floor

• locate heater where moving ve-

hicle will not hit it

Vent-free heaters add mois-

CEILING

36"

6"
Minimum
From
Sides of
Heater

Left
Side

FLOOR

Figure 4 - Mounting Clearances As Viewed
From Front of Heater

Minimum

Right
Side

2"

Minimum to Top
of Carpeting, Tile,
or Other Combustible
Material

INSTALLING HEATER TO
WALL

Mounting Bracket

The mounting bracket is located on back
panel of heater. It has been taped there for
shipping. Remove mounting bracket from
back panel.

Mounting
Bracket

Figure 5 - Mounting Bracket

INSTALLING THERMOSTAT
SENSING BULB -

For T-Stat Models Only

Remove clip and bulb from shipping loca­tion. Place clip and bulb into operation loca­tion (see Figure 6)

105565

For convenience and efficiency, install heater

• where there is easy access for operation,
inspection, and service

• in coldest part of room

7

Figure 6 - Moving Thermostat Sensing
Bulb

Continued

PROPANE/LP GAS HEATER

INSTALLATION

Continued

Removing Front Panel Of Heater

1. Remove two screws near bottom cor­ners of front panel.

2. Lift straight up on grill guard until it stops.
Grill guard will slide up about 1/4".

3. Pull bottom of front panel forward, then
down.

4. Remove cardboard packing from grill
and glass.

WARNING: Maintain minimum
clearances shown in Figure 8. If
you can, provide greater clear­ances from floor and joining wall.

2. Mark screw locations on wall (see
Figure 8).

Note:

Only mark last hole on each end
of mounting bracket. Insert mounting
screws through these holes only.

3. Remove tape and mounting bracket
from wall.

3

/4"

6

Min.

Adjoining Wall

Figure 8 - Mounting Bracket Clearances

12 1/8"

Only Insert Mounting
Screws Through Last

Hole On Each End

Floor

14 1/2"

Min.

4. For thin walls (1/2" or less), insert red
key into wall anchor. Push red key to
“pop” open anchor wings.

IMPORTANT:

Do not hammer key!
For thick walls (over 1/2" thick) or solid
walls, do not pop open wings.

5. Place mounting bracket onto wall. Line
up last hole on each end of bracket with
wall anchors.

6. Insert mounting screws through bracket
and into wall anchors.

7. Tighten screws until mounting bracket
is firmly fastened to wall.

Figure 9 - Folding Anchor

Figure 7 - Removing Front Panel Of Heater

Methods For Attaching
Mounting Bracket To Wall

Only use last hole on each end of mounting
bracket to attach bracket to wall. These two
holes are 16 inches apart from their centers.
Attach mounting bracket to wall in one of
two ways:

1. Attaching to wall stud

2. Attaching to wall anchor

Attaching To Wall Stud: This method pro-

vides the strongest hold. Insert mounting
screws through mounting bracket and into
wall studs.

Attaching To Wall Anchor: This method

allows you to attach mounting bracket to
hollow walls (wall areas between studs) or to
solid walls (concrete or masonry).

Decide which method better suits your needs.
Either method will provide a secure hold for
the mounting bracket.

Marking Screw Locations

1. Tape mounting bracket to wall where
heater will be located. Make sure
mounting bracket is level.

Attaching Mounting Bracket To
Wall

Note:

Wall anchors, mounting screws, and
spacers are in hardware package. The hard­ware package is provided with heater.

Attaching To Wall Stud Method

For attaching mounting bracket to wall studs

1. Drill holes at marked locations using

9/64" drill bit.

2. Place mounting bracket onto wall. Line

up last hole on each end of bracket with
holes drilled in wall.

3. Insert mounting screws through bracket

and into wall studs.

4. Tighten screws until mounting bracket

is firmly fastened to wall studs.

Attaching To Wall Anchor Method

For attaching mounting bracket to hollow
walls (wall areas between studs) or solid
walls (concrete or masonry)

1. Drill holes at marked locations using

5/16" drill bit. For solid walls (concrete
or masonry), drill at least 1" deep.

2. Fold wall anchor as shown in Figure 9.

3. Insert wall anchor (wings first) into

hole. Tap anchor flush to wall.

Figure 10 - Popping Open Anchor Wings
For Thin Walls

Placing Heater On Mounting
Bracket

1. Locate two horizontal slots on back
panel of heater.

2. Place heater onto mounting bracket.
Slide horizontal slots onto stand-out tabs
on mounting bracket (see Figure 11).

Horizontal

Slots
Stand-Out
Tab

Mounting Bracket
(attached to wall)

Figure 11 - Mounting Heater Onto Mount­ing Bracket

Installing Bottom Mounting
Screws

1. Locate bottom mounting hole. This

hole is near bottom on back panel of
heater (see Figure 12, page 9).

2. Mark screw location on wall.

3. Remove heater from mounting bracket.

8

105565