Lanair XT250 Waste Oil Heater — Value Package 1

The instinct with a shop heater is to buy the biggest one that fits the budget. With a waste oil unit that instinct can be expensive, because the fuel is not something you order — it is something your bays produce, at a rate you do not control. Buy more burner than your oil stream supports and you spend the back half of the winter buying diesel to feed a heater you installed to stop paying for fuel.

That is the argument for the XT250. It is the second-largest unit in Lanair's XT line, listed at 250,000 BTUH across 8,500 square feet, with a fuel input of 1.79 GPH against the XT300's 2.14. Roughly a sixth less appetite, every hour it runs. For a shop generating a moderate amount of used oil, that is the difference between a heater the building feeds and a heater you subsidise.

Work out the sizing before you shop

The arithmetic is not complicated and it is worth doing on paper. Take your average oil-change volume per week, multiply by the weeks you actually run heat, and compare it against a fuel input of 1.79 GPH for every hour the burner fires. Then be honest about the building — an uninsulated steel shell with two roll-up doors opening every ten minutes is not the 8,500 square feet the specification imagines. If the number is marginal, the XT300 elsewhere on this site is the step up; if it is comfortable, this is the right unit and the extra output would simply have been idle capacity.

What the package contains

The XT250 heater and a chimney kit sized for a 16 ft eave: one chimney cap, one 24" Class A chimney pipe, one storm collar, one roof flashing for 0/12-6/12 pitch, one 36" Class A chimney pipe, one finishing collar, one 14" slip connector, four 24" black pipe sections, one black tee pipe with cap, one roof support bracket and one 90 degree elbow.

Measure your eave height and roof pitch against those figures before ordering. A kit that is one section short is a stalled installation, and we would much rather add the pipe to the order than have you discover it on the day.

The build

The cabinet is fine-grained galvanized and specified rust-resistant, which is what keeps a heater serviceable in a damp bay. The fan is internal, mounted inside the cabinet specifically to keep noise down in the shop — relevant if the unit hangs anywhere near a service desk or a bench. Adjustable locking louvers aim the discharge and hold the setting. The combustion chamber is 10-gauge cold-rolled steel, which is the specification that matters for a chamber somebody scrapes clean every few weeks through the season.

Fuel tolerance is the same broad list as the rest of the range: used crankcase oil up to 50 weight, used synthetic oil, used automatic transmission fluid, and used #1 and #2 fuel oil. Solvent, antifreeze, brake cleaner and gasoline are not on that list and never should be — the tank is not a general drain, however convenient it looks at five o'clock.

Will it fit?

The cabinet measures 47" x 46" x 36" (length x width x height on this listing). It is a suspended unit, so the first question is structural: confirm your roof structure or wall steel can carry the load and that the mounting points are sound. That check is the customer's responsibility and worth a qualified eye.

Services are 120 V-60Hz, 20 Amps for power, 2 CFM of compressed air at 15-18 PSI whenever the burner runs, and 8" Class A chimney with the flue leaving at the top or the side. The compressed-air line is the requirement people underestimate: it is continuous, so a small compressor sized for occasional air-tool use will run far more than its owner expects. Give it a dryer and a filter. Chimney height, clearance to combustibles and permitting come from your local mechanical code and are yours to confirm.

Specifications

A discrepancy we are not going to hide. The spec table on this page gives the hanging weight as one figure and our product record for the same package gives a lighter one. Two sources, two numbers, and we will not pick the flattering one — if the weight matters for your structural calculation, ask us and we will confirm it against Lanair's current documentation before you order. On a suspended appliance that is not a detail worth guessing at. The XT250 packages 3 and 4 on this site agree with each other on weight; packages 1 and 2 do not.

Perfect for

• Two- to four-bay independent shops — enough oil to feed a 1.79 GPH burner without buying fuel.
• Buildings under roughly 8,500 square feet — matched capacity rather than idle output.
• Farm and equipment sheds — a steady oil supply and a building that is otherwise expensive to heat.
• Anyone paying a disposal contractor — the fuel is already on site and already costing money to remove.

Certification

Lanair states that its units are UL listed; that claim is on this product's current page and we are passing it on as the manufacturer's.

It does not replace local approval. Clearances, chimney termination, combustion air and any permit requirement are set by your local mechanical code, and an insurer or a fleet safety policy can impose conditions beyond it. Check with your authority having jurisdiction before you commit, and ask us if you need current listing documentation for an underwriter.

Freight

Ships freight to the lower 48 states, crated on a pallet. The carrier delivers to your address; getting it off the truck is on you. Forklift or dock is the simple route, and terminal pickup is available on every freight order if you have neither. Residential delivery carries a residential fee, applied at checkout.

Inspect before signing — corners, wrap, banding — record anything on the bill of lading in the driver's presence, and photograph it. A clean signed receipt is the carrier's evidence the shipment was undamaged on arrival.

Warranty

Terms are the manufacturer's; ask us for the warranty document if you want to read it first. Standing house advice: do not take a component apart before you claim on it, because a field-opened part usually falls outside the terms. Photograph the fault as found and start the claim at our warranty claims page.