Ground warming heater and method and system relating thereto

A method for warming the ground comprising the steps of:

• a) providing an insulated housing having a cavity extending along substantially an entire length thereof, a bottom of said housing having an opening along substantially said entire length thereof and placing said housing on a ground surface to be warmed so as to register said cavity with the ground surface to be warmed by positioning said opening adjacent the ground surface to be warmed,
• b) providing a hollow heating tube extending through said cavity along said entire length and so as to extend through opposite end walls of said housing, said tube having an upstream end and an opposite downstream end, a tubular torch head housing mounted to said upstream end of said heating tube in fluid communication therewith,
• c) providing a primary fuel line mounted in and extending along a sidewall of said housing so as to extend from an upstream end wall of said opposite end walls to a downstream end wall of said opposite end walls, and a branch fuel line extending from said primary fuel line to said upstream end of said heating tube,
• d) providing a torch head having a fuel metering orifice and a bore extending through said torch head downstream of said fuel metering orifice, and at least one aspirating aperture downstream of said metering orifice in a sidewall of said torch head in fluid communication with said bore, wherein said torch head is mounted substantially concentrically in, so as to be supported by, said torch head housing, said torch head housing having opposite upstream and downstream ends and a perforated support at said downstream end of said torch head housing, a flame holder end of said torch head mounted to said support and adjacent said downstream end of said torch head housing so as to dispose a flame seated in said flame holder end downstream along said heating tube towards said downstream end of said heating tube to thereby discharge exhaust gases of combustion therefrom and to draw an ambient airflow into said upstream end of said torch head housing, over said torch head and through said at least one aspirating aperture and said perforated support, wherein said perforated support comprises at least one rigid member on which said torch head is mounted within said torch head housing, said rigid member defining at least one breathing aperture which extends substantially entirely around said downstream end of said torch head in a plane substantially orthogonal to a direction of flow of said ambient air through said torch head housing, and wherein said torch head housing and said torch head define a substantially annular breathing channel therebetween extending in said direction of flow and in registry with said at least one breathing aperture,
• e) supplying fuel under pressure to said fuel metering orifice in said torch head so as to mix metered fuel from said orifice and ambient air from said at least one aspirating aperture in said bore as said mixture flows downstream through said bore so as to exit said downstream end of said torch head, and
• f) igniting said mixture exiting said downstream end of said torch head by an igniter mounted adjacent said flame holder end of said torch head.