Space heating appliance

A heater assembly comprising a radiant tube for carrying a stream of hot gases to provide space heating by radiation from the tube;

• gas flow inducing means at a downstream part of said tube for inducing the flow of said stream of gases along said tube;
• burner means within a combustion chamber having spaced walls, said combustion chamber having an outlet in one of said walls and an inlet in another of said walls, said inlet being in communication with said tube upstream from said flow inducing means;
• air feed means upstream from said burner means for providing combustion air to said inlet of said combustion chamber, said air feed means comprising a stabilization chamber having a restricted inlet orifice, said stabilization chamber having a capacity sufficient to smooth and slow to a lower velocity air admitted to said stabilization chamber via said inlet orifice thereby silencing turbulence resulting from the passage of air through said inlet orifice;
• and inlet sleeve means in communication with said stabilization chamber remote from said inlet orifice and extending into said combustion chamber in coaxial relationship with said burner means for directing said combustion air evenly along and in encircling relationship to said burner means in a direction axially thereof in a smooth path with little restriction or abrupt changes of direction, said burner means inducing a flame stabilising matrix at its mouth defining a plurality of through passages of substantial length for stabilising combustion at the downstream end of the burner means while resisting burning back into the burner means.