My Pete rebuild

[Hammerhead]

Diesel fired electric heaters always smoke on start-up.
The igniter is not a "spark plug", but more of a "glow plug" and fuel gets sprayed onto/over it to light, so start up is more of a smolder than an ignition. Just the way it works, save the parts for when it actually won't light...

edited to add:
Oh yeah, and old Canadian heater tune-up trick...at least before every winter season, and preferably every couple of months, remove the fuel line from the tank and install a spare line so the pump can draw from a separate source, and run it on high for a good 1/2hr to hour on straight kerosene. It's the wax in diesel that gums them up, kero cleans them out really good. You can solve a lot of problems just by doing this.