Random kerosene heater thoughts from a site visitor

Hello,
 
I have found your site very useful and this is my second season ordering wicks and parts from you. I thought I would include my experiences for you website readers.
 
First some background. I live in new construction home built 2006 in upstate New York. Even in my new home the oil fired hot air furnace has to work really hard to keep the home warm on really cold days. Sometimes it seems to cycle continuosly. So I started using kerosene heaters to supplement my central heating system. I chose kerosene, because it is relatively cheap in the scheme of things. Kerosene can be stored, and the major feature that I like is most kerosene heaters can operate without electricity. Here in upstate NY we lose power a few times a year. Various ice storms and people driving their cars into utility poles are the leading causes. So with my kerosene heaters I can be toasty warm, and not have my house freeze up should there be a winter blackout.
 
I purchased my heaters from craigslist and a local junk store. All of them worked perfectly by cleaning them out and replacing the wicks. Do not waste your money on a brand new one. They usually do not work as well as the older designs. I once bought the brand new Walmart convection model and ended up giving it away because I couldn't keep it lit.
 
I am presently buying my kerosene at a gas station that has a kero pump. However I am in the process of building a dispensing station out of an IBC tote. This will allow me to receive deliveries by truck and save money.
 
An IBC tote is a pallet mounted tank that holds a frame with a polyethelene "bottle" inside. You can see a picture here: http://www.jmesales.com/item/122626/Schutz-IBC-Tanks.aspx I have several of them that I use for my biodiesel business. They come in different sizes with 275 gallons being the most common. I purchased them from container recycler for $100 each. They are available from a wide variety of sources, including Ebay and Craigslist. I am going to contruct a platform to hold my tote off the ground so I can use gravity to draw the kero out of the spout. You must remember to loosen the cap on top to let air in else you will collapse the bottle. Totes are cheap, can be moved easily and will never rust, plus they are transparent so you can see your fuel level at a glance.
 
I am paranoid about carbon monoxide and I have several detctors in my house. I went so far as to purchase a handheld instrument that measures CO in PPM for occupational exposure. I found that kersone heaters actually put out very little CO. You would have to run your heater in an airtight room for a long time to build up dangerous levels.
 
Get yourself a good heater, follow the excellent maintenance and reapir advice on this site, and you will have an excellent supplemental or backup heat source.

philip p.

 

Pages on this web site:

  Site Index

Information on Kerosene Heaters and Wicks