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Kerosene heater or ???


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Okay, so you know I'm just afraid of freezing. Currently, I'm sitting here in a closed off room with an electric fireplace going. I have on two layers of clothes, top and bottom. I have on socks and a blanket. Except my feet, I'm almost comfortable.

 

Okay, so I'm thinking there has to be something cheaper. Additionally, if the electric goes out, we have to have something.

 

I don't even know the options. I just guess a kerosene heater. But you have to fill those right? Where do you get kerosene (hoping there is such a thing and I don't look really stupid right now)?

 

I'm thinking I'd like to use something to keep THIS room heated while letting the rest of the house be extra cold (we'll have the heater low low during the day and then where we can tolerate it with blankets at night). I know not to use a free standing heater unsupervised :)

 

And then we'd have something for when a storm knocks out the electric for a few days also.

 

We have no littles and our doggie is well-behaved and listens. I read somewhere to put heaters on a sturdy table away from walls, furniture and curtains. We can do this in this room easily enough.

 

Any ideas are greatly appreciated. :bigear:

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My cousins in Virginia Beach use a kerosene heater, and my mother near Seattle used one. You're in good company. :)

 

I wouldn't put a kerosene heater on a table. On the floor away from walls and whatnot is fine.

 

You shouldn't have any problems acquiring kerosene. If people are buying kerosene heaters, you gotta know that people are buying kerosene and someone is selling it.

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We have 2 kerosene heaters which we use to save on our electric. It really helps. We keep our heat very low about 62 and then turn it down to 58 if we are out for the day in the winter. We dress warm and when we first come in from being out, we turn on the kerosene heater to warm up the living room. We also use it when the power is out. We just have to remember to keep kerosene on hand in case it is really cold and the power is out.

I was worried about the safety of it as well when we first got our heaters, but we have not had a problem. I think ventilation could be an issue if you are using it in a small room. We have a large open living room/kitchen and sometimes we will crack a window.

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The livingroom is pretty large, including a small library area as well as our diningroom. There is a "door" to the kitchen, but the door is 1) too small for the opening and 2) has one pane missing. So there is some leakage which may be a good thing. We can, of course, remedy this with plastic or blankets if we find it problematic. Additionally, there is a door to my room as well as a door to some room that leads to the sliding glass door (it's a very odd little room) so we can adjust those ways if necessary also.

 

Can you adjust the heat of a kerosene heater? Of course, we can turn it on and off too.

 

We went without heat last winter (and one a couple years back) so we have some ability to stand it, but I'd like to see if we could be comfortable for the least amount of money.

 

Okay, so are we just trading kerosene costs for electric costs though? One positive would be that we're only heating one room rather than the house, but...

 

How do you find a good heater? is there an awesome brand? Are certain kinds better than others? I saw several styles and such doing a general search. That is why I came to y'all!

 

The Farmer's Almanac said we're in for another winter like last one according to one guy. I thought I heard on the news that this winter was supposed to be milder for most of the country (I guess most doesn't have to include us though). Of course, I seriously doubt it will be as mild as *I* would like it since HOUSTON doesn't get THAT. LOL

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We actually bought ours at Habitat for Humanity. If you have a store nearby, you may ask them to call you when they get some in because they sell so fast! But we paid $25 for both of ours. When we priced them new they were over $100.

We did not compare brands or anything.

You can not adjust the temperature (like a thermostat) but you can turn the wick down which will use less kerosene and put out less heat. So yes the amount of heat produced can be adjusted.

Good luck in finding some!

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I would seriously research the implications of using an unvented kerosene heater. Besides producing carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxides and other combustion gasses, the water vapor released may condense on cold surfaces and encourage mold, mildew and bacterial growth. When used very carefully, they may be an acceptable source of heat, particularly when used as an emergency backup for power outages, for households with healthy adults. For anyone with chronic health conditions, however, the polutant levels and potential for allergic reactions to mold, mildew, etc. may have too high of a cost.

My MIL lives with us on the lower level of our split foyer house. Since her area is always colder than ours:tongue_smilie:, she uses electric oil-filled radiator space heaters for supplemental heating. They provide an even, comfortable temperature, with virtually no safety issues.

As far as cost, you would need to consider the Btu output and energy cost for each heater you consider.

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You put a kerosene heater on the floor, in the middle of the room. Make sure you have some ventilation. You buy kerosene at a gas station (you might have to call around to find one that sells it). Usually the kerosene pump is off to the side so that no one tries to put into a vehicle.

 

Visit someone who uses a kerosene heater before you purchase one. If you find the fumes and resulting lingering odor on clothes and furniture off-putting, find another heat source. If anyone in your family has asthma or other breathing/lung issues, do not use a kerosene heater.

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We've got one that we had installed about 3 years ago. It is a box with a flame from propane. The unit is set into the wall and has a thermostat on the top. It comes with a fan if you need more heat distributed. We have a living room dining room combination and an archway that leads to the rest of the house. The only doors we have are to the bedroom and bathroom which are in the back of the house. We use this every winter and in the fall when it's chilly when you wake up. Just enough to heat up the area we are in. It does a great job of heating up those two rooms which allows us to turn down the thermostat for the rest of the house. The best thing is that it will stay on even when we have no electricty. Of course you have to make sure nothing is super close to it. We have it on the wall near our fireplace and we do have a chair about 5ft away from it with no problems. It was the best thing we've ever done and it kept our heating bill way down. I would not use a Kerosene heater because of the CO2 threat. My husband is a volunteer fireman and he says that most fires in the winter are started by a kerosene heater so he won't even consider one for us.

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