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bu3ali t1_ja6wc91 wrote

Back home we used these kerosene heaters all winter. But, we always stored the fuel outside. Please be careful.

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biggswiggins OP t1_ja6wi4i wrote

Yea I never run this thing unless I'm sitting next to it or am I the garage. But yes your caution is noted

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ktxhopem3276 t1_ja7o4q9 wrote

Don’t those things give off some nasty toxic pollutants when used in an enclosed space? Some things should be trash. Asbestos is bifl but that’s not a good thing…

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Teutonic-Tonic t1_jaatl87 wrote

They do and add a lot of moisture to the air. The carbon monoxide could be a real issue if used in a small environment with little fresh air, like a bedroom in a modern home. Ok in a garage which probably isn’t super tight and you probably aren’t sleeping next to it.

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FeeDisastrous3879 t1_ja7qwtp wrote

I can’t believe he stores the fuel right behind the heater. Hopefully it’s a detached garage.

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hammond_egger t1_ja88bn4 wrote

Kerosene doesn't burn like gasoline. You can throw a match into a bucket of kerosene and the match will go out.

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JohnnyDarkside t1_ja9o1kt wrote

We had a major ice storm in the mid 90's and lost power for almost a week. One of these kerosene heaters was our only source of heat during that time but it sure worked well.

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fenek6665 t1_ja7gbko wrote

I know it is great device but I would recommend you to stop using it. Kerosene fumes are dangerous and can cause cancer.

If there is not enough oxygen in the room, the heater starts to produce CO:

Every year, at least 420 people die in the U.S. from accidental CO poisoning. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. visit the emergency department each year due to accidental CO poisoning..

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FunkyForceFive t1_ja82yn1 wrote

If it reduces your life span that make it more buy it for life right? Not my take on this sub but i guess it has a certain logic.

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super_salty_boi t1_jaa2meg wrote

That logic is similar to "all mushrooms are edible at least once" or "if you light a man on fire he'll be warn for the rest of his life"

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WikiSummarizerBot t1_ja7gcj3 wrote

Kerosene

Toxicity

>The World Health Organization considers kerosene to be a polluting fuel and recommends that “governments and practitioners immediately stop promoting its household use”. Kerosene smoke contains high levels of harmful particulate matter, and household use of kerosene is associated with higher risks of cancer, respiratory infections, asthma, tuberculosis, cataract, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Ingestion of kerosene is harmful. Kerosene is sometimes recommended as a folk remedy for killing head lice, but health agencies warn against this as it can cause burns and serious illness.

^([ )^(F.A.Q)^( | )^(Opt Out)^( | )^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)^( | )^(GitHub)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)

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biggswiggins OP t1_ja906dj wrote

I use a kerosene alternative called KLEAN-HEAT. I'm sure it's not what you would call "healthy", but is a good alternative to kerosene. I also have a fire alarm and CO alarm in the garage with me for a few more degrees of safety

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[deleted] t1_ja7otes wrote

[deleted]

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blanutz t1_ja7xqwx wrote

You would be right if it risks were complementary but sadly they are cumulative. If you die in a car crash, you won't die of cancer. But that does not mean that daily drivers don't need to worry about cancer...

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Tacpacker t1_ja7ykn3 wrote

Yeah, 1300 die from cold exposure, so the calculus is in favor of the heater almost 3:1. As long as your garage has some sort of venting, or you crack the door just a hair, I don't really see an issue. I'm in the garage drinking poison(beer) and getting exposed to all manner of "harmful" substances when I work on projects. No reason to add freezing to that list.

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fenek6665 t1_ja7va6a wrote

So if the risk is small, we should ignore it? Besides, this heater produces fumes that are harmful to the environment and toxic to humans. I think that's reason enough to replace it.

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omw_to_valhalla t1_ja6xcyu wrote

Kerosene heaters in a garage are the shit! It gets it so warm so fast.

I work in an unheated garage all winter. My 100k BTU kero heater is a lifesaver for me!

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biggswiggins OP t1_ja6xf8n wrote

Holy shit 100K BTU?? What is that thing??

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omw_to_valhalla t1_ja6ybvb wrote

It's fucking absurd. I honestly don't need that much power, but it's the one they bought for the (small) garage I work in.

It's not this model, but looks exactly like it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/XtremepowerUS-100K-BTU-Forced-Air-Kerosene-Diesel-Portable-Space-Heater-with-Automatic-Shutoff-and-Thermostat-96959/316047088

It burns a gallon of kerosene an hour 😂

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Gnarlodious t1_ja79peu wrote

That sounds… expensive (why does kerosene cost 3x more than diesel ?)

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samc_5898 t1_ja7h31x wrote

Because it burns much cleaner. No worries running a salamander on kero in the garage all day

No worries running it on diesel inside all day either but I think that's a side effect lol

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Gnarlodious t1_ja8sivg wrote

That must be why. I have a Chinese Diesel Heater in my van that I feed kerosene and it burns a lot cleaner than diesel. The combustion chamber doesn't carbon up either, and it ignites easier at high elevations.

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Harupia t1_ja7ajyi wrote

Kerosene is also known as AvGas. It's a special kind of fuel that's more refined.

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e1beano t1_ja7mmtp wrote

Kerosene and Av gas are not the same thing lol

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ChalupaCabre t1_ja82kgt wrote

AvGas is just 100 octane (aviation) gasoline that also has a small amount of lead added to it.

Jet-A fuel is refined kerosene, used on turboprop and jet turbine aircraft. Kerosene is considered #1 diesel fuel and typical car/truck diesel is considered #2 diesel.

Anyway.. definitely not the same.

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Declan_Mulqueen t1_ja7qh6v wrote

Salamander. That’s what I’ve always heard those called.

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omw_to_valhalla t1_ja8e078 wrote

Interesting, I haven't heard that

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Declan_Mulqueen t1_ja8hz3r wrote

I grew up hanging around shops with dad and his friends in the Midwest, those heaters were ubiquitous. That’s what they called them anyway. 🤷‍♀️ I dunno where the term came from or when. Maybe cause they are low profile long bois that move around wherever? Lol no idea

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DEADB33F t1_ja99pw0 wrote

I used to have one of these things... https://www.nationalheatershops.co.uk/p/thermobile-val-6-1-step-infrared-space-heater/

I bought it for 50 quid off of ebay as a faulty unit then fixed it up.

40kW/135k BTU and all via infra red rather than a forced air so would heat the entire workshop fairly evenly via IR rather than just heat the air.

But yeah, for any of these make sure you have good ventilation and preferably a CO alarm or two.

It was too much for my shop though (even on low). In the end I sold it for £700 and got one of those Chinese diesel heaters (Webasto knockoffs) which vent fumes outdoors instead. It doesn't get the place toasty like the big one did but is enough to take the edge off and costs 10x less to run.

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omw_to_valhalla t1_ja9g89n wrote

The directional heat works well for me. I point it right at myself in the morning when it's cold and I'm doing my computer work.

Once I get moving for the day, I usually turn it off. My work is active enough that I stay warm.

>But yeah, for any of these make sure you have good ventilation and preferably a CO alarm or two.

Definitely. I open a garage bay door.

>costs 10x less to run.

Work pays for my fuel. They waste so much money on other stuff, my kero cost is negligible 😂

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Declan_Mulqueen t1_ja7qm83 wrote

I got burned by one of those bastards as a child in the late 80’s.

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scummy_shower_stall t1_ja73m1k wrote

Can you boil water on top of it? That’s what people here in Japan do!

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nancybell_crewman t1_ja8qhj1 wrote

My family used to have one of those! Where we lived, if the power went out in winter, it would stay out for at least a couple of weeks. We used to 'camp' in our living room to stay warm and melted snow on top of it to flush the toilet.

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TripleBanEvasion t1_ja99k44 wrote

Why would your toilets stop working if the power went out?

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spooks_are_among_us t1_ja9ao6j wrote

If you are on a well, when the power goes out the water pressure does too.

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nancybell_crewman t1_ja9wwh5 wrote

Exactly this. Being out in the country also meant we were last on the priority list for power restoration. When a bad storm hit we would drain the water lines so pipes wouldn't freeze, so lots of just having to make it work with what we had.

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Hairy-Medicine8173 t1_ja8orb7 wrote

We had one in our basement around the year 2003 of so. My mom and I were upstairs playing Halo. We paused the game while our shields were beeping, but the beeping didn't stop. Our fire alarm downstairs was going off. The wick inside didn't get fully snuffed and the whole thing was smoking/burning. My mom grabbed a towel, got it by the handle and chucked it outside while yelling for me to get the hose lol.

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hifidood t1_ja8ai5n wrote

Put a mini split that does AC and is a heat pump in my garage last year. It's been a game changer.

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fordag t1_ja88jcu wrote

I grew up using one of those.

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Regulator0110 t1_ja9lwya wrote

As long as you can keep getting wicks for it it should last forever. :)

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eperker t1_ja8plnq wrote

My uncle, Owen bought one of these thinking it was semi-agricultural. Damn thing had a mind of its own.

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Ems_belle t1_ja8ps1b wrote

Literal life saver growing up in cold ass NY in the early 90's. Had the exact one!

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Annihilator4life t1_ja8vbig wrote

Holy blast from the past. My dad had one of these in the garage when I was a kid. Was terrified of accidentally touching the top.

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killallredditmods21 t1_ja94iwg wrote

Use to have one of these growing up that we used during winter storms. Always kept us warmer than a fresh pile of shit

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stdio-lib t1_ja95pp5 wrote

"Help me Obiwan Kenobi, you're my only hope!"

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lotr5693 t1_ja97bbn wrote

Nice! I like to keep a few kerosene heaters around Incase of power outages. I actually just restored this 1920s Perfection Firelight heater.

People will say these are dangerous and you shouldn't use them. As long as you follow basic safety precautions like having appropriate ventilation and a carbon monoxide detector you'll be fine. I would store the fuel somewhere else though.

Also, if you can find 1-K kerosene at a gas station, it's usually like half the price of that Kleen-Heat you're using.

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lyfshyn t1_ja9cypw wrote

I miss the way things used to look.

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Boggie135 t1_ja9jkm9 wrote

The is a Korean camping youtuber who uses a similar one

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Serious-Sundae1641 t1_jaadpt2 wrote

Hey, I have one of these. It's on the third wick, but other than that, pretty reliable. We use it to supplement our boiler system when it gets really cold or as a garage heater. It's been a lifesaver during a power outage we had one winter.

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biggswiggins OP t1_jaamn8o wrote

Same, got a little spooky since we had our 1 year old and 3 dogs all with no "heat". This little baby got the main floor of the house up to 70° in no time.

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T_ommie t1_jaajyc1 wrote

I grew up with one of these in the living room of my dad's house. We had a 55 gallon drum of kerosene outside.

I don't know what my dad was thinking, I put fuel in it and lit it when I was home alone.

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cleeder t1_jaaszi2 wrote

How old are we talking?

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T_ommie t1_jaaxl7n wrote

I was probably 11 or 12? This would have been in the late 80's

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Professional_Show918 t1_jaao7y2 wrote

I used that same model when our heat went out back in 1980, we kept a window open a bit for fresh air.

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jojo_4_shosho t1_jadp7t8 wrote

Hey, I have this in animal crossing

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bishopyorgensen t1_jadqykl wrote

What kind of exhaust does this put off, u/biggswiggins ?

I want something that could heat my basement if a blizzard ever knocked out my power. How much ventilation would it need?

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biggswiggins OP t1_jadrohs wrote

Well I use KLEAN-HEAT, and it puts off very little in comparison to Kerosene.
I keep it in my garage which is a little drafty, but have heated my house with it when we lose power. If you have any daylight windows or anything, you may want to crack a window just for air movement/safety.

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bishopyorgensen t1_jae0vyg wrote

Thanks, I'm going to look into a kerosene heater and clean heat!

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biggswiggins OP t1_jae15yj wrote

Invest in a carbon monoxide alarm too. Cheap safety never hurt.

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