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Posted: 10/18/2009 4:31:56 PM EDT
long story short new adition on house no heat thinkin about Dura Heat 2304 from home depot. Also use as possible back up heat for emergencies? The people in GD sayes this is the place for heating questions. So what say you ?
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Posted: 10/18/2009 4:43:38 PM EDT
[#1]
I have one, different brand name but honestly they are identical. It is a 23K BTU multi-directional heater, meaning that it should be placed in the center of the room. I used one to heat my uninsulated garage. Several mornings it was in the teens and within an hour it was toasty warm. They do like the kerosene though, it seems to use a fair bit but it does put out good heat. I never noticed much smell but the wife said that she did a bit but most of the comes from start-up and shut down.
I will say the only fault I found with it is that it is either off or on, there is no adjustment so if you think 23K BTU will be overkill, don't get it, get the smaller one or two of them. |
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Posted: 10/18/2009 5:16:14 PM EDT
[#2]
Have you priced Kerosene lately? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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Posted: 10/18/2009 5:31:50 PM EDT
[#3]
$3.299 is the cheapest here
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Posted: 10/18/2009 5:38:23 PM EDT
[#4]
Quoted:
long story short new adition on house no heat thinkin about Dura Heat 2304 from home depot. Also use as possible back up heat for emergencies? The people in GD sayes this is the place for heating questions. So what say you ? If its to be a permanent thing Id buy somthing like this instead...........http://www.alsheating.com/ToyoHeater.htm...............like a mini kerosene furnace......I have two kerosene heaters and they are great for emergencies and a weekend at the BOL but I wouldnt want to live with them on a daily basis for an entire winter |
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Posted: 10/18/2009 5:43:15 PM EDT
[#5]
Last time I used one to heat my house it killed all the house plants. That was 20 years ago maybe they are cleaner now. |
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Posted: 10/18/2009 5:53:17 PM EDT
[#6]
Quoted:
I have one, different brand name but honestly they are identical. It is a 23K BTU multi-directional heater, meaning that it should be placed in the center of the room. I used one to heat my uninsulated garage. Several mornings it was in the teens and within an hour it was toasty warm. They do like the kerosene though, it seems to use a fair bit but it does put out good heat. I never noticed much smell but the wife said that she did a bit but most of the comes from start-up and shut down. I will say the only fault I found with it is that it is either off or on, there is no adjustment so if you think 23K BTU will be overkill, don't get it, get the smaller one or two of them. Wow you have a problem with yours not being able to a just the temp? I bought mine from Home depot and I can put a full flame or make it just warm enough at night to save a little kero! Quoted:
Last time I used one to heat my house it killed all the house plants. That was 20 years ago maybe they are cleaner now. I don't think you would have that problem now they are a lot cleaner! |
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Posted: 10/18/2009 6:54:04 PM EDT
[#7]
I own one of those duraheat units. I am happy with it.
At 23,000 btu is will adequately heat a large portion of a house. Place it centrally. The rooms closest to it will be very warm (mid 70's) while farther extremes will be cool but liveable. I find no odor. The kero is cheap but I buy it at the pump. Yup. It goes $3.30 a gallon but when its -40 outside and the power is out you'll be happy to have a heater and the kero. Buy a replacement wick. Older style wicks are all cotton. Never burn these dry. Newer wicks are cotton bottom/fiberglass top. These are intentionally burned dry on occasion to help reduce deposits on the wick. Buy the fiberglass typpe. I would not want to try to heat a house for a whole winter with one of these kero heaters. How ever, for backup heat over a few days or couple weeks there are few alternatives that are as cheap and easy. Yup. The kero isn't cheap. However, you don't need to spend $3,000 on a dedicated woodstove and triplewall chimney either. These are cheap. However, trying to use one on an everyday basis to heat an addition for a whole winter does not make much sense. Two reasons 1) No temp control. Its on or its off. You are going to experience a freee thaw cycle 2) Kero is expensive. |
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Posted: 10/18/2009 7:07:31 PM EDT
[#8]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I have one, different brand name but honestly they are identical. It is a 23K BTU multi-directional heater, meaning that it should be placed in the center of the room. I used one to heat my uninsulated garage. Several mornings it was in the teens and within an hour it was toasty warm. They do like the kerosene though, it seems to use a fair bit but it does put out good heat. I never noticed much smell but the wife said that she did a bit but most of the comes from start-up and shut down. I will say the only fault I found with it is that it is either off or on, there is no adjustment so if you think 23K BTU will be overkill, don't get it, get the smaller one or two of them. Wow you have a problem with yours not being able to a just the temp? I bought mine from Home depot and I can put a full flame or make it just warm enough at night to save a little kero! Quoted:
Last time I used one to heat my house it killed all the house plants. That was 20 years ago maybe they are cleaner now. I don't think you would have that problem now they are a lot cleaner! http://www.yourheater.com/DH-2304%28Eng%29.pdf ADJUSTMENT OF ROOM TEMPERATURE can not be changed by adjusting the heater. A Kerosene heater is either on or off. There is no temperature adjustment. If heater output is reduced by lowering the wick in any way, improper combustion will occur producing odors and an accumulation of tar and carbon. If your room becomes too hot, open a door or a window or turn off the heater. SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS FOR All I know is that the instructions specifically state not to adjust the output by adjusting the wick. I did try it and it caused it to smoke and put off fumes. The way these cylindrical heaters work is that there is a plate in the top that gets hot and burns off unburnt fumes. |
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Posted: 10/19/2009 5:01:19 AM EDT
[#9]
If you only want to heat the addition now and then I can see going with a kerosene heater. I use mine as either on or off, the adjustment is used to get the best burn and not to adjust temperature. That said, there may be models out there that are different so your experience may vary.
I think you might be better off going with a propane heater of some sort. The portable buddy heaters are nice but put out less heat than the kerosene tower heaters. But you can get wall mount propane heaters that would heat an addition acceptably in most cases. And since the propane could use a larger tank outside you would not need to refuel as often. I use space heaters for my heat and I have electric plug in space heaters, propane buddy heaters, and kerosene tower heaters. If you start the kerosene tower heater outside and let it warm up outside before bringing it in you can reduce the smell. When shutting it off take it back outside and then shut it off. I don't find the smell to be too bad and usually don't start them up outside since I dislike carrying around a lit heater. But someone who was real sensitive to the smell might prefer to carry the heater around. And yeah the heater should not really be carried around but some people still do it and all my heaters have a safety that shuts things downs if the heater gets tilted over so far. If you ever let the kerosene heater run out of fuel inside you will have a lot of smell and smoke. If the propane runs out of fuel it just shuts down. Might smell a little bit but not much in my opinion. I used to have a wall mount propane heater that needed no electricity to work so you can still keep some of your backup heat ideas in place with this, but of course it is not something you can move to another part of the house. You can plumb a line for a buddy heater if that interests you. |
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Posted: 10/19/2009 7:01:57 AM EDT
[#10]
I lived on Okinawa 72 thru 75 and heated with kerosene. I bought kerosene at the local military gas stations for 5 cents a gallon.
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Posted: 10/20/2009 1:34:16 AM EDT
[#11]
Quoted:
Quoted:
I have one, different brand name but honestly they are identical. It is a 23K BTU multi-directional heater, meaning that it should be placed in the center of the room. I used one to heat my uninsulated garage. Several mornings it was in the teens and within an hour it was toasty warm. They do like the kerosene though, it seems to use a fair bit but it does put out good heat. I never noticed much smell but the wife said that she did a bit but most of the comes from start-up and shut down. I will say the only fault I found with it is that it is either off or on, there is no adjustment so if you think 23K BTU will be overkill, don't get it, get the smaller one or two of them. Wow you have a problem with yours not being able to a just the temp? I bought mine from Home depot and I can put a full flame or make it just warm enough at night to save a little kero! Quoted:
Last time I used one to heat my house it killed all the house plants. That was 20 years ago maybe they are cleaner now. I don't think you would have that problem now they are a lot cleaner! Does your heater make any noise when it is burning? Mine makes a sort of sputtering noise. It seems to burn ok, but it "flickers" a bit and makes noise while it is doing it. I adjust it up and down, but no matter how I adjust it, it makes this noise. It doesn't smoke or stink or anything. It just makes some noise. I thought it should be silent??? |
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Posted: 10/20/2009 4:06:29 AM EDT
[#12]
I bought a duraheat kero heater 2 years ago. I only use it when it's really cold, like 10 or below. That, or during emergency outages. It'll heat my one story 1400sqft one-story ranch to 75 while sitting in the downstairs den. A tank of kero will last 9 hours.
That being said, I'm getting a wood stove next year. |
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Posted: 10/20/2009 7:18:02 AM EDT
[#13]
I have two towers and use them almost every winter rather than run my heat pump backup heat.
Used properly, these are fine stoves. Its best to keep the concept in mind when using them. They are a wick device the relies on a cage around the wick being very hot to reburn the fumes so as to break them down. That does mean you will get a fume smell every time you light one so best to keep it lit once you light it. This also cuts down on wick gumming. If you allow the kerosene to dry in the wick, it takes quite a while to dissolve it out again with fresh fuel especially if all you are doing is running the heater. Its best to minimize that as well by keeping it lit once lit. This isn't gas so these things are a breeze to fill even lit. You simply siphon in until the fuel gauge says full. This isn't propane that's going to put moisture into the air as much so if the old mouth is dry put a pot, with no plastic on it, of water on its top and it will humidify as it heats. The stoves have very good wick control with quite a large range. They're designed to put out enough heat even on low to heat the reburner cage up enough but obviously over time as the wicks gum and get a little slower that can change. If you smell fumes, turn them up not down. Keep that cage hot. I use mine by placing it in a low central area then regulate the heat by by my door openings. It takes a few nights to work this out but its not that hard. Because these are single point heating systems much like the old gas floor furnaces, its a good idea to use these with area heaters like small propane stoves (Heater Buddy) or milk house style electric heaters for temporarily warming up small rooms like bathrooms and bedrooms, typically mornings getting dressed times. Now these are single point heating systems and most people are use to central heat. Make sure you know where your pipes are in your house and not forget to heat that area as well as keep in mind when augmenting your central heat, it works off its thermostat. Heat up that thermostat with a kerosene stove, it won't come on. I get about five days out of 20 gallons of kerosene. That's about $70 at current prices or $400 a month, which is not the most economical heat out there but consistent with many other auxiliary heats depending on where one lives. I know folks who pay that much in winter for natural gas central heat. The fuel storage is very good. It has a good flash point so safer than most combustible fuels plus almost an indefinite shelf life as far as a stove application goes. That makes it excellent for a backup heating system. Hope this helps. If you have anymore question just ask away. I've been using this for 18 years now and have been around it most of my life. Tj |
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Posted: 10/20/2009 7:22:41 AM EDT
[#14]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
I have one, different brand name but honestly they are identical. It is a 23K BTU multi-directional heater, meaning that it should be placed in the center of the room. I used one to heat my uninsulated garage. Several mornings it was in the teens and within an hour it was toasty warm. They do like the kerosene though, it seems to use a fair bit but it does put out good heat. I never noticed much smell but the wife said that she did a bit but most of the comes from start-up and shut down. I will say the only fault I found with it is that it is either off or on, there is no adjustment so if you think 23K BTU will be overkill, don't get it, get the smaller one or two of them. Wow you have a problem with yours not being able to a just the temp? I bought mine from Home depot and I can put a full flame or make it just warm enough at night to save a little kero! Quoted:
Last time I used one to heat my house it killed all the house plants. That was 20 years ago maybe they are cleaner now. I don't think you would have that problem now they are a lot cleaner! Does your heater make any noise when it is burning? Mine makes a sort of sputtering noise. It seems to burn ok, but it "flickers" a bit and makes noise while it is doing it. I adjust it up and down, but no matter how I adjust it, it makes this noise. It doesn't smoke or stink or anything. It just makes some noise. I thought it should be silent??? Your wick is gummed so its flickering which will cause fumes. You can buy a new wick and replace it or pull the old one, trim it, then clean it with fresh fuel and reinstall. See my first post in the thread how to go from there. Ultimately your nose is your guide. If you are not getting fumes (best way to tell is coming in from having been outdoors a good amount of time), you can wait till it gets worse or go ahead and fix it. Tj |
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Posted: 10/20/2009 7:30:23 AM EDT
[#15]
I have a couple kero heaters which I use in the winter to take the chill off the basement and family room on occasion. Mine have a low and high setting and can regulate the heat by turning it up or down.
I've used mine a couple times during power outages (ice storms) in the winter.They do a good job of heating the house. My large one is a Dyna-Glo and the small one is a Corona. I bought the Dyna-Glo in 99 for Y2K. The Corona was give to me about 5 years ago still new in the box. |
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Posted: 10/20/2009 7:33:09 AM EDT
[#16]
Quoted:
I have a couple kero heaters which I use in the winter to take the chill off the basement and family room on occasion. Mine have a low and high setting and can regulate the heat by turning it up or down. I've used mine a couple times during power outages (ice storms) in the winter.They do a good job of heating the house. My large one is a Dyna-Glo and the small one is a Corona. I bought the Dyna-Glo in 99 for Y2K. The Corona was give to me about 5 years ago still new in the box. LOL, I just had to tell you. My second one is still in the box. My first one, years and years old now. I bought a spare wick for and still haven't used it. Its blown my mind, you use these stoves right how long they last. I've had to clean my wick a few times due to gumming but that's about it. Tj |
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Posted: 10/20/2009 8:07:22 AM EDT
[#17]
i have a heater like this that we use during the evenings to heat the living room and kitchen then we use the main heating when we go to bed. it does heat about 900 sq ft to 70-75* when its 40* out. mine burns for about 9 hours give or take on right around 1 gal of K1. have used it for 2 winters now. K1 around here is around $2.75 a gal.
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Posted: 10/20/2009 8:30:47 PM EDT
[#18]
I started using a Dynaglo heater in my shop last winter and am very happy with it. I also bought it as a backup for my house if the power went out.
One thing I did to my heater was add three swivel casters to the bottom of the drip pan. It makes the heater much easier to move around the shop. I got the idea here (scroll down the page). |
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Posted: 10/20/2009 9:38:49 PM EDT
[#19]
Quoted:
Ah, I should have clarified. My heater is brand new with a brand new wick in it. No fumes like you said. It doesn't smell or anything. I just thought it was odd that it made that noise. It's like the sputter noise is secondary ignition of vapors coming up the secondary burning element thingy? My terminology sucks.LOL It's a low constant "bup, bup, bup, bup, bup" kind of noise.Quoted:
Does your heater make any noise when it is burning? Mine makes a sort of sputtering noise. It seems to burn ok, but it "flickers" a bit and makes noise while it is doing it. I adjust it up and down, but no matter how I adjust it, it makes this noise. It doesn't smoke or stink or anything. It just makes some noise. I thought it should be silent??? Your wick is gummed so its flickering which will cause fumes. You can buy a new wick and replace it or pull the old one, trim it, then clean it with fresh fuel and reinstall. See my first post in the thread how to go from there. Ultimately your nose is your guide. If you are not getting fumes (best way to tell is coming in from having been outdoors a good amount of time), you can wait till it gets worse or go ahead and fix it. Tj
Edit to add: It's a Dyna-Glo with a pinned wick, so I can't really adjust it except what the adjustment knob does now. |
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Posted: 10/20/2009 9:50:48 PM EDT
[#20]
Quoted:
Have you priced Kerosene lately? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ what ^^ he ^^ said 
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Posted: 10/21/2009 6:06:45 AM EDT
[#21]
Quoted:
[Ah, I should have clarified. My heater is brand new with a brand new wick in it. No fumes like you said. It doesn't smell or anything. I just thought it was odd that it made that noise. It's like the sputter noise is secondary ignition of vapors coming up the secondary burning element thingy? My terminology sucks.LOL It's a low constant "bup, bup, bup, bup, bup" kind of noise.
Edit to add: It's a Dyna-Glo with a pinned wick, so I can't really adjust it except what the adjustment knob does now. mine does the same thing till it gets hot. it will "flutter" for 2-3 min then runs like normal. |
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Posted: 10/21/2009 6:24:42 AM EDT
[#22]
Trivia Alert...
Back in the mid 1970s during the Jimmy Carter energy crisis there was a big campaign to "dial down" thermostats to 65 during the day and 58 at night. Many people supplemented their furnaces with kerosene heaters, wood stoves etc. Both my parents and my in-laws used kerosene heaters during the dial down. In fact I think Jimmy Carter pretty much started the survivalist movement in this country. He was such a weak sister, that many of us thought we would end up fighting the Soviets on our own ground. |
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Posted: 10/21/2009 6:25:08 AM EDT
[#23]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Ah, I should have clarified. My heater is brand new with a brand new wick in it. No fumes like you said. It doesn't smell or anything. I just thought it was odd that it made that noise. It's like the sputter noise is secondary ignition of vapors coming up the secondary burning element thingy? My terminology sucks.LOL It's a low constant "bup, bup, bup, bup, bup" kind of noise.Quoted:
Does your heater make any noise when it is burning? Mine makes a sort of sputtering noise. It seems to burn ok, but it "flickers" a bit and makes noise while it is doing it. I adjust it up and down, but no matter how I adjust it, it makes this noise. It doesn't smoke or stink or anything. It just makes some noise. I thought it should be silent??? Your wick is gummed so its flickering which will cause fumes. You can buy a new wick and replace it or pull the old one, trim it, then clean it with fresh fuel and reinstall. See my first post in the thread how to go from there. Ultimately your nose is your guide. If you are not getting fumes (best way to tell is coming in from having been outdoors a good amount of time), you can wait till it gets worse or go ahead and fix it. Tj
Edit to add: It's a Dyna-Glo with a pinned wick, so I can't really adjust it except what the adjustment knob does now. Then there's a good chance it will simply work its way out as the fibers loosen up and the fuel flows more evenly. Tj |
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