Kerosene heater

[Will L.]

I bought this back in 2000, used it maybe 10 times. Today, blew off he dust, filled tank with k1 kerosene I bought back when I bought it new. 2 New duracell C batteries (the old ones didn’t even corrode anything) and it fired up in about 2 minutes.

What should I know or do that I have forgotten from the instruction sheet.

With cover up to light it is this about right flame height? Says 3/8” but idk where that measures. After 1 minute there is no soot. Pics coming...

 

[Will L.]

 

[Will L.]

I know this was rated as indoor heater, provided plenty of oxygen supply. My garage is 1,000 sq ft with 8’ ceiling.

 

[WarWagon]

What?! Are you out of town on vacation? Heaters, really? What could possibly go wrong with a NOS "never used" heater there?

 

[ak diesel driver]

I keep my shop at 55*. Cool if you're just sitting around but just right when working

 

[Will L.]

@WarWagon On vacation in my shop! Haha. Feels good to finally turn a wrench on my hummer again. Now I just need to be able to stay on it for more than 30 minutes at a time. Starter out and rear diff under carriage protector out.

And @ak diesel driver - you have the idea, just off by 15*. If under 70 I have to be working hard. Turning wrenches taking out a starter type stuff does not warm me up. Especially laying 1” off the concrete under the truck on my creeper. Turns out as I got old I didn’t just get fat and grey. I am a whiner now too! Haha

 

[ak diesel driver]

70* and I'd be sweating LOL

 

[Will L.]

So I guess I should NOT let it burn a tank all
The way empty. It was on 1/4 tank when I walked out to rest a bit and left it to keep warming up. Came back and it was too smokey inside to do anything. Fuel gauge reads empty and burned the wick down out of sight yet was still a tiny flame putting out more soot than a 6.5 can in a year! Haha.
Oops.

Airing it out now and will take it apart later to see if there is enough wick to readjust or needs a new one. Also to clean of the soot on the top- haha- look how thick that is!
Shop is nice and cozy warm though.

Always a learning curve. I just wish I could learn without a negative curve i to my wallet. I don’t expect a reusable wick, we’ll see.

And speaking of negative wallet curve while on my Hummer- Amazon-Clause showed up while letting shop air out.
$95 for my early to me present:

 

[WarWagon]

@Will L. clearly you haven't seen me start the 6.2 in Patch. We had to wipe the soot off the toilet seat in the closed door shop bathroom after it finally lit and stayed lit... Careful of CO poisoning with soot like that...

 

[BIGR]

I have a kerosene heater similar to that somewhere, its still at my old place. I fired it up a few times when the power went out in the winter, it was enough heat to keep the wife and I warm. Nothing wrong with those other than they smell somewhat awful after you put the flame out.

 

[Will L.]

Found a YouTube video on doing the wick. Gotta love youtube!

 

[Will L.]

Ok, getting cold again and my time frees up this time of year more. That kerosene heater got a new wick in it, but never worked as good as new. Takes for ever to warm the shop to comfortable level for me. Pouring kerosene in the floor and lighting it seemed better! Haha.

I have natural gas already plumbed into the shop, there is a place where a previous owner had a ceiling hung heater and has a vent there still. Thinking black friday purchase...

They way I use my garage is nothing for 2-3-4 days then I can go work in there for 3-4 hours for maybe 3 days a week. sometimes longer. Once or twice a month can be an all day thing. I would love to be able to heat the area quickly because of this. Maybe raise temps by 15-20 degrees, but of course bigger units are more expensive.

I don’t want to put size info on my garage to public, but if there is anyone that can walk me through sizing I can pm that info.

Really appreciate any input on staying away from or prefer brand X and why on this thread.

I know a couple hvac guys here I can talk to come Tuesday or Wednesday, but they mostly do A/C and idk if they have much experience actually using heating in odd situation like mine. They would know more how to maintain daily I think.

 

[Will L.]

Or if someone knows the math of heating an area, that would help. I find 1 btu heats 1 pound of water 1 degree. But i am looking for a certain amount of btu heats a certain amount of cubic feet in one hour type math.

 

[Will L.]

Thinking about this one.

Dyna-Glo Delux 150K BTU Forced Air Natural Gas Portable Heater RMC-FA150NGDGD - The Home Depot

The Dyna-Glo Delux 150K BTU Natural Gas Portable Heater is ideal for outdoor/indoor construction, as well as industrial & commercial applications, making it an excellent choice for your portable heating

www.homedepot.com

Found where one person typed that 0.02 BTU raises one cubic foot of air 1° of Fahrenheit but doesn’t show a time.
I called the manufacture of that one I posted and asked how long does it take to heat up certain amount of Area by say 10°F. He didn’t know, hopefully gets back to me with an email.

 

[MrMarty51]

My garage is a 28 X 28 with 10 foot ceiling and pretty well insulated. There is six double pane windows, about 18” X 30 or so next to the ceiling with just the header board above windows.
I have a ceiling mount 40,000 BTU natural gas heater and even down to 30 below zero it keeps the garage mighty comfortable with the ceiling fan running.
This furnace was given to Me, if I were going to buy a new furnace, it would be at least a 48,000 BTU unit.
I do leave this heater run all winter as I do not want the garage to cool down then have to warm it and all the contents to get it to a comfortable level in there again. The thermostat I leave on 72 degrees.
On balanced budget billing, summer and winter, it costs 210.00 a month to heat the house and the garage. I figure about $105.00 for each building. I cant afford to let the garage cool down for that amount of money.

 

[MrMarty51]

I feel that the 48,000 or 50,000 BTU the furnace might not run as often.

 

[schiker]

Have you decided yet? I have one of those forced-air jet blower kerosene heaters and they are a tad loud and being kerosene do smell some. They can blow a lot of heat and you can direct it. As an alternative have you thought about the propane convection heaters. They won't smell as much and are quieter if I remember correctly. I think you can trottle them somewhat too. The blower heater I have is either on or off.

Yeah, I bet the amount of BTU's you need are probably more dependant on the insulation of your shop.

I guess my unit is in the -100K BTU range and heats my 40x60 area fine. Even when cold it knocks the chill off in a few minutes but since the eve's are vented it cools off quickly. It was never meant to be heated or cooled. I just knock off the cold when I need to work on something.

 

[Will L.]

Yeah, I ordered that natural gas torpedo unit above thats 150,000 btu.

Insulation? Nopers. This is a detached flat roof garage built in the 70s. Amazed there was insulation on the wires. Cinder block walls and 2x8 stringers to hold the plywood and roll roofing on it. I wont add just insulation if I cant cover it because welding and grinding has proven to make that a mistake in my past. Too many other house projects take priority over it is o afford material and time for that.

I expect it to be insane loud, but hope it will be run it for a couple hours max to bring heat up enough to be comfortable to work through the cold part of the day. I only need it 3 months of the year and not daily, so shouldn’t be too bad.

I did call the gas company to make sure I don’t need a bigger meter to handle the extra flow. They said I barely can get away with the one I have, and if I get low flow to call them and they will install a bigger one. Amazing how they will happily help me burn more of their fuel! Haha.