Kerosene heater

[Sean Troy]

Hey all, my next door neighbor next door wants to give me a portable kerosene heater that is in very good condition. I would use it on those cold days in the shop. Is there any problem using these with concern to carbon monoxide? thanks, Sean

[Dale Lesak]

depending on the make some have a sensor to shut off if the cm gets to bad. and you need to make sure the heat (Flame) has enough room. they get REAL HOT out in front.

[Paul Girouard]

I have two I use on cold days in my shop , 1200 sqr. feet , unfinished interior , bird blocks vented. We used to use the one in a shop office old building not very tight with no problems. They do smell a little when you shut them off, as far as CO2 if your concerned crack a window a bit. :)

I also use my halogen work light some times for heat , helps with detail sanding as well , so a win, win in winter, hot as hell in summer :D as I still use it while detailing / sanding before finish.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b299/PEG688/sandinglight.jpg

[David G Baker]

Sean,
I have one that I use in a non insulated building. It does a fair job of heating the building but there is plenty of outside air entering the building so there is less of a chance of having a monoxide problem. One of the things I don't like about the kerosene heater that I have is the smell. When I use it all of my work clothes are saturated with the smell. I have never researched the carbon monoxide issue with kerosene stoves but they have been used for years in closed spaces and I have never heard of anyone getting killed by the carbon monoxide from their use. If you are not comfortable using it, get a carbon monoxide detector and it should give you an advanced warning.

[Don Abele]

Sean, whether you use kerosene or propane the results are similar. Both produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) as by-products. Propane produces very small amounts of CO, which is why you see a lot of "vent-less" propane heaters. With either you should have a source of fresh air to ensure neither CO nor CO2 builds up. A good CO detector is a must.

Now, the real problem with using either is the other by-product of their combustion - water vapor. For every gallon of kerosene you burn, you'll put a gallon of water vapor into the room. For propane, it's a pound of water vapor for a pound of propane.

The biggest problem is heating up a cold shop with kerosene, dumping all that water vapor into the air, then letting the shop cool back down later. All that vapor condenses on all the cold (metal) surfaces. A perfect recipe for rust.

I have electric heat in the shop which keeps the temp at 45 degrees. When I go out to work, I use the kerosene heater to get the temp up to about 65, then adjust the electric heater to maintain that temp. Kerosene heater runs maybe 30 mins (insulated 2 car garage with 15 foot ceiling).

Be well,

Doc

[Sean Troy]

Good info. thanks all. I think I'll use it to get the chill out and switch over to a sealed electric oil filled I have to keep it at a tolarable level. The nice thing about this kerosene heater is you can touch the thing and not get burned while it's running. Should be pretty easy to keep the shop warm enough because of the insulation. thanks again, sean