My current kerosene heater has been acting poorly lately…its just age and wear taking its toll. On the other hand, I’ve had it almost 13 years so I figure its done its service admirably.
Anyway, since its the season for end-o-winter clearances I headed up to Lowes and Home Despot. HD had one kero heater left and was selling 5-gallon cans of fuel for about $29. A quick trip across the street (god bless competitive markets) to Lowes showed heaters and all related materials (except kero) 50% off. Wicks were $5 down from $10, hand pumps were $1 and the heater I saw was marked down to $64.50 from $130.
DynaGlo Models RMC-95-C4 and -C5..and I can see no difference between the two. both are 1.9 gallon tanks, 12 hour runtime, 23k btu…..
Sadly, because of environmental and other legislation and rules, the really razoo heaterslike Toyosun are no longer imported. (Or at least, not the really good models.) But most modern kero heaters are pretty much identical.
So, if youre looking to replace or upgrade, head down to Lowes and Home Despot while the sales are going on.
Wow! I was complaining that kerosene had gone up to $4 a gallon here. Sounds like it’s even higher out there.
Yup.
But im still patting myself on the back for the $5/5gallon deal I got a couple years ago. Got 60 gallons of the stuff in the bunker. 🙂
How many gallons do you burn durning a “normal” winter?
Less than five. The heater is only used for ‘spot heating’. Usually just the computer room since thats the room we spend so much time in. On a low setting it’ll run on a full tank for a day or two. Generates a good amount of heat and we can even cook on it if need arises. I want to have two though so I can heat my basement in case of power failure and keep the pipes from freezing.
We use kerosene heaters a lot. If you’re trying to figure out how much you need, we go through about 1.3 gallons in 24 hours of steady burn in one Kerosun Radiant 40 heater. Two of them were enough to keep our L-shaped living room/dining room warm enough to keep my reptiles and animals in good shape during a 4-day power outage during a January ice storm a few years ago.
wonder
you do periodic cleaning and wick replacement on your kero heater. people whom don’t usually dump theirs for curbside pickup. after cleaning and replacing wick, the heater can be restored to use. I have aquired a few this way. you could try using home heating oil in your lamps and heaters, the white kerosene is most expensive to buy now. your choice. Wildflower 06
Brain Dump Of Kerosene Heaters
What’s wrong with your current heater? One recommendation is to burn the
tank dry, as that will burn off the gunk (tar) on the top of the wick. Do this outside, once the gunk starts burning this produces the some smoke.
If you’re still on the 1st wick, might be time to change it?
As I recall the RMC-95-C4/C5 have pinned wicks – 3 or 4 metal pins
that hold the wick in place – at least some versions, might be worth checking in the store…..
If at all possible, you want unpinned wick heaters, which are friction fit,
as you can carefully trim the wicks and continue using them (to at least
triple the run time you get per wick). Also, you can tweak the height
adjustment, if needed.
If you get a deal (and half off is a deal!) on a heater that uses pinned
wicks, I’d buy it, but I’d also purchase some spare wicks and store them away.
Most 10k btu heaters these days are radiant, which means since they’re
directional they can be put up against a wall and they project the heat out
to heat objects. The fuel tank with almost all radiant heaters is removable, so this makes refilling very easy.
Recommended radiant heaters:
I’ve heard good things about the Corona SX2e, 169.95. Apparently it has very high build quality along with a very deep reflector, so it’s good for long, narrow rooms. One issue that I has kept me from buying one, is the wick is notched, so it can’t easily be adjusted for height and later versions it’s a pinned or clipped in wick…..
I *highly* recommend for radiant heaters the Dynaglo RMC-55-7R (about $100,
most dept stores). Easy to light, unpinned wick, work well.
Also, the HeatMate HMHR 1101 aka KeroHeat CT1100 run about $120 at ACE and
are recommended by others, I haven’t seen one in person.
Most 23k btu heaters are convective, and heat the air, with their
tank are attached to the base of the heater, so the whole heater has to be
moved to fill it.
Not recommended: DuraHeat DH2300 (aka KeroHeat CV-2300 aka DynaGlow CV2300) – I’ve seen poor build quality and pinned wicks.
Recommeneded convective 23k btu heaters:
KeroHeat CV-2230 ( aka HMHR-2230 aka KH-250 aka Mega 230, $89.99 + shipping
on sale fron northerntool)
Manual on pdf form:
http://www.sengokula.com/manuel.htm
Sale link:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay3?storeId=6970&productId=200316420&R=200316420
Corona 23-DK (Sears carries this one, $159)
No longer in production but very nice: Toyotomi DC-100 / DC-90 aka KeroSun
Toyostove. These are part convective, part radiant heaters. 17.5k btu.
If you see any of these used but in good condition, especially ones like the DC-100/DC-90, I’d recommend buying it and just planning on replacing the wick.
Re: Brain Dump Of Kerosene Heaters
Very nice comment. Thanks for the info.
I’ve replaced the wick in this one a time or two. The issue is mostly that moving parts like the adjustment knobs and whatnot are starting to get worn and slip. Nothing that renders things inoperable, just things that make normal operation a bit more difficult…thus this one will get relegated to backup status.
Since things were half price, in addition to the heater we picked up two extra wicks and a couple of the cheapo plastic pumps. I wont say that replacing pinned wicks is easy but its not as bad a challenge as it might be thought to be at first blush.
The Toyotomi and KeroSun are/were great heaters. I might pick up a radiant heater or two at some point but the convection ones have worked pretty well in the past and for my projected use, which is area heating, being able to just drop one down in the middle of the room and have it heat the whole room is what Im looking for.
Good comments.