Will kerosene work?

[Vance]

My experience with Kerosene must be different that most. When kerosene is fresh, it is almost clear, with a slight kerosene smell. That's the type you want to burn in your heater. But kerosene breaks down over time, and turns a more yellow color. The kerosene smell is more intense with older fuel, too, and takes on kind of a sour smell. If you use the older fuel in your heater, it will of course burn, but will cause a more pronounced smell until the heater gets up to operating temperature. Additionally, you will develope deposits more rapidly on the wick requiring frequent cleaning or replacement. Kerosene heater manufacturers usually recommned only using fresh kerosene. These days, that is not always easy to find. But often you can find some packaged in a 5 gallon can at Lowe's or similar places. This fuel has been treated with a preservative so it doesn't decompose as quickly, giving it a longer shelf life.

The only thing I use old Kerosene for is to start the burn pile after cleaning up the yard.

[dragerman]

Carbon Monoxide is a product of “Incomplete Combustion.”

 

Therefore, for most efficient burning ensure your wick is adjusted properly and your unit is in good repair. If the flame is yellow or producing soot it’s telling you something. Likely your wick is too high or there’s a problem with the air flow, a blue flame is ideal. It could also be that you have bad fuel (much like an engine).

 

Simply put, the levels of Carbon Monoxide produced are directly related to the efficiency and amount of the burn burned. To ensure optimum burn light the heater and always readjust the wick after it has reached operating temperature (usually after 1 to 5 minutes). At best these units are not high efficient burners so you must ensure some ventilation in a sealed room. It’s always a good idea (law in some places) to have a Carbon Monoxide Detector in the same room with a source of combustion. Early signs of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning include headaches and dizziness. Always be safe, which I think you are seeing how you started this post. Good one.

[dray]

ok burn it i have burnt some that was over 10 years old its yellow a bit thicker but it burns good lite it out side let it heat up real hot then when you take it inside you will not get a oder from it if your worryed about it mix it with a gal or two of fresh it will be fine as your heater will also burn fueloil to

 

Dray

[Ozark]

Like most have said, use it. I've been using an auxilary kerosene heater for years at my house. Never had to throw any away because it wouldn't burn well.

[petekadish]

I took apart my old DynaGlo Kerosene heater cleaned it all up and gave it a complete tune-up. I then installed the new heater wick, double-checked the quality of the K1 kerosene and filled up the heater. I then took it out to my well-ventilated garage and fired it up. I'm happy to say that it works great! The little bit of odor it gives off is negligible. No smoke is visible and it puts out nice heat. I let it run for about four to five hours and it took the chill out off the garage just enough to where I could stand working out there for a little while.

 

I know that I could probably conduct an experiment and find out the answer for myself, but I figured that with the vast amount of knowledge and experience which we have here, that some probably already knows the answer. So, my little trivia question for you...

 

How cold does it have to be, for you to begin seeing water vapor from your breath? When I first brought my heater in to the garage, I was breathing out big vapor clouds. After the heater had been on for a few hours, all I could see was a few little vapor wisps. Obviously, it had become warmer.

 

Once again, thank you for all the help with this heater project. Everything works well and safely. Now, if I could just defrost all the snow and ice off the roads so that I could ride on some dry roads for a little bit. I am so through with winter mentally.

 

Happy New Year & Be Safe!

Pete.