more thoughts on power and heat

[mikebw]

Can't you just leave the faucets running to prevent the pipes from freezing?

[lazydays]

I thought I had the larger mr. heater but it did not have a fan so maybe it was the smaller one. I'm sure it would work for keeping pipes from freezing if it was just heating a small area.

In the old days I think it was pretty common to use kerosene heaters indoors but it was also pretty common that houses had a lot of unintended airflow that probably made it safe'ish.

When I was in college I rented this odd little house that started as a mother-in-law's house. Kind of a garage looking thing with a second floor added on except there were power lines in the way so the second floor had a serious angle on one side. I'm talking about leaning sideways to use the shower. Anyway, to make this on topic, I had baseboard heat and it cost a fortune. So I turned the temp WAY down and in the morning I would run a propane heater for a hour while I got ready for school. Way back then propane was cheap. I still use it today, ztirffritz has actually seen the heater in my garage while brewing beer. :-)

[ztirffritz]

A few years ago my furnace broke on Christmas Eve or Christmas day and between the Christmas holidays, a weekend and New Years, it took a few days to get a repair person on site without mortgaging the house to pay for it. Meantime, it was 10deg or lower outside. I used my wood burning stove to heat the house and a Mr. Heater in our bedroom. It was actually TOO hot in the house. I'd get the wood burning stove up to top temp then turn on the furnace blower to circulate the air. That would move a bunch of hot air from the living room to the rest of the house an equalize the temps a bit. Mr Heater isn't going to get your room up to 70deg, but it will keep the room above freezing which was my goal. My wife and I zipped sleeping bags together and had several heavy blankets on us to keep warm. I had an electric oil radiator space heater in my son's room. He was only an infant at the time. It kept his room a cozy 70deg.

[Bill in NC]

If you use kerosene regularly, enjoy cleaning the film it will leave on your walls.

I would always prefer to use a vented heater first, but in an emergency would choose propane over kerosene.

The only advantage I see to kerosene is that it is far cheaper than propane.

[Grateful11]

Bill in NC wrote:
If you use kerosene regularly, enjoy cleaning the film it will leave on your walls.

I would always prefer to use a vented heater first, but in an emergency would choose propane over kerosene.

The only advantage I see to kerosene is that it is far cheaper than propane.

K1 Kerosene is over $4/gal around here. Tractor Supply sells propane for a $1.99/gal. I get my grill
tank filled there because they only charge for what they put in. There are some that charge a flat rate
to top one off.

BTW: If someone has a Kerosun heater in their home I can tell as soon as I walk in the door. The only
kerosene heater I would ever consider would be a Monitor brand, oops just checked they no longer make them.

[Speedy]

mikebw wrote:
Can't you just leave the faucets running to prevent the pipes from freezing?

Yes, a slow stream will keep the pipes from freezing.