"I'll tell you what - a person
would have to be either a Communist or
a jackass to ask a question
like that. Maybe both."
Posted on 01/06/2014 12:27:07 PM PST by virgil283
Advise for back up heat for house...kerosene or propane ? Price vs BTU output ...other ?
That's my point. Torpedos, et. al.
That depends if you are depending on Free Child Labor for your wood supply...
Actually, some of my fondest memories from childhood surround those times with my Dad and brother. My Dad worked his butt off, did lots of overtime to provide for us. Those hours in the woods spent with him were cherished.
I think you’re getting the drift that propane is preferable, and I would wholeheartedly agree *especially* for indoor use.
Fuel handling; dealing w/liquid fuel and the opportunity to spill it. Not a big deal outdoors but not nice if you spill indoors trying to fill your heater. Bad deal for kerosene. In a truly rotten situation, should the heater fall over (think: big dog) and produce a leak, say, on an absorbent rug that gets ignited, that’d be a hell of a problem. That is not to say that the same dog knocking a propane heater onto a flammable surface could not ignite things; but there isn’t a spilling liquid involved.
The amount of time a tank might last: Propane, no contest.
The only bad thing about propane is that the vapor is heavier than air. That’s one of the reasons why boaters tend to dislike it. You can have little leak after little leak accumulate in the lower part of a boat’s bilge, and without ventilation, can build up to an explosive mixture over time.
With people walking around and doors being opened from time to time, I can’t see this being an issue.
I have also heard, but it has not been my experience that burning propane in stoves, etc; produce lots of condensation = humidity in a home. That’s a nat gas vs propane comparison, you don’t have that option, otherwise you’d be using nat gas.
We are in agreement. But be honest, someone not willing to install permanent propane backup for $2~300 isn’t going to buy a cheaper portable heater then spend $4~700 on a CO2 monitor.
I live in the country and have a main furnace propane and 2 decorative fireplaces that also use the propane. We have a 500 gallon tank. There is no bad odor whatsoever when using the main furnace, and the fireplaces when lit have an initial propane odor that lasts about a minute, and then they are a nice aesthetic addition to our 2 family rooms. I don’t need them for the heat, so I can’t really keep them on that often. They’ll heat you out of the room.
I think propane is cheaper and definitely easier. Kerosene is more btus but far more expensive at 4.95 while propane was under 2 last time I filled the tank.
with a window cracked
Cheers!
She don’t lie...she don’t lie....she don’t lie.....Propane!
My back up heating and cooking is a 3 cords of split logs and a pot belly stove.
If I had to choose between kerosene and propane I would go propane all the way. Just make sure you have a CO2 alarm and nobody is sleeping on the floor.
When we built new in 2001, we bought a ground source heat/AC system with four 200 foot wells under our driveway. The brand is Water Furnace.
In the years we have lived her we've had only one service call for a blown fuse I couldn't locate.
I have had a number of homes and cabins. My preference, vented in either case. You can still get vented floor furnaces for propane. They are not the most efficient, but require no power to operate. You can also still get vented kerosene stoves, often billed as oil stoves. Stick to kerosene for an oil stove. #2 heating oil adds in a LOT more of maintenance.
Propane has 1/3 less btu’s than kero. SO, your propane prices should be 1/3 less than propane, if you are going to look for equals wrt price per btu.
Around here, propane in bulk (like 400 gal or so), runs about $2.50 a gallon. Kero runs slightly above #2 oil (I recently paid $3.50 a gallon for heating oil).
Oil (kerosene) vented stoves are gravity fed, so a regular heating fuel tank raised above the base of the stove, will do fine.
Spend the money to get it installed and vented correctly. The family you save will be your own.
Having used both, LP has a certain fragrance when burnt but less CO than K-1 kerosene. Kerosene heaters should be started and extinguished outdoors as they emit a large amount of odor at startup and shutdown. I can’t say they it smells bad while operating but there is a certain odor with them as well.
I prefer propane for ease of use and the fact that it doesn’t get “stale” in the can.
Heard those guys that did that song
on our talk station a long time ago.
We laughed all through the interview.
Unable to remember the name of the group.
Northern Tool is a good place to look
for heaters,stoves and propane tanks.
Motors apparently live longer on a Pure Sine (or close digital approximation) Wave.
Radios are happier, especially if a capacitance is added.
Modified (Pseudo) Sine Wave inverters lack (except for powering incandescent lamps and simple electric heaters).
Yeah my computers worked, but later needed new power supplies (yeah, I know backup computer PS's are mostly "modified" sine wave "providers".)
Yep, motors are about the only items that “need” pure sine.
I use the set up in post 15. And a co detector. I don’t crack a window as the house is old and though it doesn’t feel drafty there is some infiltration. The detector has gone off twice in about 200 hours of backup use.
When buying a propane heater for indoors you prefer to get a model with the pressure reducer outdoors.
Many small emergency type heaters have the presure reducer on the heater so you have full pressure indoors which is a significant added risk.
I work in indoor air quality. Use CO2 meters all the time.
They’re an excellent indication of whether ventilation is adequate. Not so much because CO2 itself causes such huge problems when excessive, but because lack of ventilation allows other pollutants and irritants that aren’t as easy to measure to build up.
Do you see them installed in homes?
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