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I've used one of these for about 3 fill-ups now: about 36 hours of use. (I don't think it will ever be 16 hours on 1 gallon, but 12 is fine by me.)
It's flawless. It smells a very little bit at start-up and shut-down, but while it's running it's essentially odorless. And perfectly quiet (a very soft gurgle once every ten minutes or so when it needs to sip some fuel into some internal tank) -and it puts out a lot of heat.
I have a room that's maybe 300 square feet with 5 big windows. On a cold night (close to 0 degrees F.) this thing can warm up that room by 2 or 3 degrees in 10 minutes, and maybe by 8 or 9 degrees in an hour. If you sit across the room and it's pointed straight at you, you can feel it right away.
It easy to fill up. There's a cannister that you carry outside (garage) and fill from your kerosene container with a hand-powered siphon. Worked the first time. This may not work if your outdoor kerosene container is too low, but then you can just use a funnel. The cannister stands up nicely by itself for filling, on a level surface (like a garage floor).
There's a little window on the cannister that lets you see when it's almost empty during use -and when it's almost full during fill-up.
When you want to turn it off, you press the "extinguish" button -the big knob in the middle winds rapidly counterclockwise -makes a loud noise -and the flame usually goes out immediately. Sometimes it may gutter for 30 secs or so before completely going out.
At start-up time the flame gutters a little for maybe 60 secs before the combustor starts to glow red, then the flame stabilizes and becomes perfectly quiet. You can't really see a flame except a little bit of blue -maybe a quarter inch at the very top of the combustor.
It's very easy to start up using the little battery starter device -you just push a red button, hold it for a second, then slowly release. I've done maybe 20 starts so far on one pair of batteries. You can start it with a match instead if you want to (or have to.) But the battery-powered starter is nice.
The back and the top and sides of the unit stay COOL TO THE TOUCH after an hour of use. Probably indefinitely.
This gadget is an example of a perfect combination of high-tech (the way the combustion works) and low-tech (it's .... kerosene, after all.)
There aren't many things this good. Cast iron pans, maybe? And ... um ... windmills that really work ? I don't know.
I don't see how I could ask this thing to be any better.
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I've been using kerosene heaters for about 25 years now and really like them. I picked this unit up at a local Tru-Value because my old Kero Sun was malfunctioning. My first impression of this product is it's well put together. It looks well designed and feels solid. I prefer the square units over the round ones as the square units have removable fuel tanks and thus are more convenient to refuel. This unit also has a few nice touches like a little lip on the fuel tank handle which makes it a bit easier to remove. Another nice touch is a cover for the batteries. This is the first time I've seen this on a kerosene heater. This helps resist battery corrosion.I've used kerosene heaters for two purposes; to lower my heating bills and to have a backup source of heat during power outages. I use my main furnace to heat the house up to my desired temperature. I start the kerosene heater up at the same time and position it below a ceiling fan turning clockwise. Once the house is warmed up, the furnace cuts out and the kerosene heater keeps the house warm for the rest of the day. If your house is reasonably insulated, this should work for you as well. If it's really cold, like in the single digits or below, your furnace will kick on but a lot less frequently. I figure for every dollar I spend on kerosene I save three on my heating bill. I haven't had an energy bill over $200 and I have a 1700 square foot house. At this writing, kerosene is about $3.00 per gallon. Even leaving the unit on 16 hours a day, I spend about $60.00 per month on kerosene in the coldest months.
Kerosene heaters do require regular maintenance. If you don't clean the wick, you could be harmed by fumes emitted by a dirty wick causing the fuel to not completely burn. It's very simple. It's called dry burning. Place the unit in a well ventilated place, preferably outside. Remove the tank and put the wick in the ignite position. Light the unit and let it run dry. Once the flame is out, take an old toothbrush and brush the burned carbon off the wick then thoroughly vacuum the unit. Then put a new tank of fuel in and you're done. If you perform this maintenance for every five gallons of kerosene used, which should be once a week, you'll be fine. The unit should be fully cleaned and serviced once a year by a professional or by you if you know what you're doing.
For a little effort and common sense, you will save hundreds of dollars every heating season. The unit will pay for itself in just a few months.
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I am going on my third season with this heater and it is serving me well. My parents always used a kerosene heater and now I use one myself. They are really great...don't let propaganists try to tell you they are "death traps." I have a 1200 sq ft row house built in 1949 and frequently use my kerosene heater all winter long to take some stress off my heating bill.It sounds like some of the other reviewers were not using the correct fuel. You should use UNDYED, clear 1-K Kerosene. Do not use kerosene that is dyed red (the IRS requires kerosene sold for certain purposes to be dyed). I tried this dyed kero once and it wreaked havok on my wick...the wick gets all gummed up with residue so it will no longer raise and retract after just a few gallons. This is just another way that the government screws up our lives.
With the correct fuel, this heater produces beautiful, radiant heat. It is very cosy, and like having a little fireplace in the room. Cats and dogs love to sleep in front of it. You do have to be a little bit of a "hands on" person to manage a kerosene heater, but it is well worth the little amount of work.
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