University of Kentucky UKnowledge Agricultural Engineering Energy Series Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering 1-1984 Kerosene Heaters L. R. Piercy University of Kentucky S. S. Holland University of Kentucky E. S. Holmes University of Kentucky Donald G. Colliver University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits oy u. Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/aees_reports Part of the Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons Repository Citation Piercy, L. R.; Holland, S. S.; Holmes, E. S.; and Colliver, Donald G., "Kerosene Heaters" (1984). Agricultural Engineering Energy Series. 4. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/aees_reports/4 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Agricultural Engineering Energy Series by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AEES.35 0niversity of Kentucky College of Agriculture CooperatiraeE*ension Service KeroseneHeaters Department of Agricultural Engineering L.R.Piercy, S.S. Holland, E.S. Holmes and D.G.Colliver Manyfamilies are buying supplemental space Purchasing heatingunits in an attemptto useheat only where it Yourf irst whenselecting a unit is neededand thus lower the total heating bill. lf you consideration shouldbe the heater'ssuitability for yourparticular turn downyour centralheat thermostat and place requirements. sucha unitin a roomwhere the family spends most 1) ls the unlt sizedto flt the room to be of theirwaking hours, heating bills may be reduced. heated?-Theseheaters are constructed for a Suchsavings appear to be significant,but each specificBTU (heat) output and cannot be regulated. familyf irst needs to carefullyconsider the safety Onerule of thumbis to selecta unitby measuring risksand their energy savings potential as well as the the squarefootage of the roomand multiplyingby lifestylechanges that mightbe necessary. 28.As an example,a room18 feet by 20feet will Manykerosene heaters have been sold in the needa 10,000BTU heater(18 feet x 20 feetx 28 = UnitedStates in the pastfew years. Their popularity 10,080BTU). hascome as a resultof Jaoaneseresearch and an 2) ls ventllationposslble in the spaceto be improveddesign with burning efficiencies of over99 heated?-Manufacturersof unventedheaters specify percent.Previous kerosene burners had been ventilation 1 4 inchesof openingto fresh abandonedbecause of inefficiencies,odors and of to square airfor each1000 BTU/hour of heatercapacity. safetyhazards, but the newunvented Japanese window leavingdoors open to other burnerscurrently are being usetl by the millionsin Crackinga or areasis necessaryto accomplishthis and can cause Jaoan. heatlosses. Ventilation is essentialas any ln additionto theirimproved safety and serious processconsumes oxygen and givesoff efficiency,another advantage of thesenew kerosene combustion emissionsof carbondioxide, water vapor, carbon heatersis that they can be easilymoved f rom one monoxide,nitrogen dioxide and sometimes sulfur areato another.They also have some serious disadvantagesthat needto be consideredbefore purchasingone for yourhome. Disadvantages include:1) the difficultyand cost of obtaininghigh quality,1-K grade kerosene,2) the inabilityto control heatoutput, 3) the inconvenienceof fuelhandling andwick maintenance,4)the potentialhazard ol burnsand f ires,and 5) the effectsupon indoor air qualityby ventingburner emissions into the room. Theeconomics as wellas the advantagesand disadvantagesall needto be carefullyevaluated whenconsidering the purchaseof a keroseneheater. Safetyoften has been the subjectof greatest discussionand fuel cost savings the area of greatest claims.While many safety improvements have been made,it is wiseto rememberthat safetystill depends uponthe operator'swillingness to observeand practiceall safetyprecautions. Whether you save moneyon fuelcosts will depend on yourpresent heatingsystem and fuel costs,and how wellyou followsound energy management practices. Published bg the Coopemtiue Ertension Seruicein coopemtion with the fk'ntuckg Department of Energg as a Frt of the lkntuckg Energg ConseruationProgmm. qEES-35 dioxide.A buildupof theseundesirable emissions 11) ls the correcltype of keroseneavailable canoccur in homeswhich do not havethe necessary locally?-Heatersrequire a 1-K gradekerosene with ventilationrates. lessthan 0.04 percent sulphur by weight.Few 3) ls the unit designedlor spot heatingor suppliershave this grade and it is oftenexpensive unilormheating?-Kerosene heaters are available in andonly available in smallcontainers. You should two basictypes. The radianttype has polished finda dependablesource of 1-Kkerosene before reflectiveshields to directthe heatto a specific area purchasinga unit. for spotheating. The convection heaters release the heatuniformly in all directions.Most of the larger unitsare the convection type and provide more Fuel Onlytop qualitywater clear 1-K kerosene is uniformheating over larger areas. The radiant recommendedfor usein the heaters.The 1-Kgrade heatershowever release less nitrogen dioxide which hasa lowersulf ur content,less than 0.04 percent by is the mostcritical element in meetingindoor air weight,which minimizes the sulfur dioxide emissions qualitystandards. fromthe heaters.The morecommon 2-K grade 4) ls the unitU.L. llsted?-Look for the kerosene,which may also be waterclear, can contain UnderwritersLaboratory (UL) seal on the unit.This up to 0.30percent sulfur by weight.This sulfur certifiesthat the modelhas met minimum safety contentwould increase the sulfurdioxide emissions standardswhich includes such things as warnings by a factorof seven.The highersulfur content of andinstructions, stability tests, tip-over tests of the lowergrade f uelscan restrictf uel flow. This creates flameextinguishing system, maximum surface the needfor f requentwick cleaning and temperaturesand carbon monoxide emissions. maintenance.Poor wick maintenance can also lead 5) Do localcodes and your insurancecarrier to increasedemissions f rom the heater. permltlls use?-Portableheaters are legalfor usein Alwayskeep burner wicks clean by followingthe Kentuckybut may be restrictedby somelocal codes. manufacturer'sinstructions. Never use lower quality In addition,the useof keroseneheaters may increase fuelssuch as diesel or No.1 fueloil. Using gasoline yourinsurance rates. You should check these out or otherhighly flammable fuels can cause serious beforebuying a unit. firehazards. 6) ls it ol durableconstruction?-The durability Keroseneshould be stored in approvedmetal of any heatercan be checkedby observationand containersthat are clearly marked "Kerosene" and comparingits materialswith other units. havea distinctivecolor. Never store it in red 7) Doeslt havedouble walls or protectivegrllls containersthat could be confusedwith gasoline or to minimizecontact burns?-Contact burns, otherfuels. Never store it insidethe homewhere it especiallyto children,are a seriousconcern with any presentsa firehazard to the residentsand an added spaceheater located in trafficareas. Check the unit riskto firef ighters.Kerosene should be stored in a outfor a goodprotective cover. Consumers Union cool,well ventilated area to maintainquality. testingfound some surface temperatures exceeding Exposureto directsunlight or heatcan lowerthe 500degrees F.1 These temperatures can cause qualityof the keroseneand cause yellowing. Avoid seriousburns in lessthan one second. usingany kerosenestored over the summeror for 8) Doesthe unit havean ellectivesafety shut-off anylong period of time.Also, remember to storeit device?-Thesafety shut-off device should out of the reachof smallchildren. extinguishthe flameimmediately and cut off thefuel Keroseneis a Classll combustibleliquid, with a withouta significantspill in casethe unittips over. f lashpoint of approximately110 degrees F andan Reports that somesafety shut-off Consumer shows ignitiontemperature of 410degrees F, and it mustbe devicesare moreeffective than others.l handledwith respect.Since heater surfaces may 9) Doesit haveluel and levelgauges?-A fuel exceed500 degrees F, always allow the heatersto gaugehelps prevent over-filling or any unnecessary coolbefore ref ueling. Because of f irehazards, refueling.lt alsoprevents you f rom runningthe alwaysref uel outside away f rom hotsurfaces and heaterdry whichcan damage cotton type wicks. The openflames. Refueling indoors creates unnecessary levelgauge assists in levelingthe heaterfor uniform firehazards, and drips and spills can damage floors burningof the wick. andother objects. Using a siphonpump helps 10) ls it designedto preventburner flooding?- reducespillage during refueling. Makesure that the f ueltank inlet or wickpan is belowthe levelof the burnerunit to preventflooding. Emissions Althoughthe combustion process for the new tConsumer Reports,October 1982. portablekerosene heaters is highlyefficient, oxygen AEES-35 isconsumed and byproductsof combustionare Boththe Consumer'sUnion and the Consumer releasedinto the air.The mostcommon are carbon ProductSafety Commission have published dioxideand water vapors. Other emissions include informationconcerning emission levels from carbonmonoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur unventedkerosene heaters. They indicatedthe dioxide.The healtheffect of thesegases is stilla pollutantlevels created a clearhazard to the high pointof controversy.Research has indicated