This unit works very well ru-vid.comUgkxl2o1MQU4aMgmFk_cMqer4nH2ptpDEM6h Considering the price I paid for this, I didn't have high expectations, but now after using it, I consider this is a well designed heater. Do be aware that doing the dry burn on the wick as recommended (or at least every two tanks) is absolutely necessary to avoid an unclean burn, fortunately it's easy enough to do. I'm burning dyed K1 kerosene and do a dry burn every two tanks and this is working great. This unit will heat a little over the 500 square feet that it is rated for depending on the temperature. On days it isn't bitter cold this heater will do a fair amount more. This makes an excellent emergency heat source, and also in my situation, it is a little more efficient than the electric heat in the teen temps and below.
Just bought a similar heat mate kerosene heater from someone for 50 bucks for the same emergency purposes. I'll probably watch the video one more time before I actually practice lighting it up while its still warm out. Thanks for sharing! 😊👍
Just found one of these a Dura heat DH2304 in the free pile screeched to a halt, and took it off their hands! Cleaned up really easy looks like it was used only once! some kero left in it, but will dump it tomorrow and put in some fresh stuff and see what happens thanks for the Vid.jim
weve had one for abour a year now and the husband and i were wondering recently why we couldnt get it to light. then you mentioned batteries and i was like "what? no way." so i went and looked and sure enough! changed those bad boys out and now we have heat again!
Its going below zero tonight and I wanted to get a refresher. I never used an Omni230 before This video is informative . I don't have much space in my trailer. I don't think he mentioned anything about location. be sure to keep it away from a couch for example. I think I will do the bathroom possibly the tub. I have a board so that I can create a level spot. I plan to upload videos in the future. I have a few I did a while back . I'll try to keep on track. Happy New Year 2018
OK, I have to be the safety guy. These things can and do give of CO. In today's air tight homes, ventilation with these things is even more crucial than days gone by. To be on the safe side, get a battery operated CO detector for the room it is in. Cheers!
Thank you.. question when it says to soak the wick for 60 min is that simply filling up the tank and letting it sit for 60 min before lighting or do you need to adjust the which? I’m thinking the wick is in the lowest position if off so that is the position for soaking. Just confirming thanks
Any chance you could do I dry burn tutorial on how to properly dry burn one of these heaters. I just bought one the other day and I will have to do it's first dry burn tomorrow according to the manual. So it would be nice to be able to have a reference to know if im doing it correct and can improve. Since I have neither operated nor maintained one before.
Go to "milesstair.com." you will learn a lot more reading his stuff than you will on anything I've seen on RU-vid. Gas station Kero is crap, but cheap. Treated with correct procedures, it works well enough. Burn dry is simple. After it burns out once, let it sit for awhile ( the longer, the better ). Then, relight it. Keep repeating until you can't light it anymore. When the heater is cool, remove the chimney and crank the wick up all the way. Start pushing the wick out from the center. You will feel hardness. Push against the hard areas. Do this all around the wick. This is carbon. Lower the wick and if possible, vacuum out all the loose carbon. If you can't vacuum, lower the wick until it is level with the body of the heater and brush off the carbon. Do this a couple of times. Then, raise the wick again and light it again. It takes a long time. One dry burn is not enough. I have several heaters, so I can rotate them in and out of service. Good luck, and check out Miles. He is the only person I've found who knows what he's talking about.
Is kerosene at the gas pumps the same that they sell at Home Depot? They sell 1 gallon containers for 10 buck, but the pump at the station has it for 4.59 a gallon?????
Cathy Mitchell - That's one of the first signs of carbon-monoxide poisoning. ( also dizziness, drowsiness, etc.) Get a good carbon-monoxide detector and have some ventilation when you're using it. If you are following your instruction manual and you are still having problems, get the unit serviced. For right now, quit using it until you determine what the problem is. Carbon-monoxide (CO) will KILL you before you have time to react, especially if you are sleeping while using it. Take this very seriously. Thousands of people die every year from carbon-monoxide. Please be careful and don't be one of them. Take care! :-)
Thank you so much for your comment. I have a detector, but no battery in it. Okay so crack a window or something, I figure that would defeat the purpose. I think I'll just stick to a space heater.
Hey brother, watching this in 2023. Just bought my home a year and a half ago and propane is killing me financially. Just bought a kerosene heater and am totally new to this. Super super helpful and realistically probably a life saver. Thank you for this informative video. Still help people like me 11 years later.
@@helenfisler-parker9005 you'll get used to it. I usually light my heater outside and then bring it in once it gets going. Make sure your wick isn't turned up to high. Some people put a little water in a pot and set it on top the heater.
Yes sir - me too. But we can still learn SO much nowadays compared to the past when a guy had to rely on others he knew or books & manuals that is a whole lot more inconvenient than youtube!
And make sure the adjuster knob is complete counter clockwise, past being off. I left mine to soak for an hour and a half and it was still fairly dry. Then I realized it wasn’t fully sitting down in the tank
Hey Craig...I used to use a kerosene heater every winter when I lived in Pennsylvania for like 8 years- loved them!...It really comes in handy and helps cut heating costs big time in comparison with electric prices. The best thing to do in my experience , is to fill it up outside, and also light it outside so it "burns off" the initial kerosene on the wick, and the smell wont linger in your home as well....great video bud ^5
Hey, thanks for the video! My husband tells me over the phone, "Just light it!". Unfortunately, I needed more instruction, so as not to burn the garage down. This is just what I needed. Thanks!
interesting points ,if anyone else needs to find out about how to attract abundance try Tarbetti Amazing Attraction Tutor(Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now ) ? Ive heard some great things about it and my co-worker got great results with it.
Wow. This video is 10 years old and still very helpful. I am originally from South Florida and never used a kerosene heater. I'm now living in SC and just went through a snow storm and was worried about losing power. I looked into kerosene heaters and ordered one and after watching this video I believe I will be able to use it properly now. Thanks for a great video.
I light mine in the house but I carry it out before I turn it off. There is some odor when igniting, but it's not bad at all. But when you turn it off, it puts out a lot of fumes. Probably won't hurt you but it's pretty strong, for me anyways.
I'm in Canada as well and lucked out at a yard sale yesterday. Bought an identical Kero-World 2404 for $30.00!! It had hardly been used. Going to be great for power outages. So keep your eyes peeled at yard sales. The one he's showing in the video is over $300 at Home Hardware and Canadian Tire. I love it when I get a good deal!!
Thanks for making this, Craig. You hit on the gaps I needed filled to properly run my new heater. Videos like this are so valuable to those of us with nobody to teach us. I could have learned through trial and error but that's a poor alternative to being shown firsthand. Thanks again.
Thank you! We use this every evening, but my husband is always the one who gets it started. Well, he's not here tonight and it's freezing! I just read the entire owners manual, but they made the process so dang complicated that I ended up feeling even less comfortable trying to start it than I did before reading them. Lol. Thank goodness for you tube! This video was exactly what I needed! Simple, easy to follow and thorough. Honestly, the manufacturers should put a link to this video directly on the heating unit instead of their own useless website. Lol. Thanks again!
Dude thank you SO MUCH for making this! You explained how to use it so well. I had no clue how the wick worked and and a few other things, but you explained everything in detail.
I had no power ice storm of 2 inches power was out 5 days 39 inside no heat til neighbor brought me propane but he bought this kerosene heater loved it
This is a very well done video. Thank you. Its a great refresher for those of us in the summer climates who occasionally need to supplement our heat pumps during winter freezes, especially in the So. Appalachians where power can be interrupted at inconvenient times. My main interest was flame adjustment to minimize odor and I think this video got it right.
also, I know it's been 10 years, but gasoline can be stored for 2-3 years if you use ethanol free gasoline in an airtight can. The alcohol in modern fuel is what makes it take in more water from the air around it, making it go bad faster.
For anyone who anticipates using one of these at some point in your life, this is 15 minutes well spent. Here's a couple of ideas that will make your wife happier: (1) some Big Box stores offer a liquid substance (in small bottles) that you can mix in with the kerosene to make it smell better - some places offer several different fragrances, and (2) when you light it, do it outdoors, let it set for a little bit, like he says, then bring it inside. When you turn it off, turn it off outdoors, and bring it in a few minutes later.
The key to stopping the smell and the smoke is to ensure the wick assembly is PERFECTLY CENTERED. otherwise this thing will smoke like a WWI Battleship. Good news is, once you have the wick centered, the smell and smoke are gone gone and this thing is throwing out heat like you can't imagine.
Thank you SO MUCH! I was really pretty nervous about using this thing and your guide really helped me...............Especially the step about filling up the Kerosene and waiting one hour. Anyway my heater started on the first try and I had a warm house last night. Thank you!!!!!
Before lighting it for the first time, or before filling it up after tank has been empty for a while, you need to let it sit for an hour so the wick soaks up the kerosene. If you don't do this, you'll burn your wick. I can tell by your video that the front part of your wick is burned because you don't let your wick soak before lighting it. You only need to do this when your tank has been empty for a while.
I've watched several videos on how to use the heater properly. Yours has given me so much more detail and I feel more comfortable about using the heater as a secondary source of heat if needed. Thanks for the in-depth detail. Especially on how high the wick should be which is one of the main things I was looking for information on. Great job.
thanks for the reply. There are state regulations with using kerosene heaters inside the home. Massachusetts is one of them, doesn't allow them indoors. I am not sure about NY, NJ and CT but $20 for 2.5 gallons means $8 a gallon for kerosene which is about double the price of gas. I've read that these kerosene heaters last about 12 hrs per full tank which is 1.9 gallons. I guess it depends on how cold it is and how big your house is to know how often the heater needs to be used.
It depends on how many BTUs it's rated for. The type he is showing is a very powerful heater. I get about 10-12 hours on a tank, which is about 1/2 gallon.
These heaters were great until the oil companies started ripping people off with the outrageously high K1 kerosene prices. $10 minimum a gallon here in NY. And K2 stinks too much to use, so...
The way to clean a wick so you don’t have to have them replaced so much is. When the kerosene is almost gone. If if you smell carbon. Turn it off. Place outside. Let sit around 30 to 1 hour. Then wind wick all the way to its highest point. And lite. Leave it that way till it burns completely out. When you refill the heater afterwards, you’re kerosene wick will be clean. And light up quickly.
when i was a kid, my parents had one of these. we used it all the time in the winter to save on the heating bill. they are very reliable, and should last for many years. great video as always craig. cheers!!!
I have this heater, I hate replacing the wick, bought a 100 year old one called the Perfection 525, simple to change the wick, I was raised up using kerosene heaters
Memorex88 here. I've had a kerosene heater for over 20 years now and it saved us during the 1998 ice storm which left us with no power or heat for 2 weeks! It's true that the kerosene stays stable for many years as I had to clean years of dust off the unit but it lit up and burned no problem with the years old fluid that was in there. Glad I own one, just in case!
everyone in Texas should have watched this. People were abandoning their houses and doing really stupid stuff just because it was too cold. Oh, and it DOES get pretty cold in north Texas almost every winter, it shouldnt have been the end of the world. Why would you not have a propane or kenosene heater? No generator, no nothing. that was an embarrassment.
Cool! I bought one of these after the crazy freeze and power outage in Texas 2 years ago and I'm a total millennial and don't know what I'm doing, so I needed a little tutorial. Ha ha Thanks!
Thank you so much for your demonstration and for showing the correct wick/flame height. I saw a few videos, but was still confused in the end. You were very detailed and I appreciate this! I'm no longer confused or concerned.
Thank you for this! Very informative. I would never have considered a kerosene heater but after getting quotes from electricians of $700 to install a proper generator switch (not including the generator!) to try to keep my oil furnace running during outages, this makes so much more sense. I didn't know kerosene was so stable and clean burning, and the heaters are actually affordable. And you can cook on them?! Major plus! I learned a lot today. Thanks again!
I think of them as big kerosene lanterns when it comes to adjusting the wick. Youve got a little wiggle room but ya pretty much adjust it to where it burns the best. I cant really expain it but when you nail it you can tell
I always start mine outside, and bring it in after a couple minutes. They all smell a little when they first start. Also, when I shut it off, I take it outside too...
that sucks. who wants to go outside in the freezing cold when the intention is to use a heater and be warm? go out to the workshop or car to grab something, sure, light and extinguish a heater because if you dont it'll stink, no.
@@dangerdavefreestyle I don't care to do that either, although I've heard a few folks take it outside and start it up. The instructions say not to move it once it is lit.I start it in the spot I want it to work and don't move it until it is off and cold.
I have been using one all this winter to offset the cost of oil heat. Can't have a woodstove here, this heater has saved us from freezing this winter! $2000 later, we ran out of oil and didn't have the money for more. Kerosene is cheaper and heats enough we don't freeze. Highly recommend having one on hand if you can get the fuel at a reasonable price.
This video is exactly what I needed to watch. I have one of these that I got from my brother in law and will be using it for the first time. I'm a single mom of two kids (going through a divorce) and our blizzard will be here tomorrow in PA. This will be my heat source and stove if the power goes out, which I think it will. I've read the manual, but your video is much better! I was nervous about using this, but now I feel more at ease! Thank you very much!
Heather Fletcher we've used ours daily, for 2-3 weeks at a time in ice storms or whatever. Never had any issues with the kids or anyone else. Most smell comes when lighting or putting it out, but not bad at all. Keeps it very warm inside!
Craig - thank you a million!! My brother bought me one of these heaters and I was SCARED TO DEATH to use it. We live in New Jersey, and my particular area loses electricity often. We just were expecting a huge snow fall. My brother called to have me get ready with the heater. I told him NO, I'd rather freeze to death than try that thing. BUT your video changed my mind ENTIRELY!! It gave me the confidence to try it. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I am using it right now. It is working just as you said. And just to tell you - I reviewed your video 3 times before trying it (that's how scared I was). YOU ARE THE BEST!
Talks too much and I still learned nothing. Kerosene heaters are the bomb diggity. How come no one ever told me about these things from the b.c. ages tho :/? I do enjoy saving money. I just don't know the basics to this thing. I don't even know how to get the cap off the gas jug, Wever. I pushed down & twisted. I still got nothing. So I just poured it into the hole w/ out the pump. 🤷🏻♀️ That works too. Anyways, at least it's igniting from the inside.
I'm getting one today. They are $125 here in the USA at home depot, and $10 more for the black one at Lowe's. Same brand just a different color. I'll most likely get the black one. Thanks for posting this.
I recently bought a kerosene heater similar to the one demonstrated. It was my best decision: Dec 23-24 we had a "bomb cyclone" hit the Great Lakes area. Just before that, my furnace went out. Well, the snow and wind blew and the temp went down to -17 degrees. Meanwhile, my heater gave out 23 K BTUs to keep me warm.
thanks so much for the info we had one of these growing up I decided to buy one at a yard sale for five bucks and just needed an update on how to operate great job
Thank you for the video. A friend just gave me one of these he bought a few years ago.He never could get it to work. I watched your video and it fired right up using your instructions.
Good question; at 3:00 he briefly says 1-K Kerosene also known as paraffin. Fifty years ago we bought paraffin and called these paraffin heaters. I guess 1-K Kerosene is a fancy modern name for paraffin to make it sound expensive. 😵
Whenever I turned the heater off, I siphoned out the kerosene and every time let the wick burn out. This had to be done outdoors because of the bad odor it gave off. This was extra work, BUT the heater always ran well (no fumes or smoke with a good flame that gave off lots of heat) AND I didn't have to change the wick in at least six years, despite having burned hundreds of gallons of kerosene in it. Wicks are expensive and a pain to change, and unless you burn them out, they carbon up and don't work well. Also, make sure you get a good grade of kerosene, otherwise the flame will be low. Once, they delivered the wrong fuel and the inside of the heater turned yellow from sulfur. I used to light my burner with a match, and added a few drops of gasoline to the exposed unlit wick so that it would catch on fire better. The wick needs about an hour to burn out. (You can tell because the heat and fumes are gone). Fill it up and let it set for at least an hour to allow the wick to saturate. I loved the kerosene heater, but recently switched to a NG space heater because kerosene was so expensive ($4.33/gallon) and I couldn't find anybody to deliver it anymore. I had to take jugs to fill at the local gas station where they also sold kerosene. It was too expensive, labor intensive and hard to control to the desired temp. Still, I miss the ritual of lighting it and the warm, friendly glow when you come in from the cold. A therm (100k btu's) of heat from kerosene costs about $3.20, while it's only $0.90 for NG, about 30% as much.
I live in Alabama, on the Gulf of Mexico. If temperatures dip far below freezing, there will be a couple deaths, the elderly, even then. I had wondered what people do in the Northern states after a Winter Blizzard knocks out power for days at a time. Not everyone has a fireplace or wood burning stove. It is scary to think that you and your family could freeze to death during those times. This kerosene heater is a very good option. -Liked-
