"Recently renovated my 1400sqft cape-cod home and switched from oil-fired steam heat from about 60 years ago to all-electric. As it turns out, my state is lifting rate caps on electricity in 2010, so my electric bill will go up about 30% in January. Seeing this, I needed a solution to supplement the electric to keep costs down. I had a kero heater growing up, so I thought this might be the trick. Well, it hasn't disappointed yet. Granted, it hasn't gotten overly cold here yet (36 has been the low thus far this year) but with that, I haven't had to turn on the 5000W baseboards at all with this thing running and the ceiling fans on reverse. I placed the unit between the living room and dining room and it kept the 900sqft 3-room downstairs quite toasty...I even had to take it outside and turn it off a couple of times b/c it got too hot. With that in mind, I have no doubt it'll be able to stand up to sub-freezing temperatures and keep the electric at bay for most of the season.
The heater arrived promptly and was packed well in its original packaging. Installation was simple and I had it assembled in about 15 minutes (It was so simple I thought I had missed something and kept trying to read into the instructions more than needed to be). The only issue I've had with it was the auto-start mechanism. The "burner lifter" lever apparently got jammed in during shipping and was wedged in the "up" position. I didn't know this (since the instructions made no reference to what it should look like in a properly assembled position), but I eventually figured out that the auto-start was jammed and was keeping the burner housing in the upright position. Unfortunately, when I forced it back down, I snapped off the electric lighter, so I have no auto-start. This isn't a big deal really, since you can match or bic light the thing without issue (the long candle lighters work really good for this).
The capacity is pretty accurate, but I've had a bit shorter of a burn time, but that may be due to not adjusting the wick properly when the fuel gets lower. I can heat for about 8 hours on a tank (stopping early so it doesn't go out inside and stink up the place) before I refill. I'll generally use a tank a day if it runs constantly, which puts my costs (currently) at about $5/day. So if I run this all-day every day without electric, it would cost me about $150/mo to run...but my electric bills were $360/mo LAST year (about $80/mo without a/c or heating), and adding 30% to that, they'd probably be around $430/mo. Pay $150/mo for a warm house or $350/mo? Easy.
There is an odor that is given off by the kerosene, but its not overly powerful and there isn't any soot that comes off (unless your wick is way to low). Just remember to shut it off and light it outside and you'll be fine. It comes with a siphon, so no need to buy one of those, but you'll need some kero containers that can run about $15 a piece. There is also an additive that cleans the wick and adds scent (sold separately), but I've found it more neutralizes the kero odor rather than adding the "lavender" scent it claims to.
All in all, a great product, recommend it to supplement your heating needs this winter and many winters to come."
What is your level of technical expertise? Home Handyman
