I have been told that it is against the law to sell kerosene heaters in some states, due to the fire hazard they cause. It might have changed, but two years ago one could not buy them in CT.
A few of my neighbors have them. This is a rural area of New England where many of us have *old* houses, as in 19th century, with partial dirt floor, unheated basements. The only use my neighbors make of these heaters in when the temperature get REAL low and they are concerned about their pipes freezing. Then they use the heaters for a while.
We rural types do not have natural gas. Our only option is propane. Propane is not cheap by any means. I use it for hot water and my stove and the last time I was filled-up, its was $1.86/gallon. Other people pay more than this, as much as $2.09 [from the same company--cost is based on past usage]. So, all in all, depending on where one lives, kerosene might work out cheaper.
My _big_ complaint about kerosene is that it is dirty heat, sort of greasy [and therefor hard to wash off walls], worse than wood.
BTW, stores like K-Mart (Big K) sell something called Mr. Heater. It screws on top of a small propane tank to use it as a heat source. I have one at my cabin and I get about 1 1/2 days heat out of a 20 lb. propane tank running it 24 hours on the low setting. As I recall, they cost about $50.
Lynn |
