# K-1 Kerosene ???????????



## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

I will first admit that I know little about kerosene space heaters, etc., so I have a few questions. 
A local guy , who is a disabled vet , lives alone in a small house that does not have any heat or electricity. He was looking for any type of heater as it was 18Â° down here, in FLORIDA, for a couple of mornings.
Anyway, someone offered him a kerosene space heater & he wouldn't take it. He said that you couldn't find K-1 Kerosene for it anywhere around this small town. It doesn't seem long ago that most service stations sold it. I checked around & noticed that no stations were selling it. I saw some in a one gallon can at a hardware store for $10 PER gallon & I thought I would faint.
Is anyone here using K-1 in heaters/lamps & where do you get it for a reasonable price ??
NOTE; there are not any heating oil companies around here.


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## praieri winds (Apr 16, 2010)

we got ours from a place that also sells propane gas $5.00 a gal


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

We used to use one, until the price of kerosene was nearly double the cost of using the electric. Then when gas went real high most stations stopped carrying kerosene.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

a propain heater that mounts to the wall would be best he just needs a clear section of wall space , the tanks can be set outside 

if it was a emergency only heat i would get a Britlyte lantern clear the table and put the heat adapter on then set it on the table you light them outside then carry them in that and a battery powered carbon monoxide detector and he should be set.

the lanterns will burn anything burnable gas diesle


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## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I can still get K-1 at a gas station in a nearby town, but as someone else has said, it's much more expensive than running electricity. Really a shame as I used to heat a lot with kerosene.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I lived in a cold climate for a year with only kerosene heat. I got my 1-K kerosene from a pump at a gas station. It was about $4/gallon, but that was maybe 3 years ago. I bought two blue 5-gallon plastic kerosene cans at Walmart so I could buy kerosene 10 gallons at a time. I had a fairly small house (~500 sq ft) but I would still burn about a gallon a day during the coldest time of the year.

Unvented kerosene heat is safe if you follow the rules.



Provide at least 200 cubic feet of living space for each 1,000 btu/hour of heating capacity (that's total unvented capacity, so include a gas range if you have one).
Do not put the heater in a room that can be isolated from the above living space with a door (i.e., don't put it in a bedroom or bathroom).
Place the heater 36" away from anything flammable (wooden chairs, etc.).
Use a CO detector.
Even with following the above guidelines, there are still problems with kerosene heat. We coughed a lot when we used kerosene, and our clothes always smelled of kerosene (neighbors would remark about it sometimes).

But the biggest problem was convenience, since kerosene heaters have no thermostat. I had to run downstairs 2 or 3 times each night to adjust the flame. It was always getting too hot or too cold in the house. Those temperature swings really cost us in fuel efficiency too. The only thing good you can say about kerosene heat is that it doesn't require any installation; you just set it on the floor and start using it.

The ventless propane furnace cured that. The thermostat let me set it and forget it, so I could sleep the whole night through uninterrupted. Our coughing stopped, and our clothes didn't smell of kerosene. It was also a lot less expensive to heat the house with propane fuel (maybe 75% of what kerosene cost to do the same job). The furnace itself was no more expensive than the kerosene heater was to purchase in the first place. Mine was a 20,000 btu/hour model that I bought at eBay for about $125 delivered.


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## Aintlifegrand (Jun 3, 2005)

Esteban29304 said:


> I will first admit that I know little about kerosene space heaters, etc., so I have a few questions.
> A local guy , who is a disabled vet , lives alone in a small house that does not have any heat or electricity. He was looking for any type of heater as it was 18Â° down here, in FLORIDA, for a couple of mornings.
> Anyway, someone offered him a kerosene space heater & he wouldn't take it. He said that you couldn't find K-1 Kerosene for it anywhere around this small town. It doesn't seem long ago that most service stations sold it. I checked around & noticed that no stations were selling it. I saw some in a one gallon can at a hardware store for $10 PER gallon & I thought I would faint.
> Is anyone here using K-1 in heaters/lamps & where do you get it for a reasonable price ??
> NOTE; there are not any heating oil companies around here.


Lowes and Tractor supply sell it in 5 gallon cans by there heaters ( DYNA GLOW kerosene heaters)..I get mine at a hardware store here for 5.00 a gallon..Lowes and TS is for 40.00 for 5 gallons...high but no more than he will need for the few cold nights.. it should last awhile.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Probably no one sells it in your area of Florida because the demand is so low.

I'd take a ventless propane ANY day over kerosene like the one Nevada shows because of the thermostat, less mess, and less stink....kero stinks on lite up and burn out....and you have to replace wicks, etc.

I have a couple brand new kero heaters still in the box from the days when I had rental houses, figuring I'd take them over there if the power was out for an extended period to keep the pipes from freezing, but I wouldn't run one in my own house ( wood heat ).


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

I've got a kerosene heater that I use in October/November when the weather may be too warm for a full blown wood-heated fire. I use it for a couple of hours before going to bed and then shut it off. We'll fire it up in the morning if we need to. 

It is expensive though and you wouldn't want to use it as regular heat source (we did as kids in a house we lived in though... but then it was REAL cheap to run them.

I will always keep one around because Kerosene/Diesel is more abundant than gasoline (if you look at the refining charts you'll understand what I am saying).

You CAN cook on them which is a bonus also.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

the best bet off grid for the least cost with the safest , is the mount on the wall heater , the amish around here use them in their buisinesses , not sure about homes never been invited in. so they need no electric they have a spark ignitor you use when you turn them on then they hold a pilot light till you shut off the gas

100lb cilinders should be delivered for peoples gas stoves and such or they can be run off the 20# cylinders if he has no electric he may well already cook with LP and have a tank.



nevada thanks for the picture , that helps people understand what they are.

it is sometimes hard for northerns to understand that with no demand for heating appliances that lowes , home depot ect... don't carry these things , not to mention no oil delivery or genraly any heating stuff at all 

here in Wisconsin about september all the heating stuff fills the stores as do coats , longjohns , hats ,mittens , electric blankets


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

5 Gal cans at Lowes or Home Depot would be a better price. I get them locally 32.00 for 5 gal , TSC is 44.00 for the same size. Gas station kero frequently has water in it and it gunks things up.


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

I only buy it at the gas station (at least 4 of them within 15 miles of here that I know of) and have never had an issue with "gunk".


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Propane is the way to go.

It's far cheaper and less handling involved, and there are a million places in FLA to buy it


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

The lights went out last night and we tryed to use kerosene in a lamp. I could not stay in the same room with it and my chest still feels tight this morning from it. i ended up out on the front porch coughing. WE ended up with just the candles.


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Propane is the way to go.
> 
> It's far cheaper and less handling involved, and there are a million places in FLA to buy it


Agreed.

I am going to install a back up unit like Nevada posted as a picture above.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

Seed spreader : It may be that here they dont sell much so the stuff in the stations tank is old. Two stations around here sell it but it gunks up the wick and and smokes more . The money I saved getting at gas station was lost when replacing $ 10 wicks.


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## seedspreader (Oct 18, 2004)

Vickie44 said:


> Seed spreader : It may be that here they dont sell much so the stuff in the stations tank is old. Two stations around here sell it but it gunks up the wick and and smokes more . The money I saved getting at gas station was lost when replacing $ 10 wicks.


That's what I was thinking too. If you are in an area that it's not used often in, I can see it being a problem.


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## rhome (Aug 10, 2006)

Have you considered a MR HEATER propane heater?? it's a propane burner that attaches directly to a 20# propane tank. It's about the size of a pie pan. 
We get about 30+ hrs from this unit set on low when used for part of our shop, this burner cost about $45.
*VENTILATION *concerns and *SAFE PLACEMENT *are needed with this burner.
This unit is easy to put on/take off the tank and store.


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

Esteban29304 said:


> ........ I saw some in a one gallon can at a hardware store for $10 PER gallon & I thought I would faint.
> .......


it is considered a hazardous material and as such special "tax" stamps are placed upon the transport of it, and passed along to the consumer who can carry it wherever they want to within limitations.

you can purchase it is 5 gallon and 55 gallon drums from most any place where they sell diesel fuel and supplies [a farm supply storehouse perhaps in your area] 

I used to buy from an Ace hardware astore which brought in a 55 gallon drum, and they resold the K-1 for double, and back then you caould diesel for $2, k-1 was $4.50 and you brought your own container to put it in [or bought one from their shelf, they really did not care] but the store changed hands and they quit carrying it except for those spendy little gallon containers...... but i still can get it at the farm supply store now.

William
Idaho


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## dianaincarolina (Jul 21, 2009)

Where I am in NC I buy K-1 kerosene at Hess Gas Station for 3.69 per gallon. This is clear kerosene without pink/red dye as the kerosene with the dye is not for use in space heaters.
The kerosene heater heats up a larger area than my electric space heaters, which I have 3.
My central heat/ac died 2/10 and fix is replace which isn't going to happen anytime soon. I hope for milder temps soon.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

One of the gas stations here has it. Use to be able to get it at Speedway, but ours doesn't have it any longer. Sheetz still carries it, but I think they are a very regional company - only seem them in Western PA and Eastern OH.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

We get ours at a Flash food convenience store/gas station. Not sure what it is per gallon right now, but definitely not $10 per gallon.


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## Esteban29304 (Apr 29, 2003)

Thanks for the replies. I had no idea that K-1 was so expensive now. I'll mention propane to him, again ,, but he didn't want gas . He has some " issues " that bother him mentally, so he does things his own way. Without any electricity in his house , he also doesn't get any water from his well !! BUT, he makes a truck payment & charges his cell phone up at the grocery store !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

The only thing I use kerosene for anymore is my torpedo heaters in the shop. The only advantage of the ULSD diesel I've found is that I can now use diesel instead of K-1 and not suffer from diesel fumes as in the past. Note: I'm not using wick type heaters, only torpedo heaters.


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## DavidUnderwood (Jul 5, 2007)

Wilco-Hess in Wadesboro had K-1 (white)
kerosene for 3.49 just a few days ago.
It pays to have a back-up plan. And a
backup for it, too.


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

This is his best bet. I have the smaller one of these and it uses the colman canister of propane, but also have the adapter to use the 20lb. tank. If he has a small area he needs to heat it would work fine.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...s&cm_ite=173635?ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=173635


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