I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing and
it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the problem
is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole house
and nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I
don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't
keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick?
How often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can
open a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly
upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU
unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

Bob

"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...
I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of dealing
with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing and it has a
strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the problem is because
the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole house and nearly set
myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I don't have enough wood
to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't keep it fed while I'm at
work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just to
help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so chilly
when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick? How
often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can open a
can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly upstairs
and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU unit, can
they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see. Even
if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

Bob

Those type of heaters SUCK...They really stink..Are a PITA to fill and if
the wick gets bad you have a house full of soot...If you have BBHW heat you
could put a Modine down there...Another idea is a Moniter , either K-1 or
propane......I use a 70,000 BTU Reddy Heater with a thermostat to take trhe
chill off the garage but would be a bit noisy in the
basement...LOL....HTH....

On Dec 31, 10:54*pm, zxcvbob wrote:
I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing and
it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the problem
is because the stove is in the basement) *I smoked up the whole house
and nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. *I
don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't
keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. *About 10600 BTU's, mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. *(Hopefully it won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? *How often do you have to clean the wick?
How often do you have to replace the wick? *Do they stink much? *(I can
open a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly
upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) *If I get a 23000 BTU
unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

Bob

Are we sure this isn't a troll??????This posting is so ingenuous
(that's not ingenious btw!) perhaps even naive?

Using a figure of anywhere from 100,000 to 120,000 BTUs of energy in a
gallon of petroleum oil product burnt at 100% efficiency. An
efficiency which of course a wick (or any type heater) will not
produce! That's very, very roughly somewhere between a tenth and fifth
a gallon a gallon of oil or kerosene being burnt by an un-vented
heater within the house, every hour. So the products of that
combustion will need to go somewhere.

Also don't know how much oxygen that will use up but some source of
fresh air will be needed to avoid the risk of asphyxiating people
within the house. Posters may remember the couple who took their bar-b-
q into their house during an extended power outage and were found dead
because the combustion used up the house oxygen!

Yes: We have such a heater; for emergency use only. When it is lit is
placed on a metal tray with air underneath near the fireplace
chimney.The chimney damper is opened to vent the room and to provide a
cross draft of air something else (e.g. a window) is cracked open. We
never refill the heater when hot'/warm.

Our heater is not left burning when sleeping or anyone lying down.
Also check insurance policy carefully since except for using such a
heater for an emergency situation (e.g. prevent a house from freezing
up etc. and thereby protecting a house from damage, as required by
most insurers) may invalidate coverage? We do also have a CO (Carbon
MONOXIDE) detector but that would not necessarily warn against oxygen
depletion.

Please be careful!

We use one... also for emergencies only. Yes, they stink. Haven't ever had
a problem with the wick, yet - it's 25 years old. Considering the current
price of kerosene, it's hard to image using such a heat source casually, or
switching from wood.

Unc

On 12/31/2009 5:54 PM zxcvbob spake thus:

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick?
How often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can
open a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly
upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU
unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

To answer your questions:

1. Never. 2. Never. 3. No.

I have to respectfully disagree with all the previous respondents who
said, basically, that these heaters suck. I've used small kerosene
heaters occasionally over the last few years where I live now with no
complaints. I got both the ones I have now used, and I've *never* had to
do anything to the wick. They both burn very cleanly.

Some common sense caveats: I never, ever leave one of these burning when
I'm sleeping or away from home. I'm very careful to leave them far
enough away from anything combustible. And I have excellent ventilation
where I use them.

So long as you don't use them in a small sealed room or do anything else
stupid, they're fine. So far as smell goes, there's a slight kerosene
odor when they're first lit before they burn cleanly, and only a very
slight odor after that. Doesn't bother me, though some may be more
sensitive to this smell. (Like your wife, for instance.)


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:54:08 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:

I don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't
keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

When she gets real cold, she might consider another log on the fire.
First one cold starts the fire.

Same with food, don't grow it you can't eat it.

Oh, snap she broke a nail....

"Monthly Average Kerosene Prices"

NY:

http://www.nyserda.org/energy_information/nyepg.asp

On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:54:08 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:

I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing and
it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the problem
is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole house
and nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I
don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't
keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick?
How often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can
open a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly
upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU
unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

Bob


They smell a little of kerosene when they are first started. I've
never had to replace a wick and I've had my heaters for about 40
years. Kerosene is pretty pricy these days and it is the reason I
don't use mine any more.

If kept away from things that might catch fire from the radiant heat
then I'd say they are perfectly safe. Mine have never given any
trouble at all.

Ross

On 12/31/2009 11:02 PM, RMD wrote:
On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:54:08 -0600,
wrote:

I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing and
it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the problem
is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole house
and nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I
don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't
keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick?
How often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can
open a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly
upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU
unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

Bob


They smell a little of kerosene when they are first started. I've
never had to replace a wick and I've had my heaters for about 40
years. Kerosene is pretty pricy these days and it is the reason I
don't use mine any more.

If kept away from things that might catch fire from the radiant heat
then I'd say they are perfectly safe. Mine have never given any
trouble at all.

Ross


I'm hoping I don't have to run it much. It will be sitting on a 6' x 6'
stone hearth with a stone wall behind it. I'm not worried about the
water vapor and CO2 it will put out. And I have a CO detector in the
room (it has saved my bacon a couple of times when the wood stove has
started backdrafting while it still had some smoldering coals.)

A natural gas space heater would be a lot cheaper to run, but it would
not be easy running a gas line to the hearth. #1 kerosene is less than
$3 per gallon here, but not much less. My parents used to heat their
house with unvented propane space heaters. (That was a long time ago.)
My house is older and a lot less tight than theirs is; O2 depletion
will not be a problem.

Bob

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...
On 12/31/2009 5:54 PM zxcvbob spake thus:

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just to
help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so chilly
when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick? How
often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can open
a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly upstairs
and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU unit, can
they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

To answer your questions:

1. Never. 2. Never. 3. No.

I have to respectfully disagree with all the previous respondents who
said, basically, that these heaters suck. I've used small kerosene heaters
occasionally over the last few years where I live now with no complaints.
I got both the ones I have now used, and I've *never* had to do anything
to the wick. They both burn very cleanly.

Some common sense caveats: I never, ever leave one of these burning when
I'm sleeping or away from home. I'm very careful to leave them far enough
away from anything combustible. And I have excellent ventilation where I
use them.

So long as you don't use them in a small sealed room or do anything else
stupid, they're fine. So far as smell goes, there's a slight kerosene odor
when they're first lit before they burn cleanly, and only a very slight
odor after that. Doesn't bother me, though some may be more sensitive to
this smell. (Like your wife, for instance.)


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

There is quite an odor filling the thing especially when you overfill it
because it is such a PITA to fill it you want to get all you can in it...You
have to go out to the garage or out building get the can of K-1 and the pump
and bring it inside...Put down something to set the can on...Pump the K-1
into the thing and overflow it...Bitch and swear taking the can and pump
back out to the garage...Listen to SWMBO whine about the smell of K-1 in the
overflow pan..Sop up the spillage with papertowles...Take papertowles
outside..Doesn't help...Still stinks...SWMBO still whining...ALOT of fun
doing it with a flashlight as well....And they smell when they run low on
fuel or run out...They also smell worse when set on low..There is always a
kerosene smell in the air and on your hands..Oh , and I don't believe for a
minute that you have used your heaters for any length of time for "a few
years" and never had to trim or replace a wick...Horse Hocky....Used to have
one YEARS ago...NASTY things.....For emergency (NO POWER) use I have a
double burner propane radiant heater that just screws on a grill propane
tank....MUCH better but too expensive to use on a regular basis unless the
homeowner is buying the tanks on the jobsite..LOL.....

terry wrote:
Are we sure this isn't a troll??????This posting is so ingenuous
(that's not ingenious btw!) perhaps even naive?

Using a figure of anywhere from 100,000 to 120,000 BTUs of energy in a
gallon of petroleum oil product burnt at 100% efficiency. An
efficiency which of course a wick (or any type heater) will not
produce! That's very, very roughly somewhere between a tenth and fifth
a gallon a gallon of oil or kerosene being burnt by an un-vented
heater within the house, every hour. So the products of that
combustion will need to go somewhere.

Your numbers are waaaay off.

Here are some safety tips, BTW from the government
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/5052.html

and some good reading about them here
http://www.endtimesreport.com/kerosene_heaters.html

OK, the energy in a gallon of K-1 is about what you state, but is actually
closer to 133,000 Btu. But,most heaters are in the 10,000 to 20,000 Btu
range and burn that gallon of fuel over a period or 5 to 10 hours, not the 1
hour you are basing your figures on.

The manufacturers state that the heaters are 99.9% efficient. Perhaps they
are under perfect condition, but let's say they are only 99% efficient.
That would give you 1.25 ounces over a period of hours. Compare that to
burning half a small candle. .

At least make the decision based on actual numbers. It is not my first
choice for heat on a regular basis, but for short periods in very cold
weather, it would be OK for me.

On 12/31/2009 9:57 PM benick spake thus:

"David Nebenzahl" wrote in message
.com...

On 12/31/2009 5:54 PM zxcvbob spake thus:

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just to
help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so chilly
when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick? How
often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can open
a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly upstairs
and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU unit, can
they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

To answer your questions:

1. Never. 2. Never. 3. No.

I have to respectfully disagree with all the previous respondents who
said, basically, that these heaters suck. I've used small kerosene heaters
occasionally over the last few years where I live now with no complaints.
I got both the ones I have now used, and I've *never* had to do anything
to the wick. They both burn very cleanly.

Some common sense caveats: I never, ever leave one of these burning when
I'm sleeping or away from home. I'm very careful to leave them far enough
away from anything combustible. And I have excellent ventilation where I
use them.

So long as you don't use them in a small sealed room or do anything else
stupid, they're fine. So far as smell goes, there's a slight kerosene odor
when they're first lit before they burn cleanly, and only a very slight
odor after that. Doesn't bother me, though some may be more sensitive to
this smell. (Like your wife, for instance.)

There is quite an odor filling the thing especially when you overfill it
because it is such a PITA to fill it you want to get all you can in it...You
have to go out to the garage or out building get the can of K-1 and the pump
and bring it inside...Put down something to set the can on...Pump the K-1
into the thing and overflow it...Bitch and swear taking the can and pump
back out to the garage...Listen to SWMBO whine about the smell of K-1 in the
overflow pan..Sop up the spillage with papertowles...Take papertowles
outside..Doesn't help...Still stinks...SWMBO still whining...ALOT of fun
doing it with a flashlight as well....And they smell when they run low on
fuel or run out...They also smell worse when set on low..There is always a
kerosene smell in the air and on your hands..Oh , and I don't believe for a
minute that you have used your heaters for any length of time for "a few
years" and never had to trim or replace a wick...Horse Hocky....Used to have
one YEARS ago...NASTY things.....For emergency (NO POWER) use I have a
double burner propane radiant heater that just screws on a grill propane
tank....MUCH better but too expensive to use on a regular basis unless the
homeowner is buying the tanks on the jobsite..LOL.....

I'm sorry to hear you've had such bad experiences with kerosene heaters.
But in all honesty, a lot of it sounds like it's because of your own
ineptitude.

It's not all that hard to fill the tank without spilling more than a few
drops; I use a push pump that fits into my 5-gallon can. So far as
smoking when they're set on low goes, well, duh; they're guaranteed to
run smoky that way. They like to burn hot, with a nice bright glow in
the catalytic burner.


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

On 12/31/2009 7:54 PM, zxcvbob wrote:
I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing and
it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the problem
is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole house and
nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I don't
have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't keep
it fed while I'm at work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just to
help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so chilly
when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick? How
often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can open a
can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly upstairs
and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU unit, can
they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

Bob


Damn stove just started billowing amazing amounts of smoke into the
house again. Like it knew I was talking about it. (it's -8 degrees
outside, and the heavy cold air overwhelmed the updraft) I'm definitely
tearing it out tomorrow, whether I get a little kerosene or gas heater
to replace it or not. Even expensive electric heat would be better than
this crap.

Bob

On 12/31/2009 8:54 PM, zxcvbob wrote:
I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing and
it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the problem
is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole house and
nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I don't
have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't keep
it fed while I'm at work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just to
help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so chilly
when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick? How
often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can open a
can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly upstairs
and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU unit, can
they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

Bob

I too had trouble with my family room fireplace in the basement. I
cleaned it out, capped off the chimney and put in an electric insert.
It was fairly cheap because I retained fire place doors and it looks
realistic. Like others, I don't want anything burning and emitting
fumes without venting.

If your setup is like mine and you have the furnace in the basement, it
is the furnaces draw that is causing your back draft. No matter what I
did, the room always had a smokey smell.

Last night we celebrated the New Year in front of the electric fire
place - nice and cozy and no mess.

zxcvbob wrote:

-snip-

Damn stove just started billowing amazing amounts of smoke into the
house again. Like it knew I was talking about it. (it's -8 degrees
outside, and the heavy cold air overwhelmed the updraft) I'm definitely
tearing it out tomorrow, whether I get a little kerosene or gas heater
to replace it or not. Even expensive electric heat would be better than
this crap.

I went to propane 10 years ago. at the time it was 1/2 the price of
wood & oil-- now they've all evened out--- but I still think it was
the best move I ever made.

*NO*! odors [unless you have a serious problem]
No wicks- maintenance consists of a yearly vacuuming.
No running out to find Kero-- only to find out that there are 6 people
ahead of you in line- then they run out at #5.
Instant heat when you want it-- and it is off when you don't.

For a few bucks you can get one that the missus likes the looks of--
with a remote control if she is so inclined.

Jim

There is quite an odor filling the thing especially when you
overfill it
because it is such a PITA to fill it you want to get all you
can in it...

CY: The smaller ones run about 12 hours on a fill.

You
have to go out to the garage or out building get the can of
K-1 and the pump
and bring it inside...

CY: The radiant heaters typically have a "chicken feeder"
can that lifts out. Still, it's guaranteed kero smell.

outside..Doesn't help...Still stinks...SWMBO still
whining...ALOT of fun
doing it with a flashlight as well....

CY: Strap on head lamp works well.

And they smell when they run low on
fuel or run out...They also smell worse when set on
low..There is always a
kerosene smell in the air and on your hands..

CY: AGreed. alwys a kero smell.

Oh , and I don't believe for a
minute that you have used your heaters for any length of
time for "a few
years" and never had to trim or replace a wick...Horse
Hocky....Used to have
one YEARS ago...

CY: Replace wick every year.

NASTY things.....For emergency (NO POWER) use I have a
double burner propane radiant heater that just screws on a
grill propane
tank....MUCH better but too expensive to use on a regular
basis unless the
homeowner is buying the tanks on the jobsite..LOL.....

CY: Propane is much cleaner.

What fuel sources do you have, now? From what you describe,
a portable kerosene is a poor choice. Plan on filling it
twice a day, and bring home 5 gal containers of fuel from
the store. 1 gal of fuel (what the tank holds) lasts about
12 hours.

If you have natural gas, I'd consider a vented wall heater.
Perhaps you can get a tank of propane, and a vented wall
heater. More expensive up front. But, the truck can keep the
tank topped off, and you don't have to do as much work. Less
stinky, too.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"zxcvbob" wrote in message
...
I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting
tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light
the thing and
it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly,
the problem
is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the
whole house
and nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing
lit. I
don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and
wife wouldn't
keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove
pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's,
mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it
won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean
the wick?
How often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink
much? (I can
open a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it
instantly
upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a
23000 BTU
unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run
them full tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it
and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over
$100...

Bob

zxcvbob wrote:
I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing and
it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the problem
is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole house
and nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I
don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife wouldn't
keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick? How
often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I can open
a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it instantly
upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a 23000 BTU
unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run them full
tilt?

After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

Bob

being in the basement has nothing to do with the back draft. It's the
proximity of things around the top of the chimney and type of cap that
dictate whether they draft properly or not.

Good idea. Next, it needs a source of combustion firewood
while he's at work.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"hr(bob) " wrote in
message
...

Why not put in a source of combusion air. I used a 4" dryer
vent to
go thru the house wall just above the sil, and then ran 4"
aluminum
flexible piping to right at the edge of the firebox area.
IT provides
plenty of combustion air for the (in my case) furnace)
without putting
a negative pressure into the rest of the house so my
fireplace draws
air form the rest of the leakages.

In ,
zxcvbob typed:
I have a woodburning stove in my basement, and I'm getting tired of
dealing with the smoke and mess every time I try to light the thing
and it has a strong back draft (chimney is installed correctly, the
problem is because the stove is in the basement) I smoked up the whole
house
and nearly set myself on fire today trying to get the thing lit. I

That's not a problem with the stove and won't be overcome by anything that
needs a chimney. The basic problem is that you have a negative relative air
pressure in the basement, which pulls air IN through any opening that
exists.
Occupied quarters require a positive air pressure difference in order to
push gases out, not pull them in.
The solution could be as simple as giving that fireplace an opening to
get outside air or as complex as a redesign of the whole house's venting
system overall, or anything in between like a mislocation of the chimney w/r
to prevailing winds and air deflection from the roof.
With the info given and my small experience I couldn't hazard a guess, but
I'll guess some here can. Or did? I'm not about to sort thru all those "me
too" posts to seeg.
At any rate, without a positive air differential, no chimney is going
tooperate properly and another source wouldn't be the answer, depending on
how stiff the backdraft is.

I'd be looking into the pressure differentials, especially if that negative
is typical throughout the house, which is likely. Cooking smells must linger
forever.

Twayne

don't have enough wood to keep it going all the time, and wife
wouldn't keep it fed while I'm at work anyway.

Right; and a smoldering fire could kill everyone silently.


I'm thinking of taking out the stove and capping the stove pipe, and
putting in a portable kerosene heater. About 10600 BTU's, mostly just
to help take the chill off the basement. (Hopefully it won't be so
chilly when I get rid of that drafty flue.)

Perhaps, but every nook and cranny of the basement that passes any outside
air at all will still be pulling in, and heating, cold air for no good
reason.


Anybody have one of these? How often do you have to clean the wick?

Wick? I'd advise against that for anything you want to run for long periods
of time. Lots of gases collection.

How often do you have to replace the wick? Do they stink much? (I
can open a can of turpentine in the house and Wife can smell it
instantly upstairs and on the opposite end of the house.) If I get a
23000 BTU unit, can they be adjusted down or do you really have to run
them
full tilt?

Propane or NG much better unless I misunderstand what you mean.


After today's little adventure, I think I'm going to try it and see.
Even if it's a mistake, the heaters are not much over $100...

But ... what's to remove the combustion gases from the house? With negative
pressure, nothing.

IMO anyway,

Twayne


Bob

--
Often you'll find excellent advice on a newsgroup.
Before you use that advice though, consider the
ramifications of it being wrong or even dangerous;
how important IS that to you?
ALWAYS verify and confirm ANY advice from a
newsgroup!

On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 16:16:47 -0800, "Steve B"
wrote:

Kerosene $9 a gallon today at HD. $37 for 5 gallons.

Zowie!


Check out the price for fire wood :-/

Kerosene $9 a gallon today at HD. $37 for 5 gallons.

Zowie!

"Oren" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 16:16:47 -0800, "Steve B"
wrote:

Kerosene $9 a gallon today at HD. $37 for 5 gallons.

Zowie!


Check out the price for fire wood :-/

$4 a cord where I live.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in
:


There is quite an odor filling the thing especially when you
overfill it
because it is such a PITA to fill it you want to get all you
can in it...

CY: The smaller ones run about 12 hours on a fill.

That was my experience.


You
have to go out to the garage or out building get the can of
K-1 and the pump
and bring it inside...

CY: The radiant heaters typically have a "chicken feeder"
can that lifts out. Still, it's guaranteed kero smell.

outside..Doesn't help...Still stinks...SWMBO still
whining...ALOT of fun
doing it with a flashlight as well....

CY: Strap on head lamp works well.

And they smell when they run low on
fuel or run out...They also smell worse when set on
low..There is always a
kerosene smell in the air and on your hands..

CY: AGreed. alwys a kero smell.

Not suppose to let it run out. That's called burning the wick out to
clean it of residue...so it doesn't develop smell while burning normally.
Instructions tell you do do that. Instructions? They come with
instructions?!


Oh , and I don't believe for a
minute that you have used your heaters for any length of
time for "a few
years" and never had to trim or replace a wick...Horse
Hocky....Used to have
one YEARS ago...

CY: Replace wick every year.

NASTY things.....For emergency (NO POWER) use I have a
double burner propane radiant heater that just screws on a
grill propane
tank....MUCH better but too expensive to use on a regular
basis unless the
homeowner is buying the tanks on the jobsite..LOL.....

CY: Propane is much cleaner.




Haven't run one in 4-5 years. It was a buck.69 then.

Pets love 'em. Never had one complain about the smell.

On Sat, 2 Jan 2010 16:16:47 -0800, "Steve B"
wrote:

Kerosene $9 a gallon today at HD. $37 for 5 gallons.


Under $3.50 at the local convenience store. Anybody buying it at Home
Depot is an idiot.
---
A computer is] like an Old Testament god, with a lot of rules and no mercy. -- Joseph Campbell