My son and my pregnant self just moved into a third floor (attic) space in an old house. The only form of heat is a pretty large (cabinet-sized) natural gas heater. It has a gas line going into the back, to the pilot, and then there is kind of a metal box over the pilot which is sealed on the sides and top, and the back of it is attached to a metal pipe that goes out and is cemented to the chimney (the house used to have functioning fireplaces). The metal casing is over the top of all that. I have tried every kind of electric space heater in an attempt to avoid using this thing, but it's a pretty open space (not huge by any means, but loft-style), so I finally broke down and lit the pilot and turned it on. I don't smell any gas (maybe just a hint when the pilot first kicks on, similar to a gas stove), and the apartment has a functioning Carbon Monoxide detector. The man who turned on my gas said it looks well-vented and would be safe to use.
I am getting conflicting info online. I know unvented heaters send the byproducts (carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, even radon) right into the indoor air, but I wonder if a heater like this, which is vented to release the gases to the outside is safe to use. It sure does make our place toasty.....And I have spent ALL my money on various space heaters, which just aren't cutting it.
What do you guys think? Safe? Not? I just never even knew these types of heaters existed and I know nothing about whether they vent the bad stuff out effectively...
Thanks ahead of time!
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