Does anyone have kerosene heat?

[AppleCrisp]

Does anyone use kerosene heat? Not a space heater, but an actual kerosene tank on the back of the house, linked in to small heaters in each room? We are considering buying a little cabin and it has this. I always thought kerosene heat was dangerous and not the best thing to choose if you can help it esp. because of the fumes. Does anyone know? Maybe a well installed system is good, I have no clue! I don't see why it would be much different than propane which a lot of people have.

I'm not sure this is the right place to post this, but it didn't seem to fit into any other category under home management.

[Tigerchild]

I lived for a very short time in a remote house with kerosene heat.

First, it's very important that the system be well maintained. So before you buy the cabin it's essential to have a professional out to look at it and vet it.

Second, most of the danger from kerosene heaters comes from unvented situations. Probably, if it's being used as the main source of heat, it will be vented, but you need to have each ventilation opening inspected and must be willing to clean/maintain them and the rest of the system. In a genuine cabin, which is not going to be the most insulated of houses, probably you'll be just fine, you can always crack a window.

Another issue to watch out for is to make sure that the heater itself has adequate intake. If for some reason it becomes blocked and the heater doesn't have access to oxygen, you're going to have a lot of dangerous smoke.

And if you refill it yourself, you need to watch out for fumes and spillage.

To be honest, probably a woodstove is more dangerous than a well maintained kerosene heating system, at least for the people in the house.

But it can be an issue finding the best grade of kerosene (as most people in NA have moved on to different heat sources), so that's something to be wary of too, the price.

[DBZ]

I have kerosene and have not have had any probs....certainly no fumes. But my system is pretty well maintained. I don't have individual heaters though. I just have the one thermostat for the trailer. It is more expensive then oil though and getting it delivered isn't as easy as oil because they don't want to use a truck for just one customer.

[AppleCrisp]

Thanks for the replies! I found out its actually one big heater, with vents to each room, and a tank outside. We are going to request the maintenance records and chimney service records.