I'm living in a house with a broken furnace and the plan is to use a kerosene heater in the kitchen along with electric space heaters in other rooms. It's a Dyna-Glo RMC-95-C2. What should I be worried about? A friend has promised to send me a CO alarm. Hopefully it will arrive before the heater is brought in and fired up. These people think the dogs will warn us if there is a problem with Carbon Monoxide because it will affect them before it will affect humans. How can I make sure this space heater is operated safely?
Buy your own good digital read out alarm and test it with the test button and blow some smoke in it to be sure it works, and learn its readings. they dont last, dont rely on something you dont know is good. Dogs will only sleep more as will you with high levels , eventualy not waking up.
Co builds up in the blood , minimal exposure builds up over many days in your blood. Fix the dam furnace ,unless you live out west and have cheap hydro power, gas heat is 50% cheaper than electric.
This is correct. The dogs will die before you do. If you see the dogs dead, you know you will die shortly. If you don't see them dead, it may be because you missed it and are already dead. CO death is supposed to be painless so you won't feel a thing.
As for the heater, some are supposed to be OK for a house, others may not be. Read the manufacturer's instructions carefully and be sure you have some ventilation. Be aware of the fire hazard also. Filling the tank is the most dangerous situation. Ed
I hear you. The best I could do was to stop the furnace from being used. The first time it was worked on, the gasket between the burner motor/pump/igniter assembly and the front of the furnace was destroyed. The burner motor/pump/igniter assembly was installed without the gasket. The house filled up with fumes. Can't say for sure that the fumes were due to the missing gasket, I just knew one should be there. I complained and instead of installing a gasket, chamber lining was used. I questioned that and now the furnace is not going to used and the space heater is. I am unable to make these people understand that furnaces SHOULD NOT be modified in any way. If a new gasket is to be used, two are going to installed because if one is good, two is even better. Never mind that the furnace will not be in compliance because of modification.
I know this from my electrical engineering background. I have taken many machines through UL, CSA, ETL, FCC, CE, etc... . This included evaluation, testing, researching the parts, manufacturing and assembly documentation, and writing a report for the institution that was going to supply the appropriate label.
We go through this process to make machines safe for consumers.
I would buy a good sleeping bag, or electric blanket and use the kerosene heater only during the day, with ventilation. The cost of a good bag is cheaper than the cost of K1 fuel.
Kerosene heaters are not safe. Stop by your local fire station and talk with a fire-fighter who knows. It is not worth the savings. Get a CO detector with a digital readout anyway--CO is odorless and deadly.
You mention mold, no furnace and Them. Do you rent, it sounds like somebody is Not providing a healthy atmosphere for you. Who are They that think stupidly dogs warn of Co, and kilz over mold is safe, im intersted.
Who does not understand? Is this a rental property? If so, there are avenues you can take with the housing authority or some government agency that enforces codes. It is a legal requirement that heat be provided, etc.
If it is relatives you speak of, they are just being stupid. Ed
I am disabled and waiting for my benefits to kick in. I'm living with family. My brother in law works as a handy man is clueless about safety. The mold is in an office building that he is supposed to be removing. He worked on the furnace and messed it up worse. Now there is the possibility that a kerosene heater will be brought in. I need to find out what to worry about and solve the problems as they come. Thanks
I have used KEROSENE heaters for over 20 years without a problem. It is important to remember a few rules: 1) Keep the heater in good operating condition 2) Replace the wick every year 3) Use only high grade kerosene 4) Store only kerosene in your kerosene container - gasoline is highly flammable and you do not want ANY gasoline to make its way into your heater. Do not store kerosene near an ignition source (e.g., gas water heater). 5) Do not operate the heater too close to flammable items (e.g., furniture, curtains, etc.). Your owner's manual will tell you what the minimum distance to flammables is. 6) Do not operate the heater in an airtight space. Crack a window or door to allow fresh air in. 7) Do not leave the heater operating unattended and especially do not go to sleep with the heater operating in the same room (for obvious reasons). 8) Do not move or refuel the heater while it is operating.
Depends...is it a ThermoPride oil furnace? Or is it an old Nordyne or similar? Some units gaskets are not available and Kaowool liners come with more than ample extra to allow for this.
As far as fumes go...if its an oil unit, you got more problems than a gasket...
And thats fine, and actually a better material if installed correctly than the old gasket.
Unless you are a dealer that is privy to upgrade or modification information. THEN, you can.
Not only that, its going to leak about 4X faster....sheesh.
How in hell did I know? I do work for a mechanical engineer that designs commercial HVAC systems, but he wont touch an oil burner...ask him. I was just over at his moms last night, with him there, repairing someone elses brilliant move on the unit...it about killed her...and hes been doing this over 30 years...the neighbor that tried to help....he came within about an hour of killing her with CO and maybe 30 minutes of burning the home down...
Shame we cant make the units consumer proof.
Any tech that puts two gaskets on your unit, needs to be remanded to the state local licence board.
"CBHvac" wrote in message news:q22mb.961$ snipped-for-privacy@eagle.america.net...
If a qualified oil furnace tech installed it, that would be okay I guess.
Here is a summary of what was done to the furnace.
The furnace ran out of fuel at the end of the heating season last year. Fuel oil was purchased, but the furnace wouldn't work.
My brother in law had an igniter transformer in his truck, so he decided to replace the one in the furnace. The replacement was bigger, so he ground off the mounting bracket for the original. The furnace didn't work. The next day, he was still playing with the transformer and I decided to speed things along by showing him how to test it. There was nothing wrong with it. Now the original igniter transformer is being held on with electrical tape. I also mentioned that the nozzle has a good chance of becoming plugged when the tank runs dry. He bought one and installed it. He removed the entire burner motor/pump/igniter assembly from the front of the furnace and that's when the gasket was destroyed. Once the furnace began working, it was noted that the burner would shut off before the blower would come on. Sometimes the burner would come on twice and shut down before the blower started. I was told that the fan/limit control settings were not correct. It did not make sense. There is a schematic on a plate near the blower and I removed it, cleaned it, scanned it, and redrew it using schematic capture. I then went to the furnace and traced the wires and confirmed that they were going where they should go. This helped me become familiar with the different parts and I noticed that the flame detector was loose and "looking" off to the side. The mounting screw was stripped. I replaced it and aimed the flame detector correctly. Now, the furnace goes through its cycles correctly.
This is why I question using the kaowool. I can't trust anything this guy does. At this point, I don't know if it was installed correctly. BTW, it's a wet blanket.
There is one thing bothering me. The igniter transformer is mounted on a hinged plate. Two screws at the hinged end and one at the other. The flame detector is located under this plate. What prevents gases from escaping from under the igniter transformer? Shouldn't there be a gasket there too?
I understand. A dealer is qualified to make upgrades.
I don't understand why some people think they can or should modify some machines. Especially ones that can kill.
Not sure what you mean above.
My best friend is a mechanical engineer. We have designed quite a few machines together. Believe it or not, we worked in a specials department at first. It was our job to modify core equipment to meet customer's specific needs. I know I'm harping on modifications, but it was my job to do just that. It was one of the most satisfying jobs I've ever had.
I'm sorry to hear that your friend has to worry about the next door neighbor working on her furnace. The dumb ones don't know when to quit.
The best that can be done is make them use a tool.
So, tell us, why not fix the furnace? With all the smiling and helpful folks on alt.hvac, you oughta have it up and running in no time. Heck, they might even wholesale you parts.
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