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  Oct. 31, 2011 1:10 p.m. Klayfish HalfDork

  I'm one of the who knows how many people on the east coast without power. Power company can only tell us that they hope everyone has power restored by Friday night. We've spent the past couple nights at hotels, but it gets expensive in a hurry. Plus, with a family of six (including three young kids), it's hectic trying to pack up, shuffle everyone off, etc... I think we're going to try to ride it out at home. We've made arrangement with the local YMCA so we can shower, and there are places close by for a bathroom (we have no working toilets without power...septic tank and well pump). But the house is damn cold. Our fireplace in the family room still works, but that's it.
  

  What portable heater that doesn't rely on electricity would you recommend? I'm assuming it would be the same things you could use to heat your garage. But I've never had one. So what say you? What's a good, and safe, source of heat?

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  Oct. 31, 2011 1:16 p.m. MG_Bryan Reader

  For my money I'd be looking at generators. I know that's not what you asked, and might not help you you, but the only heaters I can think of that don't use electricity aren't anything I'd bring inside my house.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 1:22 p.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

  Catalytic heaters are marginally safer than actual propane combustion heaters...still want to make sure you move some fresh air into a room where a catalytic heater is running, but they are supposedly "safe" inside a tent, so should be safe inside a notably larger house...HEREIS A GOOD READ on them from Uncle Sams (CPSC) point of view...its an outdated study (2003), but its research none the less.

  That said, Generator = safer...Im just sayin

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  Oct. 31, 2011 1:34 p.m. Ian F SuperDork

  Kerosene heaters. I lived with one for most of the 80's since the townhouse apt we lived in had electric heat and a $200/mo (back in the 80's) electric bill really cut into my father's beer money.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 2:09 p.m. Klayfish HalfDork

  Yep, my parents always ran a kerosene heater back in the 80's, I remember them well. Home Depot has a 15,000BTU one. I just wasn't sure if someone had other recommendations.

  We do have a 4000 watt generator. I have it outside and run extension cords into the house. I need to have an electrician come and wire the house so that I could hook things up to the generator directly, but I haven't done that yet. So for now, all I can do is hook up a small space heater to it, which doesn't do a lot. I'm not experienced enough in wiring that I'd want to try much myself.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 3:03 p.m. Jake HalfDork

  Kerosene. I think we might wind up parking one in the middle of our kitchen this year. Gas bills for our drafty old house ranged from "high" to "are you insane" last winter, and that's here in AL where winters stay relatively mild.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 3:16 p.m. RossD SuperDork

  One of these on a propane tank: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&st...

  We use one like this one at our cabin that doesn't have power (ours is 30,000 btu/hr for a two story 24'x24' cabin). Make sure you get one of the ones with a O2 sensor. We do keep a couple skylights cracked open to help with the fresh air even though it is ventless.

  http://www.humphreygasproducts.com/ Some humphrey lights help spread out some heat and light too.

  Kerosene stinks; literally.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 3:41 p.m. Woody SuperDork

  I recommend none.

  Get a small generator. I've got a 10 hp 5500/8500 that runs everything in the house (well, septic, sump, fridge and more), except central air.

  I remember sleeping in my parents unheated basement with a kerosene heater one holiday weekend. When I woke up, I blew my nose and it was all soot. Never again.

  I ran my generator for five days straight during Irene. I was happier than everyone around me.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 4:06 p.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

  Doesn't help you today, but FOR NEXT TIME, a generator and a wood stove. I bought a 7/8.xKW Honduh powered generator from Sam's after we went without electricity for a week in the Great Ice Storm of Winter 08-09. Being an amateur electrician for the past 40 years, I wired up a whole house transfer switch (HF). We have the generator in a generator shack, built on a slab with a sidewalk to it. We refer to the generator shack as "the finest outhouse in Arkansas," which is what it looks like.
  

  Next up: Battery bank (to be purchased), 1.5/3KW inverter (purchased, HF), solar panels (purchased, HF), AC charger circuit (to be designed and built) so we can have reading lights and the refrigerator at night when the generator is off.

  Yeah, when you're sitting in the dark for a week, you think about these things.

  The kerosene heaters are interesting. But, have you priced kerosene lately? You'd think it was Jet Fuel or something.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 4:51 p.m. ProDarwin Dork

  Kerosene heaters are awesome. They are much easier to operate than propane, and a pretty good bang for the buck. They are a good choice...for the garage. Not for the house.
  

  I've used them from time to time indoors during power outages to keep things from freezing, but I wouldn't want to live around one. They produce soot and some nasty fumes. They are certainly tolerable in the garage where everything is dirty anyway and I'm only spending a few hours at a time there.

  +1 for Propane.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 5:14 p.m. Snowdoggie Dork

  Adopt three huskies from my rescue group. Put them in bed with you at night to keep warm. Eskimos call this a 'Three Dog Night'.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 5:18 p.m. Marty! Dork

  

  Mr. Heater, choice of ice fishermen with big and small ice shantys everywhere.

  That, and brandy will keep anybody warm.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 5:56 p.m. Toyman01 SuperDork

  Marty! wrote:

  

  Mr. Heater, choice of ice fishermen with big and small ice shantys everywhere.

  That, and brandy will keep anybody warm.

  This is what I have for emergencies. It puts out a bunch of heat. I don't run it at night though.

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  Oct. 31, 2011 7:06 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

  Any sort of combustion heater that's not vented will put a lot of CO into the air inside the house. Be very careful, especially at night when people are sleeping...every year I read of a few poor souls who die of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of using a space heater in their house. Modern heaters are supposed to have shutoff switches that monitor the air level, but they aren't 100% failsafe.

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  Nov. 1, 2011 6:02 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

  I'd go for a generator. Even a small one so you can run the essentials like water, sewage and heat. Notice how power doesn't go out when the weather is nice?

  It's OK for you and SWMBO to hop into a hotel or YMCA, but add kids to the mix and it gets expodentially more toublesome and expensive. You can actually connect the generator to the home's electrical system and run specific circuits if it's not big enough to do the entire house.

  BTW: Law says that if you buy a generator, this will never happen again.

  Dan

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  Nov. 1, 2011 7:03 a.m. tr8todd Reader

  How's this for government overstepping their boundaries. I just completed this years continuing education for my plumbing license here in Massachusetts. One of the things they made us aware of is the new law concerning those portable propane heaters. It is now law/code in Massachusetts that you need to have a licensed plumber pull a permit to have one of those on a job site, and get this, the plumber has to hook up the hose. $500 fine imposed by the building inspector for each violation. I'm sure it's insurance company driven, but I know of one inspector that is more than a little ticked off with a large construction company building a huge warehouse in his town. It's being built in a large open area that is very exposed to the cold and the wind. He can't wait to start busting stones and imposing fines with this new code.

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  Nov. 1, 2011 7:10 a.m. foxtrapper SuperDork

  So you're sure it's insurance company driven, but you'll blame it on "big government".

  Rather suspect this is a case of misinterpretation of the code. I run into it constantly as one of those big government types. Lots of interesting takes on regulations that generally have nothing to do with what they actually are.

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  Nov. 1, 2011 7:26 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

  foxtrapper wrote:

  So you're sure it's insurance company driven, but you'll blame it on "big government".

  yes, I most certainly will...big lobbying groups making insano contributions to get their way is a really e36m3-ty way to make laws...but the laws are made by politicians who are all to willing to be bought by the highest bidder...avg joe is screwed out behind the boathouse like this every day...

  /Flounder

  Lets say someone was interested in a generator...how does one determine the size/output of said device? Is a portable unit ok for permanent installation, or do you need to purchase on eof those Generac type mounted units (I say Generac because thats what the building I work at uses...Im not partial to any brand.). Brand recommendations? Id prefer a US built unit, but I remember how that thread about grinders went...

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  Nov. 1, 2011 7:38 a.m. Klayfish HalfDork

  Like I said, I have a 4000 watt generator already. But I don't have a transfer switch set up or any direct wiring. So I have to run extension cords in. I have a space heater hooked up to it, one of those rectangle ones that's about 2' wide by 1' tall. Our propane fireplace also still works, so I have that heat source. But neither one provides a ton of heat.
  

  I definitely wouldn't leave any heat source on overnight while everyone is sleeping. Far too dangerous. When I was in college, my apartment building burned to the ground, so I'm a bit overcautious about fire risks. But I was just looking for a quick and safe heat source that I could run before everyone went to bed, so at least the house started off warmer at night.

  Last night was our first night in the house. Actually, while it was cold, it wasn't unbearable. Our master bedroom is right above the garage, so it's the coldest in the house. This morning, the thermostat in there said 50 degrees. I'd bet the rest of the house was 52. Thankfully, it's not the middle of January, and the daytime sun is helping a lot too.

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  Nov. 1, 2011 8:04 a.m. pinchvalve SuperDork

  Sorry to hear that you are without power, I know that is a real pain. In my neck of the woods, the power goes out all the time and it gets pretty cold, so we have a fireplace, wood stove, natural gas wall heater, and 5000 watt generator. (the transfer switch is on the to-do list).
  

  We also have air mattresses. Our family room has the wood stove and natural gas heater, so why try to heat our bedroom which is upstairs, far away, and over the garage? we sleep where the heat is!

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