Garage heat question - K1 kerosene = #1 diesel?

I picked up a small kerosene heater at the pawn shop today to use in my unheated garage when I am working on the bikes and cars. I had one of these many years ago. Anyway, for $24 I can't really go wrong. So far it is working perfectly on K1 kerosene, which is the proper fuel for this wick type heater. My local bulk fuel dealer sells "stove oil/#1 diesel" at one of the pumps, and I am wondering if it is the equivalent of kerosene for one of these heaters (they were closed today or I would have asked them directly).

Tom

Kero is cleaner burning and less odor. Kero has gotten expensive, most likely the reason the heater sold cheap.

I burn kerosene from the local gas station. it is dyed red, but burns the same as the very expensive clear stuff from Home Depot. I haven't tried diesel because it is the same price as the kerosene.

In answer to your question....you can burn #1 Diesel in it

Id stick with burning kerosene in it. Fuel oil is for vented type heaters.

If your garage is sealed up tight make sure to change the air out every now and then. The fumes from these aren't good for you and can cause severe health problems.

Good point. I will use it to knock the chill off the place and then shut it off, using a small electric to maintain. Or, I will open one garage door a couple of inches after I warm it up, to add some ventilation....

Whatever you do, whatever you burn PLEASE be careful heating a garage with an open flame!
There is a reason heaters in garages are mounted on the ceiling... fuel vapors are heavier than air and stay low and can travel along the floor until they meet a source of combustion. This includes electric heaters!

Most garage equipment is also designed with this in mind and switches or anything that can cause a spark are usually at least 18" above the floor.

If you have a fire and the investigator finds an unapproved heater in your garage insurance has an out and will not cover the damage.

I don't know how many people call me to put a wood stove in a garage... I tell them if you can get the Code Enforcement official and your insurance company to approve it no problem if they say no there is a reason... They ALWAYS say no!

I've NEVER seen "#1 Diesel Fuel" for sale, nor any engine designed for it. "No. 1 Fuel Oil" however, is sometimes mixed for low temps.

I tried Diesel in my radiant kerosene heater. After 40L, the wick is fouled with carbon or something similar and needs replacement. YMMV, but I'm not making this mistake again...

For the amount I will use it, I will stick with Kerosene. I need to check with my bulk dealer to see if they have kerosene on one of their pumps, or I need to get it some other way from them. Fall back would be to get 5 gallons at a box store. I use kerosene as a solvent when cleaning wheel bearings and such, so it doesn't hurt to have some laying about.

Around here most places have K1 but I'm in a rural area. It'll be on a pump away from the gas island sometime by the air station.


I had no idea stores sold this so looked. They have lost their minds wanting $40+ for 5 gallons.

LOL, and they sell a QUART of premix 2 stroke gas for TWELVE BUCKS to people too damned stupid/lazy to do it

I have a wick style Corona heater for my garage. I use #1 dyed Diesel in it. Burns just fine. At about 1/2 the cost of #1K. They call it "off road Diesel" where I buy it from.

#1K does seem to burn just a little cleaner and hotter but, at 1/2 the price, I stick with the #1 Diesel.

I was close to picking up a kero garage heater, but at the last second changed my mind and went with propane. No stank or oily residue on everything. With our "winter" here, shouldn't have a problem keeping the garage comfortable with a couple of 30lb tanks.

Bought 5gal of K1 today from the bulk dealer where I have an acccount. It was about 5.88/gal. Also drained the tank on the heater and flushed out a bunch of rusty water, so will interesting to see how it performs with fresh fuel.

We heat with forced-air nat. gas, so should electricity be unavailable, I have no heat. No basement, so wood isn't practical. This past Fall, I looked at propane portable heaters for both occasional garage, and for in-house emergency heat. I wanted enough heat to be able to stay in the house (hunkered down in a central location), and to keep plumbing from freezing.

I Googled and spent time on the manufacturer's websites, and did not find any propane heaters that the manufacturer says can be used indoors. They all are rated for construction sites and garages, so I assume the determining issue is how air-tight the space is.

My garage is insulated and has a heat supply from the house, which keeps it warmer than outside, but cooler than inside. The only place where cold, fresh air really comes in is around the single, insulated, overhead door, so I was nervous about portable propane heat in my garage. And I definitely don't want to burn propane in the house unless the heater is rated as safe for indoor use.

In the end, I bought a 23,000 BTU kerosene heater instead. I used one way back when I had no furnace, and heated with wood + a kero heater.


(not mine, but about the same)

The one I bought for $200 seems well made, and the only time it smells is when it is extinguished. Cost of fuel isn't important, as a) I like kero for chain cleaning, and b) I bought a 10L jug on sale, which would last through several days of continuous use.

Is your heater rated for inside use? Or garage & job-site only? If so please confirm the brand, because I am still interested in propane. Propane burns cleanly, and I always have a couple 20 lb. tanks on hand for the BBQ.

I am sure you have a CO detector in the room.

That still seems high. I'll check in next day or so what it is here. Diesel is around $3.

Any heater that burns fuels makes CO. Non vented put the CO in the room. Make sure your CO meter is on the floor. You may be dead before a ceiling mounted one goes off. unless you have a fan going.

Understood. CO is a result of combustion regardless of fuel. We would not be able to have a fan going during a power outage, which was the primary reason for the purchase.

Good idea to have the CO detector reasonably close to the source. Lower is not good though, since CO is lighter than air, so detectors should be high.

My reason for avoiding propane is that none of the ones I looked at were rated to be used inside the house. I assume that for a space heater to be rated for for interior use, the amount of CO released must be lower.

I could swear CO is denser. Maybe it was CO2 or the other gasses from the burning with the CO that made it denser. Maybe that is why I suck at chemistry.

Vented are.