Paraffin/Kerosene Heater - types of fuel..

martco

like many nowadays I'm concerned about the price of heating the house and the room I work out of is the coldest of the house, the garage!

I remembered how my father used to have a Paraffin heater he'd use out in his shed or deploy to some rooms in the house occasionally when the cold was biting, a lovely thing called a blue flame heater "because it has a little window and if you looked inside the glow off it was a lovely blue colour!) I also remember it gave of some serious heat for something of its size and would boil water if you sat a small pot on top for a few mins...

SO as an experiment for last winter I went looking for a modern equivalent of his Kero heater...bought a neat and tidy one at a Dublin based crowd who sells them (not going to say, google) who sold me 2x 20L tubs of something called "TOZANE" oil along with it to get started...safer and less smelly alternative to Kero I was told. the heater worked well enough over the winter, no complaints, grand. However this Tozane stuff (which I thought already was a bit cheeky moneywise as I was loading it into the car) is horrific money now working out about €2,40/L it's not exactly sold far and wide and I'm wondering now is it a bit of a p**stake? not much info online it's marketed as a "ROLF" (Reduced Odour Liquid Fuel) and happy to be corrected but far as I can tell "tozane" is a brand name

Just wondering anyone out there who tried this Tozane stuff but switched back to Paraffin and how did it go? did the roof cave in or did things go ok? Or just burns Paraffin/Kero and lives to tell the tale. I don't remember my fathers heater choking everyone to death tbh so wondering if this is all a bit modern marketing bllx.

?

JVince

2.40/L is a good rate. A lot of the cost is in packaging it up and transporting it and a retailer will want a higher margin as it does not exactly fly off the shelves. Kerosene is about 1.30 in small quantities from a pump but will stink the place. Even if you check UK suppliers, they tend to be about £2.20-£2.50 / l based on 20L drums.

When I was growing up my dad also had a paraffin heater, but back then the local fuel station (Esso goatstown - long long gone) had a paraffin pump (and a kerosene pump) because the heaters were fairly popular.

Masterkey01

Im in the same position as you sort of but worse off, Ive used my heater 2 winters now and I've just turned it on this morning, Im down to my last 4ish litres, Aswell as the fact its eye watering in price compared to other fuels, I also cant purchase it anymore without making the drive from Kerry to Dublin, As they no longer ship it. Id be very happy to find an alternative but im not sure there is, From what I've read is Tozane is very clean fuel and anything else will damage the Heater.

aidocore

Could I ask you who own a heater, how long is a litre typically lasting you?

martco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121458729#Comment_121458729

I'll test measured amount next time I fill her, standby

The Red Ace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448476#Comment_121448476

I have one of those heaters as well but what I ran it on last year was aviation fuel,avgas which is as far as I know hi grade kerosene, got a few gallons from a friend who had contacts in those circles. Avgas is advertised for sale by three different companies in Irl, maybe you know who supplies to farranfore

Five Green Bottles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121467792#Comment_121467792

AVGAS is essentially PETROL a high grade petrol. You CANNOT put that in a paraffin heater, IT WILL BLOW UP.

Jet Fuel (JET A1) for turbine aircraft is a low sulphur and more refined type of Paraffin it should be cleaner than Kero or home heating oil, Im not sure if its safe for domestic indoor use.

Never ever put AV GAS or 100LL aviation fuels into a Paraffin heater

The Red Ace

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121539415#Comment_121539415

Ok it must have been jet a1 as it didn’t explode or go into a fireball and I did a check with a very small amount first.

An Ri rua

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121448476#Comment_121448476

I've had an Inverter 5086 since December 2010. Has never let me down, beast of a thing.

There's a crowd much nearer you, in Cork, that looks almost like a franchise of Sheds... Same prices and same stuff. 5x20L of Tozane. And they courier. So happy days. https://www.idealstorage.ie/product/paraffin-oil-tozane/

Woodies always have paraffin, 4L, at exorbitant cost. As always. But handy if stuck.

I've run on kero spiced up with Dipetane and never had nay gumming issues. But I can understand how it could easily happen over time. Because of my pets, moreso than myself, I stick to proper paraffin now.

Also seeking a better price than €54 delivered as, despite the production lag that could be expected between wholesale kero and packaged paraffin, Tozane /ROLF has not tracked back down AT ALL since Feb 22. So rolf indeed except its not funny. Someone in the supply chain IS taking the p*ss.

MCL, where I got my Inverter and 20L drums originally and for a number of years are even saucier on the prices. The competition is sparse; a 2 horse race...

I am still toying with fitting a good quality 5kw Chinese diesel heater (MaxPeedingRods) to my home office but they're not a simple plug and play (depends on the usage scenario) and I haven't time on these short days for faffing around.

It looks like €54 delivered for paraffin is the height of it unless anyone has any better options? I used to collect 10+drums when I worked nearer but driving bombs are not so popular with insurance companies. Nor I as I gain sense with age.

An Ri rua

Worth noting that in France, where these types of heaters are very popular (along with Japan where most are manufactured), they're referred to as 'petrole'. As astutely pointed out, don't put petrol in a paraffin heater or it will be almost the last event of note in your household. A life-ending episode.

Lots of confusing terminology around paraffin /kero especially if reading American /Canadian fora; so be careful out there.

An Ri rua

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121458729#Comment_121458729

Too many variables. The type of heater, the room, the temperature demanded, the temperature being battled, the hours used. Etc etc.

Suffice to say cheaper than central heating but then there's the initial outlay. Mine cost €279 in Dec2010 and still pulling like a train, with all electronic features working (its Japanese after all) as of tonight. And they cost €389 now.

In a large semi-d kitchen, say, from 8am-12 pmon a weekend, at 18c, in winter such as this? 3 days for 5l tank. Thats 12 days for now €54 delivered. On gentler winter days, that's closer to 5 days. In very late Spring, closer to 10 days max.

These figures are very approximate, and for a 230v fan-driven heat (i.e an Inverter or any injection/atomising model). I also have a non fan wick style paraffin heater that's BNIB and for a proper grid down situation as, while the radiant heat is always nice, fan-driven is the best comfort and very small watts (750w startup, 30w draw) even if using a battery/inverter setup or a solar powerstation.

Bottomline, its very difficult to offer figures to anyone else. Have a look at dryitout.com as they used to have good info.

Paraffin heaters are very safe if used as intended and basic maintenance and rules observed (e.g. never block the rear air intake. I did accidentally only recently and it overheated but thankfully its clever enough to switch itself off).

So don't buy secondhand unless you understand these heaters, don't mess with the recommended fuel (unless you understand etc) and be mindful of children and pets. Children moreso as pets are typically smarter!