Today’s the day when we turned on and tested our electricity-free emergency home heating system. It’s pilot-lighting day for our backup heat system!
Every non-tropical home needs emergency heating.
One of our biggest “localized temporary disaster” threats here in the upper parts of the USA is ice and snow storms, yet so many people suffer frozen pipes during power outages that happen every year that frankly it’s amazing that people ignore emergency heating.
The snow is coming. The ice is coming. It will be here and it will knock out power.
Everyone needs a solution, whether it be using gas or firewood or some other fuel.
Here’s a podcast we recorded (it’s a “well seasoned podcast, we actually recorded it about a year ago and it’s one of our vast back inventory of podcasts that we had not yet posted) the day after we had a main heating unit failure:
Salty & Spice use gas emergency heat
We use a ventless heating system as a backup to our main house heater (we use electric as our main source). Ventless heaters are inexpensive, easy to install and, frankly, fairly controversial.
Let’s start out with the controversy and get it out of the way. Any time you burn something, carbon monoxide is a serious concern.
Here’s some information from Iowa State University about the subject:
“What about carbon monoxide risks? CO, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-irritating poison, is highly toxic and can cause death or permanent brain and organ damage. CO poisons more people than all other poisons combined. When properly maintained and adjusted, gas heaters produce low amounts of carbon monoxide.
One cause of carbon monoxide poisoning from unvented heaters– incomplete combustion caused by lack of air–has been virtually eliminated in newer heaters by use of Oxygen Depletion Sensors (ODS). Unfortunately, the ODS does not respond to incomplete combustion caused by improper gas pressure; dust, dirt, or rust on the burner; incorrect placement of artificial logs in a gas fireplace; or disruption of the burner by air currents. CO poisoning from unvented heaters remains a concern.”
As somebody who lives with one of these devices, you can bet your sweet bippy* we pay attention to carbon monoxide. We have a CO tester in our house nearby where the heater is, and we have tested it using actual carbon monoxide to make sure it actually works.
Additionally, we don’t generally sleep with it turned on. We heat up the place, go to sleep, and turn it back on when we wake up. (CO monoxide can kill you while you sleep without waking you. If you’re awake, you get a headache and feel groggy before the CO reaches toxic levels. Therefore, running potential CO sources is safer if you’re awake.)
The following is taken from the Iowa State website listed above:
Can the health hazards of an unvented heater be reduced?
The most effective method to reduce the hazards is to discontinue use of the unvented heater by switching to vented gas or electric appliances. Where unvented gas appliance use is permitted the following are suggested:
- Use only approved gas heaters with ODS pilots.
- Follow all operation and maintenance instructions carefully.
- Clean the burner yearly, or more often, as required in the owners manual.
- Do not use an oversized heater. The Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA) recommends limiting the amount of pollutants by correctly sizing the heaters. A 3840 Btu/hr heater is the largest that should be used in a tight 10 x 20 foot room located in Iowa. (ED: Well, it is from Iowa State)
- Don’t operate for more than 4 hours at a time. Unvented gas heaters are designed for supplemental use only.
- Do not use unvented heaters in bedrooms, bathrooms, or confined spaces.
- Provide adequate ventilation, as required in the owner’s manual. If the home has weatherstripped doors and windows an outside air source will likely be required.
- Provide even more ventilation, or discontinue unvented heater use, if the pollutants cause health problems.
- Install a U-L or IAS listed carbon monoxide detector. Because low concentrations of carbon monoxide can cause health problems, purchase a detector advertised as a “sensitive” detector or one with a digital display.
A better option… vented electricity free heaters
A better option, in Salty’s opinion, is if possible to get a vented gas heater that uses no electricity. There is such a thing?
Yes, they are commonly used on sailboats, some campers and in other situations where electricity is either very limited or completely unavailable.
Here’s an example that appears to not need electricity, I have no direct experience with this model so be sure to verify it is electricity free before getting serious about ordering it (or any other heater). Click on the picture for the sales info (we are not affiliated with the heater company or Amazon in any way).
Click to view information
Ye Ole Fireplace
Of course, another way to heat up your home if the power is out is “ye ole fireplace”… whether that’s a “great way” to heat your home or not kinda depends upon several factors.
- Is your fireplace ornamental or was it actually designed to heat up a room?
- Do you maintain your fireplace by cleaning out the flue?
- Have you done “dumb” stuff like burning Christmas wrapping in your fireplace?
- Do you have proper spark protection to keep embers from starting fires?
- Is there a carbon monoxide detector in the room with your fireplace?
- Do you have a smoke detector in the room?
- Are the rugs in front of the fireplace non-flammable?
- Have you been inspecting your chimney cap periodically?
Modern house fireplaces are not furnace replacements
Here’s a simple truth that most people don’t realize when it comes to modern houses with fireplaces. Unlike houses where the fire was the main source of heating, modern houses’ fireplaces are NOT designed or built to be furnaces, and they may well not hold up to being lit 24/7.
A modern fireplace is designed to house a fire for a time period of four hours or less. Fires burning longer than that can cause serious heat buildup problems as the warming zone of the fire expands outward. The longer the heat remains in the fireplace, the further throughout the structure of the house the warmth spreads. That sounds like a good thing, but it can lead to things that are not supposed to be really hot getting really hot.
Fireplaces have their place in emergencies, but they are not an answer all to themselves … unless, of course, your house was designed to be heated by one. (Spice’s note: As a Red Cross volunteer dealing with house fire cases, I’ve seen quite a few reported as starting in a fireplace. I don’t recall any specifically mentioning being attributed to a gas heater.)
Wood stoves
The simple truth is that a well-installed, properly vented wood stove will keep your house warm as long as you have plenty of wood. It will also serve as a great place to cook your food.
I love wood stoves, and you probably do too, but your insurance company sure doesn’t.
Why? Because wood stoves when NOT properly installed or maintained burn a lot of houses down.
I posted in an article yesterday about a tragedy we had in a nearby town where two children died in a home fire. The cause of that fire? An improperly installed wood stove. The house burned down the night the stove was installed.
Wood stoves can be perfectly safe, of course, but they also need to be maintained. They need clean chimneys; they need to be cleaned out regularly; and of course there are also burn hazards with small children or careless adults.
I’ll take a pass on Kerosene
A lot of people have kerosene heaters as backups, but they are foul-smelling and dangerous. I’ll pass on those.
Make sure your backup heater is designed for indoor use
One other thing to consider is to make sure your heater is specifically designed for indoor use. Many heaters are not, and they shouldn’t be used inside of a house. I could go on and on about it, but it really is that simple.
Watch out for requisite electric fans
Spice’s note: When we were first looking at a non-electric backup heat, we saw some heaters fueled primarily by gas or wood that had to have an electric fan to distribute the heat or they’d turn themselves off. Not terribly helpful for power outage backup service; so keep an eye out.
(Spice’s Note: It always gives me a warm fuzzy when the back-up heater comes on for the fall test. We tend (as is the forecast for tomorrow) to follow warm fall rains with a dump of snow then a hard cold. That combination brings down a lot of power lines.)
*Bonus points if you recognize this phrase from Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.
NOTE: We were advised below in the comments that using a 20lb bottle indoors is illegal, so please keep that in mind… we have removed a short section that contained information about a 20lb bottle heater to reflect this information. Thanks for sharing, Bob!
RECENT POSTS:
Flue: a duct for smoke
Flu: an illness caused by a virus
Um, yah. I guess it shows which one of those words I read most often….
Salty: I dunno, that kind flue right over my head.
Why the bad rap on kerosene? Kerosene can be safely stored inside your home.
The better grades aren’t smelly.
First, thank you for your comment, we appreciate all points of view.
We base our blog on personal experience and what we know. I have no reason whatever to doubt what you say about the odor question. There may indeed be kerosene types that do not stink, but if so I’ve never smelled one. I’m not doubting your word I’m just not familiar with them.
So let’s compare standalone “put away” propane heaters and kerosene heaters side by side.
Which type of heater burns less fuel per BTU: There are 91,740 BTUs per gallon of propane. There are 141,700 BTUs per gallon of No. 2 fuel oil (the cheapest thing that will burn in a propane heater, but a fuel that most definitely stinks). Multiply the cost per gallon of propane X 1.09 to get the cost of 100,000 BTU’s of propane and then Multiply the cost per gallon of No. 2 fuel oil X .71 to get the cost of 100,000 Btus of No. 2 fuel oil and compare that cost.
At the time of this comment, right now my local COOP has #2 at $3.37 per gallon, and the same place is selling LP for $1.78.
So, for 100,000 BTU’s of Kerosene heat (the cheapest type fuel I can find to put in one of those heaters) is $2.39
For 100,000 BTU’s of propane heat, the cost is $1.94.
Other propane advantages include indefinite shelf life vs. kerosene’s admittedly long shelf life; LP is much harder to spill, and if it does spill it does not create a lingering fire hazard… no highly flammable materials soaking into carpets and flooring; LP is much safer to store, and requires no fuel treatment whatever; LP is much more readily available, sold in quantity at virtually every big box, c-store and grocery store, etc.
One last thing I will mention is that heaters burning either of these fuels need to be carefully monitored for carbon monoxide, so there’s no advantage of one over the other there.
I hope this clarifies why I personally will take a pass on kerosene type heating and stick with propane.
We live in remote mountain country and there’s definitely hard winter cold spells here in the northwest. The wife uses electric heat to keep pipes warm, but absolutely wood heat is the only way to go! If you live in a city that’s a more complicated issue. I’d consider propane emergency heat but leave good ventilation. Without ventilation, there’s a problem with possible carbon monoxide.
I had a friend who used kerosene heaters in his home until he woke up one morning covered in soot. He had to have his whole house cleaned. I don’t remember exactly what the issue was with the heater, but I got rid of my kerosene heater. The same thing can probably happen with other types of heating equipment. You must keep it clean and well maintained.
It is illegal to put a propane cylinder of 20 lbs or more inside a dwelling or other buildings.
Source?
Many people store cylinders in sheds, etc.
Well, I just did a quick search and found many references. I’m going to do further research, but I’m going to err on the side of caution, I don’t want to advise somebody to do something that can cause they problems down the road so I deleted that paragraph to be on the safe side.
Like all things, people should check to see what is legal and what isn’t in their own neighborhood
I know this is a few months old.
How about a propane floor furnace? No electricity required.
We have heated that way for 30 years. 500 gallon tank out back lasts all winter.
That tank also runs our small (8KW) backup genset for the kitchen circuit and the well pump, and some lights.
Does your propane floor furnace require an air circulatory system or is it all power free? My mom had one for years, but hers required an electric blower. I’ve seen some that don’t, but I honestly don’t know much about them.
My wife and I lived on a boat in NJ/Mass and keeping warm was always an issue, we used elect heat but the little one that fit our boat would die quickly and certainly if the power was lost during a storm we lived in the cold. We added a small boat wood stove which did ok but again too small and could not keep up with the cold. After a couple of 17 degree nights in Conn. we move to a more spacious abode, a converted school bus. There we used a chicken coop heater, kerosine, which was warmer but the black soot every now and then was a serious pain. After moving into a real house in NC, the heat was provided by electric baseboards what a terrible idea, very expensive and inefficient. The kerosine heaters were added but the smell and mess, even after taking care of the wicks and maintenance still a pain in the butt. But then we added a small wood stove which was much better, still a bit messy but lovely heat and worth the work, then came the heat pumps plus a larger wood stove. The wood stove kept us good during winter storms, during one storm we stayed warm for the number of weeks without power.
We live in Ohio now and have a good furnace, a pellet stove (as long we have power, life is lovely and warm) and for the loss of power we have a very nice gas log insert, when the power is lost we move downstair near to the gas insert.
Having lived on boats, spent 22 yrs in the service living outside in the weather being warm is my thing and I have no faith in modern conveniences and certainly being attached to one method does not give me the warm and fuzzy. Certainly propane, city gas and wood are my go to.
I hope my rant is of value. With all due respect and stay warm
Friends for low electricity needs heat like pellet stoves and circulating fans for propane (plus many Require power to be “allowed to run” safety’s) a small off grid solar system and a couple of batteries will give you heat. One of my neighbors has oil heat needing little power. Has not installed the solar panels (wife not sure about neighbors opinions…) so uses it like an uninterruptable power supply but can use heat for almost 24 hours after grid it lost, then I recharge them with my portable generator.
Solar is modular and is not rocket science to install. When my neighbor was concerned about cost I asked him what was the cost of repairing frozen pipes? What is the value of staying warm in an artic vortex or having a few LED lamps for light.