Heating with kerosene

[petertay15]

I am moving my shop into a pole barn. 25 x 35, corrugated steel. Two garage doors that don’t seal very tightly when closed. Also a 24 x 36 window can be opened. Up at the corrugated roof, lots of air will leak out. No insulation in northern Illinois where it is below freezing all winter. Insulation (foam board or spray foam) is beyond my budget, so I bought a torpedo heater. Tried it out yesterday. The air temp rose to comfortable in 10 minutes, except the concrete floor which will always be cold.

Seems as if it can run for 10 minutes, turn it off for 10, then back on. I’m not to trying the heat the building, just make it comfortable enough to work in. The owner’s manual says, “For construction sites only, not for indoor use. Must be well ventilated.” MY QUESTION is what dangerous fumes am I dealing with? I’m hoping to keep the garage doors closed.

[Robert Adams]

Heating with kerosene is stupid expensive. I hope that your heater will run diesel which is much more reasonable. Kerosene is $7+ a gallon... Electricity is cheaper.

   As for the CO issue it isn't an issue in a leaky building like that. If you are worried about it get a CO alarm and put it in the building. The safety sallys will chime in and tell you are going to die if you don't do this and that and spend a fortune on whatever product. It's not a big deal just be aware of the situation and take adequate precautions. 

     I use a propane 30-40-50k btu torpedo to heat my insulated shop. No stink like from Kerosene or diesel but propane does have a light smell when it burns due to the crap they put in it. I turn it on and let it run for a bit to get it up to temp and then turn it on when needed. I do have a tap on the gas line outside the house that was used for a grill (i think) at one point but it would require a 100'+ trench etc and I'm not sure if that existing pipe is big enough.
     My other option is if I upsize the AC to do a heat pump.

[Stwood_]

Burning a couple gallon of kero every evening would get expensive.
I would maybe go with LP.
Plug those lower roof opening with fiberglass insulation. That should stop some airflow.
The roof cap will let the shop vent if it isn't sealed up.
Insulate a small amount over time to make it affordable, starting with a ceiling.

[petertay15]

Yes, it burns diesel fuel, heating oil, or kerosene. I have diesel in it.

[Stwood_]

How are you handling the smell?

[Robert Adams]

How are you handling the smell?

         To add to that I forgot to mention the moisture problem as well. Combustion creates massive amounts of water vapor. In my shop if it's really cold and I have to run the heater more than usual every bit of the 2" square tube of the building sweats profusely. There is rarely any dry air to be had outside as humidity is high all the time here. 
  
      The thing to learn is that metal buildings suck for climate control cause even when insulated they have massive amounts of highly conductive steel framing that is directly attached to the outside skin because the insulation is pinched between them. Massive thermal bridging... They only work if you do a layer of 4" foam on the framing then install the skin.

[Roly]

How are you handling the smell?

The new clean diesel does not smell any different than kerosene, no noticeable diesel smell,   just worked in it today for about 4 hours with torpedo heater running all the time.   Roly

[daddo]

If you develop heart racing, dizziness, rapid breathing, weakness, foggy head, pass out or die- quit using it.

I would never suggest, nor would I personally ever breathe burned fuel fumes/exhaust!

It can cause irreversible health conditions that can show up now or later.

If you would smoke 40 cigarettes a day, then by all means proceed.

Not what you want to hear- sorry about that, but tell me how it would be a good thing.

[mike4244]

I am moving my shop into a pole barn. 25 x 35, corrugated steel. Two garage doors that don’t seal very tightly when closed.  Also a 24 x 36 window can be opened.  Up at the corrugated roof, lots of air will leak out.  No insulation in northern Illinois where it is below freezing all winter.  Insulation (foam board or spray foam) is beyond my budget, so I bought a torpedo heater.  Tried it out yesterday.  The air temp rose to comfortable in 10 minutes, except the concrete floor which will always be cold.  

Seems as if it can run for 10 minutes, turn it off for 10, then back on.  I’m not to trying the heat the building, just make it comfortable enough to work in.  The owner’s manual says, “For construction sites only, not for indoor use. Must be well ventilated.”  MY QUESTION is what dangerous fumes am I dealing with?  I’m hoping to keep the garage doors closed.

I used a 125,000 BTU kerosene torpedo heater in my garage and later in my shop after I built it. When I built the shop I only used that heater for one winter . I installed a blue flame no vent type for natural gas. I realized then that respiratory problems I had were from the kerosene heater. 
I had a thermostat made for torpedo heaters that worked perfectly. You plug the heaters motor cord into the thermostat and into an extension cord. You can set the temperature you want, say 70° and the heater will go on or off as needed. 
I had the heater for 25+ years. Most of the time it was heating the barn for vegetable storage that required heat. I gave the heater away when I started heating with natural gas. 
mike

[blackhat]

Just pull your car in and let it run for an hour or so. If you aren’t sick or dead, carry on.