K1 ??

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

How much K1 used in lamps,heaters per hour? Any way to remove red dye?

-- maritim (maritim@k1.com), March 28, 1999

Answers

Variable depends on the lamp, heater, stove, etc. You should be able to find a gas station in your area that sells "UNTAXED, UNDYED KEROSENE". Here in NE Ohio, the company is Ullman Oil, represented by a station at 185th and the Shoreway, in Euclid.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (reinzoo@en.com), March 28, 1999.


I guess I am what is kown as a lurker. I have been following post here for awhile (after getting connected to internet)and have gotten much useful infomation. I believe that there will be problems and have started with preprations in the last month for some of the essentials. There doesn't seem to be a lot of preparation in my area and anyone you say anything to replies with the phrase they will fix it!" Anyhow we have a new kerosene heater and I can't find clear K1, only the red dye is available here it seems. Will it cause problems or is it alright to use this in the heater??? Will it gummy up the wick or smoke a lot more?? Sorry about posting answer with another question, but I have finally posted (I listen a lot !!!)I am one of the late GI yall have been talking about lately, who needs info.. Thanks

-- hilltopper (k@GI.now), March 28, 1999.

Hilltoper,

Both my Kerosun and my Perfection 500 series devour the dyed as well as the undyed without ANY problem. Just check the wick at reasonable intervals. For storage, though, you probably want to try to find some of the undyed. (consider contacting some of the heating fuel distributors).

chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (reinzoo@en.com), March 28, 1999.


Have to disagree with you on this one, Chuck. Red-dyed kerosene will harm both your wicks and your health. I've done quite a bit of research on this subject, mostly a few months back when I called several petro producers about the dye issue. The uniform response I got from the refiners was that they strongly recommend against using the dyed product in ANY unvented appliance, e.g lamps, lanterns and heaters. You can read the Material Safety Data Sheets on both undyed and dyed kero here: Amerada Hess MSDS, where they mention that the dyed variety is not to be used in unvented appliances. This URL was given to me by Hess customer service, who emphatically stated that the dyed kero was verboten for indoor use. My local supplier made substantially the same statement to me when queried... he buys from two different refineries (not sure who) and they instructed him to placard his tanks with a statement to the effect that use of dyed kerosene in an unvented appliance was NOT recommended, and would be done entirely at the user's risk. Indeed, when I visited he had the sign prominently displayed. One website that discusses this issue as concerns kerosene heaters is www.msiwix.com, sellers of kero heaters... the red dye page is here.

In case anyone noticed, I posted this information to the Aladdin forum under a pseudonym a few weeks back

Maritim, here's kero usage in a nutshell:

A 10,000 BTU heater will us 1 gallon of kerosene every 16 hours.

A 23,000 BTU heater will use 2 gallons every 16 hours.

An Aladdin mantle lamp (2500 BTU) will use 1 gallon every 50 hours.

A lantern with a 1-inch flat wick will use 1 gallon every 200 hours.

-- sparks (wireless@home.com), March 28, 1999.


Agree with Sparks. Lots of people (not all) report nasty headaches with dyed kero, though EPA denies that should happen. We're using taxed kero. It's a lot more expensive (.30/gal) but the heck with it, life's too short.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), March 28, 1999.


I agree with Sparks. I have two Kerosun heaters and use only K-1 kerosene. I use one Kerosun on a sun porch (12 x 14) in the winter and I am able to heat the room continuously on one fill, on low heat for about 24 hours. The wicks are expensive and I have purchased replacements for them (I paid $24.00 for just one wick). I also have an Alladin Lamp but haven't calibrated for kerosene consumption. I also have several oil lamps (I'm a collector), and have calibrated the oil lamps for consumption. If your going to spend money on keorsene and lamp oil, spend a little extra and get the best because you will be the one breathing the air.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), March 28, 1999.

I know it isn't a valid reason these days but it just doesn't make sense that they would make "off road" kero harmful for use in home heaters.

What else do you use off road kero for?

I know farmers may add some to *their* diesel fuel. Truckers are *not* supposed to do this. But, there are millions of heaters out there that will be using red dyed kero and surely they must have been considered, if only for health reasons, before putting this red dye into the fuel.

I talked with a distributor and he said about one ounce of the dye goes into a tank truck. That tank held two or three thousand gallons at least.

And, from what I read on the web pages mentioned above, they refer to concerns and dangers of unvented burning, that are inherent to both dyed and undyed fuels equally. I saw no word on problems brought on by the dye itself.

In fact, the msiwix site says "The use of dyed K-1 should not affect the operation of direct-vent or wick fed heaters."

On top of all that, we have already been buying and using red dyed, blue dyed, and green dyed lamp oil for years and it was just to make the stuff *look* nicer. Nobody worried about it then did they? Its probably the same kind of dye.

Me.

-- Floyd Baker (fbaker@wzrd.com), March 28, 1999.


Hill,

You didn't say where you checked - around here a few scattered gas stations actually have a separate pump or (let your fingers do the walking, call and ask), many of the hardware stores - the biggies Home Despot, Menards, and Lowes types used to have 5 gallon cans of it (both filled and empties). The smallers locals and chains (Ace, True Value, Coast to Coast) have 55 gallon drum in the back rooms from which they'll fill your blue approved container. If you haven't specifically asked - you might get a pleasant surprise.

jh

-- john hebert (jt_hebert@hotmail.com), March 29, 1999.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ