Waste oil heat?

[joe moving]

I was surprised to find out Monitor is based out of Princeton, NJ of all places.

Anyway thanks for the info. There is more research to be done but these look very interesting. The L-30 is .10 GPH at full blast, which is 15K btu.

In the basement we have windows so it sounds like the window kits would work, or perhaps even we could use this fancy thing they have at the bottom of the page ,which goes through the wall.

http://www.toyotomiusa.com/products/...aters/L-30.php

I imagine I'd want to do a temporary (window) solution at first before going through the wall.

[joe moving]

Wow, they want $4/gallon for Kerosene. It is just so odd that it is more expensive than diesel. This is from Bolkema fuel. They said they could deliver in 55 gallon drums.

I wonder if I should just look into the Monitor gas units. We have gas plumbed into the basement already (where I would put this unit). They are not as efficient but then there is no arranging delivery of fuel. At $4/gallon I am thinking roughly 1 gallon per day, $120 a month. That seems like a lot, but maybe not. Last gas bill (Dec) was $164, not sure how much of that is space heat versus cooking and water (I would guess 75-90% of it???).

I do sort of like the idea that the K1 unit could operate independently of the gas, if for some reason there were a problem with gas delivery, or electricity--we have enough battery backup to run the unit at least for a day by that way.

Lots to think about. From what I'm finding the initial investment is only about $1000, which doesn't seem too crazy to get heat into this basement (I'm sitting here and it's 52 right now!!!).

[joe moving]

I am back Again, and I've been doing some math.

Kero: $4.00 per gallon = 135,000 BTU
Natural gas: $1.45 per therm = 100,000 BTU ($1.95 per 135000 BTU from gas)

Even with the efficiency differences of 84% vs 90% of gas vs kero, I can't comprehend the price difference here... Now I am looking into a Rinnai brand gas heater. They are a bit more expensive...

[stevemorse]

Maybe thats a good idea too!!! I think we are both obsessed with heating, and believe me you will know when it hits you. Kerosene up here in Siberia is not as expensive, however, I think your idea may be a good one!!! When I get my house in NJ, I will research your idea now, because I will be paying the same prices as you. So keep me filled in.

[billb7581]

A guy at work attempted to make biodiesel from cooking oil, but it got to be too much of a pain in the ass, so now he just blends it into the diesel, I'd have to ask him the ratio though. An oil burner should be more "forgiving" than a diesel engine so you could probably up the quantity.

[joe moving]

I have been researching kero, gas, pellet and wood stoves for a week now. I have come circle and I am pretty sure I'm ready to make a purchase of a Rinnai 1004, which is a 38000 BTU direct vented gas furnace.



I am waiting for a call from Al's heating (alsheating.com) just to confirm that this is the correct decision. Basically this unit will sit in our living room and heat our entire first floor. It runs at 84% efficiency (vs. 80% on the Trane XR80 central furnace) but I believe we will see MUCH more than 4% improvement.

Just for example, we have the heat set to 65 right now, and in the attic, which is NOT heated is registering at 66 degrees, and our first floor ceiling is insulated. Think about how much heat is lost through the furnace itself and then through all of the vents!

As an expirement, I have recently been running the furnace blower motor 24/7 to try to force some of that hot air back downstairs, which seems to be working--I have noticed that the actual gas burner kicks on much less often, but at the toll of the fan which uses 6 AMPS! or 660 watts... * 24 hours a day / 1000 = 15.84 KWH per day * 30 = 475 KWH per month!!!!!!

I am expecting the unit to cost about $1500 installed and I will definitely have some enjoyment in shutting off our central forced heat.

[JB40]

Here's a good source of info. for new waste oil heaters if you are not comfortable building your own:

http://store.h-mac.com/waste-oil-heaters-boilers.html