Printable View
Does anyone here have any experience with a gas log fireplace during power outages? We have gas logs, stove and oven and are hoping to use them when/if the power goes out during this storm. DH says if the logs are on, they'll stay on. He said if the oven is on, it'll stay on until the temp has to adjust and then it'll go out due to the ignitor being electric. Anyone?!?
Can't help with the gas logs due to no experience in that area.
With the kitchen stove /oven, they basically fall into two catagories:
1. The old style. This type used pilot lights which were burning 24/7 all year round. When you lit the stove or the oven needed to go back on, the flame was already there to assist.
2. The new style. This type uses the piezo electric thingy that requires electricity to operate. Your oven is basically worthless with a power outage. However, the burners on top of the stove are still usable. Some stoves still use a pilot light on top which operate as in explanation # 1 above. Other stove tops also use the piezo electric spark to light the burners. However, you can still light the stove top burners with a match and they will continue to burn until they are manually turned off using the stove top burner knobs.
Not what you would call a technical explanation, but I hope it helps. I've used both types so I'm just passing on my limited experience.
If you want to, just for the experience and peace of mind, unplug the thing and get some hands on experience before truly needing it for any upcoming storm.
We have a gas log fireplace. If the electric goes out, the blower won't work. Without the blower going, I don't think it would throw much heat. If you could close off the room it's in, it might keep it warm enough to survive, but I would worry about fumes since it isn't vented. We don't have anything that can be used with this fireplace to cook. We used the fireplace instead of our furnace for several years, and it managed to heat the whole house pretty good. The downside was, it left greasy soot on the walls and curtains. Right now the blower isn't working, so we haven't used it in a couple of years.
Be very careful that you have proper ventilation in the house so that there isn't a family disaster with carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure you have a CO detector in the house and it is working properly.
We have the same problem here. We have electric heat, and live in a condo, so have no way to get an alternate heat source. Would love a wood stove or fireplace, but not allowed, and am a bit leary about using kerosene or propane in the house.
Anyone have suggestions for alternate heat sources?
That definitely helped RightWinger! I think ours is one with the electric thingie, but at least we can still use the stovetop.
Sadie, do all the gas log fireplaces use the blowers? I don't think ours has one (assuming it would be loud and we'd hear it?). Think DH is gonna do an experiment in a while with the circuit board and see if the logs stay on. He just said ours doesnt have a blower.
Carbon monoxide poisoning was one of the first things i thought of. I said we should leave a window cracked open.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bethshaya
No suggestions on alternate heat so far, other than what I told my fam, and that's we can go sit in the car with the heater on, lol! Not much help there, sorry!
I would go beat the crowd and get a kerosene heater! I have used them and they are great for heat. Mine has a cage over it and a pot can be placed on top for warming food. Can't do any major cooking of course, but you will not die freezing. The new ones are quite efficient and safe indoors. I have retired mine to the storage building because I am using my woodstove, but have about 20 gallons of kerosene just in case. It can get very cold in a house without power quite quickly. I would hate to rely on a stove top and gaslogs knowing there were better, inexpensive alternatives, especially in an area prone to power outages.
I have an older Kerosun heater that I do not use much for the garage. It has am oder of kerosene, slight, but there. I also have a vent less 80,000 BTU propane heater I use with a 20 lb or 30 lb tank. It raises the temp in my 24X24 garage 20 degrees in about 30 minutes. (22 to 42) If it were freeze or not freeze I would use it. I run it for awhile and I shut it off. No open flame wanted when making sawdust or spray painting.
In regards to the gas fireplace and blower. Are these units hardwired or are they plugged into a receptacle for power? If they are plugged into a receptacle could you not run it using a inverter and a deep cell marine battery? Or depending where you live you could hook the inverter to your car and run a cord to the blower unit and power it while the car is running. As always care must be taken so you do not put yourself in any type of harm.
Maybe you could get a Mr buddy heater and some extra propane (1lb) bottles. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5499_200395499 I have used this and it works well. They come in different sizes but the nice thing is they are very portable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dixielee
[quote=orion commander;1357732]I have an older Kerosun heater that I do not use much for the garage. It has am oder of kerosene, slight, but there. I also have a vent less 80,000 BTU propane heater I use with a 20
The oven is easy to test. Unplug the cord and see if it will light.
In any event, an oven is a VERY dangerous form of alternate heat due to the relaitively HIGH carbon monoxide level they give off.
Vented gas logs are safe but produce almost no usable heat beyond the radiant component within a few feet.
Unvented space heaters are legal again in many areas that used to proscribe the things. IMHO they should STILL be illegal !! If they're working perfectly they usually won't kill you. Cracking open a window is not really enough to solve the problem. The catalytic type like Mr. Buddy are probably the safest.
I hate ventless gas heaters so much I will not service or install the darn things.
An "oxygen depletion sensor" is no help !! Lack of O2 isn't what kills you; it is buildup of CO.
In some ways kerosene heaters are the safest of all because that odor some folks complain about warns you to seek some fresh air, thereby reducing the CO exposure somewhat.
Battery operated CO detectors are a must. More than one is almost a necessity; preferably different models, at least ONE of which has a digital readout. They are not the greatest but they are better than nothing. Darn things do not alarm until well into the danger zone due to, you guessed it, government regulation!! Too many "false alarms" in the opinion of the ignorant so they were desensitized.
CO poisoning is a slow killer in most cases. It builds up slowly without warning, sometimes over DAYS. The stuff is absorbed quickly enough but LEAVES the body slowly. That means a low level will accumulate over time until it is at a lethal level. The blood's hemoglobin has a greater affinity for CO than O2 so will take up the wrong one!! Once in the hemoglobin, it doesn't leave very well.
If you are asleep, you just don't wake up. In house fires, folks rarely burn to death - they die from poison gases, including CO - long before they cook.
Some folks feel bad, others become nauseous - they are the lucky ones. Those that do not feel bad or get sick, just DIE. Kids are the most vulnerable, BTW.
You are betting your life that your unvented gas heater or oven won't poison you just to avoid the slight smell of Kerosene. Suit yourself!
I detest the gas logs and have refused to use them for years. they aren't vented, which doesn't seem right to me, but i do'nt know much about that stuff. You've pretty much convinced me that we're just going to bundle up tight and use sleeping bags or other extra clothes/blankets to keep warm.Quote:
Originally Posted by MickeyMouse
If its any consolation for you Stella, this week we had no power and the temperature was in the low single digits overnight.
We all slept on the floor with long johns, sweats, and every comforter we had in the same room. We closed the room off to preserve heat once the power went out (we're all electric with no fireplace/woodstove).
We survived just fine. Plus, my son thought it was fun and that we should do a "test run" every year.
save up and DIY install a wood stove
for $1500 you can have a decent quality stove, chimney and a couple cords of wood.
This is what we want to do, but haven't had the $ yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by .30-30
We have used a kerosene heater a few times. Even though the fumes aren't too bad, it still bothered me. Probably because I have allergies. Diesel makes me sick too. I would like to get a Mr.Buddy if I knew they were worth the money. I have so many things that I might never use that I hesitate to buy one more thing. I do have some propane tanks stored for the Coleman stove, so I should just take the plunge and buy one.
See above. This is the reason I only let mine run a little while and shut it off till temp drops a lot like 15 to 20 degrees. NEVER leave it unattended especially including sleep. Personally I would not have a vent less heater of any kind as a permanent fixture.Quote:
Originally Posted by MickeyMouse
MikeyMouse, I am not sure what the difference between CO level danger is kerosene and propane. Is it the BTU factor? My kerosun is 20K BTUand propane is 80K BTU max but will drop to 20K BTU. Both seem to put out a lot of water in the air if left on for a long time.
We have a vented fireplace,gas, and use during the winter, we close off the upstairs and it keeps the
Downstairs a warm 70, plus it works without electricity. And right now gas isn't too expensive
My bill is.$57.00 a month, on the budget plan.
CO is a function of the amount of carbon in the fuel and how much fuel is burned. Much more important, how completely that carbon is oxidized / burned. LP tends to be more dangerous because it makes less odor when not burning well. Kero stinks or even smokes when not burning properly so folks pay more attention to it.Quote:
Originally Posted by orion commander
Water is the result of combustion of the hydrogen in the fuel. H + O2 = H2O or water. Is much more apparent in a tightly closed structure. Complete combustion of carbon results in carbon DIoxide; partial combustion produces carbon MONoxide.
Yup, my direct-vent gas free-standing fireplace (looks like a woodstove) is awesome. Heats the core of the house too warm on low and is very easy on the propane. Doesn't need any "steen-king" electricity, either. And VERY safe. All of the exhaust goes outside and all of the combustion air comes from outside.
As far as kitchen ranges go...you have to make a special effort to find one with pilots for the burners and a pilot for the oven. No fancy sparker-starters or lights or timers. Mine was the cheapest LP range on the showroom floor, but there is a market for them up here with all of the cabins and deer shacks, so most of the appliance stores carry a few.