Heater advice??

Ok guys, I need some advice! I live in a drafty old farmhouse and the only heat I've had here was supplied by (2) 220v electric Ceil Heat stack heaters. They are great heaters and will heat a huge area. BUT....one of then has died and I can't find replacement parts since they are no longer made. I bought a 'quartz heater", but you have to stand right on top of the thing to feel any heat. I was told by the hardware employee that this "quartz" heater was the best thing I could find unless I went to central heat and air. (Not an option. I rent and the landlord won't have it installed.)

So, my question is....what types of portable heaters can compare to the older stack heaters I've used for the last 20 years? I need something that will heat a drafty kitchen/dining room (500 sq. ft.) and keep it warm. I wouldn't mind getting a kerosene heater....but they scare me. Are they really safer now? All comments and advice appreciated.

I can't really recommend a heater, but I can throw in my 2 cents about a kerosene heater.
My in-laws bought one and used it for only a couple of weeks. The smell in their home was nasty; I didn't know kerosene had an odor like that, or maybe I'm just sensitve to the smell (although DH smelled it, too, and the in-laws don't use it at all anymore).
Will your land-lord do any weather-proofing for you? You'd think he'd have to supply a heat source, for heaven's sake!

I´m living in a natural heater!... ...
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So sorry...not opinion!...

We have central heating issues....
The cat room is on its own wall panel heater and rest of house is without(4 bed 2 story).
We used the fake fireplace for the open din/kitchen/living room(about $100 from amazon) We have some tiny space heaters($15 from walmart) that are great for any closed off space

Bedrooms could get to any temp but rest of house was a struggle Watch your pipes as they will freeze before you even think its cold enough!

One of the benefits of renting is that this is your landlord's or property manager's problem. He/she needs to make sure that you have adequate heat. Hopefully you are doing the research but not paying for it... sorry I can't help you out. We have a huge furnace in our basement that gets to 450F and it kind of freaks me out.

Originally Posted by libby74

I can't really recommend a heater, but I can throw in my 2 cents about a kerosene heater.
My in-laws bought one and used it for only a couple of weeks. The smell in their home was nasty; I didn't know kerosene had an odor like that, or maybe I'm just sensitve to the smell (although DH smelled it, too, and the in-laws don't use it at all anymore).
Will your land-lord do any weather-proofing for you? You'd think he'd have to supply a heat source, for heaven's sake!

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Thanks! Yeah...the smell is also a concern. What weather proofing has been done, I've did myself. It's just an old farm house and he'd just as soon tear it down and use the land for pasture.

Originally Posted by CoolCat

I´m living in a natural heater!...

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So sorry...not opinion!...

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You're so lucky Rigel!

Unfortunately landlords are only "required" to keep the house heated just enough so pipes don't freeze (if your lease states they pay for heat), which for most LL is 55 degrees F. Which in a drafty house is really really not comfortable. If your rental agreement says you are responsible for utilites than it is up to you and out of their hands completely.

I also have a very drafty work environment being I am between the drafts of two constantly opening and closing doors at opposite ends of the office. So I get it from ALL directions. I use the oil radiators you can buy at walmart or anywhere really...

When on high it gets the office very toasty.

Originally Posted by catsallaround

We have central heating issues....
The cat room is on its own wall panel heater and rest of house is without(4 bed 2 story).
We used the fake fireplace for the open din/kitchen/living room(about $100 from amazon) We have some tiny space heaters($15 from walmart) that are great for any closed off space

Bedrooms could get to any temp but rest of house was a struggle

Watch your pipes as they will freeze before you even think its cold enough!

Click to expand...

Do the fake fireplaces put out a lot of heat? The only room I have with a door is the bathroom. The rest of the rooms a have the wide doorways, typical of the '40's style homes. And yeah...I know all about the pipes freezing up!! I've even had the well to freeze! I have to use a heater or a light bulb in it too,when it gets below 20 degrees.

They are ok-I only went with them as I was afraid the cats would just knock over anything else. Last year I aimed a lil heater at the wall as we froze the run off pipe from the water heater(well thats my guess as to what it is it froze outside and the water began to leak out in the water heater closet).

I know when I worked in a warehouse we were given the oil radiator heater and it did work very well for our small office that was right by the doors.

Originally Posted by fifi1puss

Unfortunately landlords are only "required" to keep the house heated just enough so pipes don't freeze (if your lease states they pay for heat), which for most LL is 55 degrees F. Which in a drafty house is really really not comfortable. If your rental agreement says you are responsible for utilites than it is up to you and out of their hands completely.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you live, but here (and in the US) tenants paying for utilities is not the same thing as a landlord furnishing a source of heat, in compliance with the housing code. Unless it was written into the lease (and I'm not sure if that would even stand up in a court of law) the landlord must provide a source for hot water and a source for heating the apartment or house. If the tenant doesn't pay the bills and the utilities are turned off, that's the tenant's problem, but buying a furnace or what is needed to heat the home is definitely not the tenant's problem.

I don't know what a stack heater is, but I can recommend something.

I love my electric fireplaces. If looks aren't important, you can get one that looks like a cast-iron stove, at Home Depot, for $99. We just bought one to use in the (former garage) storage room, where the litter boxes are (to keep the kitties warm out there, and for use when we wash out the litter boxes). It heats up to 400 sq. ft, for .16 per hour on the average. I have the same-sized unit, but mounted in a nice wooden mantel/box thing, and have used it for 3 years. I turn the thermostat down to 60F, then use the heater. With a sweater (I'm always cold, though), it heats the dining room and living room nicely, and saves on the real heat. I also have another in our bedroom. These are pricier: I paid about $230 for mine on sale. They're a bit noisier than I'd prefer, but I still like mine. And it doesn't cost much to run.

Kerosene heaters are very nice. We have one for emergencies, which we had to use for a month a few years back, when our heat pump died (longgggggg story). They are quite safe; most modern ones have an automatic shut-off if you even lightly bump them. You do have to fill them downstairs, and outside. Also be aware that, if the weather is snowy/icy, sometimes the trucks can't get to the gas station to re-fill the tanks (happened to us). Some cities, like Philadelphia, PA, made using the heaters illegal.

The oil-filled radiator-type space heaters are good, but, in my experience (see heat pump problem above!) really run up the electric bill--doubling it, in our case. The electric fireplaces work just as well, and are far cheaper to run.

We live in an old farmhouse as well,and heated with wood for years.I love the wood heat,but it tears me up with my allergies.We got rid of one woodstove in the livingroom and got a small propane heater that hangs on the wall and they are ventless.They are very safe...the wall behind stays cool...because the heat all comes from the front.They come in different btu's,therefore the prices are different,and they are very efficient.We bought the first one from our propane company,and this was several years ago.They say they are like 98% efficient...no issues with carbon monoxide,although they don't recommend them for new construction.You can buy a blower for them,but we don't have that.The first winter we fell in love with it,and turned around in the spring,got rid of the second woodstove and bought another heater at Lowe's.I'm thinking they both are 18,000 btu's.So I have one at each end of the house...we close off the upstairs as we don't use it,so I am heating my living and diningroom,bath,kitchen and 1 bedroom and utility room.We keep them set a tick or 2 below medium unless it's very windy and frigid .I do not like a hot house...I'd rather wear my sweats and slippers.We have a 250 gallon propane tank,and of course they never fill it more than 80%,and I got my tank filled twice last winter...and I still have 20% left in there.Personally we are very satisfied.I would recommend them highly to anyone,we are that pleased.

I adore my wood stove. We have oil heat with floor vents for the mild chilly days and the wood stove is for full on winter and I ADORE it. Its a pain to figure it out, our first winter it either wasnt warm enough or blistering hot inside the house. We have now figured out exactly which wood we want and how to burn it to keep it perfect. There isnt a ton of maintenance to it atleast for us. We just replaced all the piping inside the house and clean the wood stove itself out twice a year, before burning and after. We also do the chimney about two or three times a year because Im terrified of a chimney fire. LOL

We have those little plug in oil heater thingers but only for the bathroom where all the pipes are because we have to keep that room closed and keeping the door shut isnt an option since the cats have a water dish in there and congregate in there for their daily meetings of the minds. The little space heater is amazing for that room.

We just bought a Digital Pedestal ceramic heater with remote control by Lasko..so far, it's giving me more heat than the last 3 heaters we've used in recent years. I especially love that it can be set to rotate..it's rated for supplemental heat only but it sure is heating this entire, very drafty room well.

Thanks everyone!! At least I now have an idea of what to shop for!

My parents use a quartz heater in the winter, they usually have it in their tv room. Their's work pretty good and will heat the room up pretty well. The cats like it too. They also have a couple really old kerosine heaters which they've had for, like, forever. I had them when we lived in Iowa and that was over 14 years ago. I would say they're at least 20 years old probably older. They usually bring those out if we have a bad winter storm which kills the power. It just might be a strange thing in my family, but I always enjoyed the smell of Kerosine. Its homey smelling. lol is that strange? I think it comes from growing up in a draft old 100+ year old farm house and having them going a lot when we were little. My boyfriend thinks I'm weird because if we go to walmart late at night when they have their floor cleaners out, I'm always commenting how nice the smell is lol.
Of course this winter my parents may not use those heaters much at all. They just bought a new house that has two gas fireplaces so they may just use those instead.

I do like how kerosene heaters do their job but the odor is there. I don't like them because Parker had a habit of standing near it with his tail. A few sizzles was all it took for me to stop using it.