Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I believe this heater is identical inside to the same brand unit sold by Lowes, a Dyna Glo 23,000 BTU unit. The Lowe's unit is black, this is painted white, but the engine would be identical. I've run kerosene heaters since the early 80's, and there IS a difference in how they run, smell, efficienty, etc. This unit is about at the top of the list for all of the above. The reasons are basically twofold. The distance between the wick lifting mechanism, and the center stack that holds the wick to the lifting mechanisn. If there is more room than needed, the wick can flutter and gain more oxygen, causing an uneven burn and shorten the lifespan of the wick. It also smells more. When the space is more precise, just enough for the wick, it only burns on the top of the wick, and the burn is much more controlled and stable, clean burning This problem can also be caused by a poor, thin wick. Any system will run poorly with a thin, cheap wick. They all wick up the kerosene, but the cheaper wicks also allow too much air to invade places below the burn line, a bad situation that often causes carbon buildup, poor burn, irregular burn, and a hard to control flame. The Dyna-Glo people seem to have this down pat. You SHOULD get a fairly even flame all around the flame deflector, and it should extend no more than 1/2-5/8" above the flame deflector. So how do you know, going in when you've never bought one??? You read reviews... If there are a lot of people satisfied with the flame, satisfied with the low smell level, satisfied with the run time, (poor spacing and poor wicks often burn faster than intended), you probably will be getting a good unit. This unit is in that class. I found mine in a pawn shop. I had no intention on buying another. I already have one very good one, and one of a dubious brand that I pulled out of a W--Mart that turned out to be not so good, but I use it in my woodshop, which has a lot of leaks to the outside air, like a really leaky garage door. I bought this one as a third backup, and ended up using it as a primary in my house. Clean, long burning, and I am totally satisfied as a person who has burnt kerosene for 30 years, on and off. It burns over 8 hours on a tank full, burns evenly, and the wick takes forever before it starts to get the carbon spots on top. In other words, it is a great kerosene heater and I love it. Dyna-Glo is almost as good as the now defunct KeroSun heaters, (some old-timers in kerosene may remember), which were some of the best produced. I thought some others were OK, but Dyna-Glo is a much better, dependable heater you will not be sorry you bought. If you read the manual, pay attention to the 1-K kerosene you buy, (buy from a reputable source, not that no-name gas station down the street), you will be happy and warm. Remember this is NOT a heater you should turn on and fall asleep for the night. If you do intend to burn it overnight, be prepared to have one eye open all night. Not that it is unsafe, but it is an open flame in your house. I will burn mine overnight in really cold situations, (I have just a heatpump) but I don't get much sleep those nights as I keep getting up to check it. It is always OK, but careful is how you stay out of the news. I also have forced air heat, and keep the circulation fan running to circulate the heat, and induce a little outside air, plus whatever the heatpump throws into the mix. If I had heat that was stagnate, like radiators or baseboard, I would never run one of these without cracking at least one or two windows one inch. You need to move some air. But as far as this type of heat is concerned, Dyna-Glo is a great product.