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[nawlinsgurl]

Much to my dislike, my husband bought a kerosene heater for our house last week. My school uses them and I always feel like they are making my throat dry and the smell they give off seems like posion.

But they are supposadly cheaper than the wall heater. (Our bill went from 6000 yen to 18000 yen in one month. It's never been that high, even in summer when we ran the Aircon all day long!)

I followed the directions and keep a window cracked or fan on while its running, but I still get this strange feeling it's slowly posioning us while we sleep...and our dog barks at it nonstop.

We don't use them in the States, well cause we have insulation and central heat/air, but it seems they are every where here.

So here's my question: Is the heater posioning us or am I just crazy?

[Gordon]

[User N. Ame]

[Quibby84]

My family (in the states) always uses kerosene, and we have never died. If there is a window open or some sort of crack you wont die. You have to have a completely sealed house in order to get the full effect of carbon monoxide poisoning. So just keep a crack, keep more than one if that makes you feel better (it would make me feel better).

[Vince]

I too wondered about long-term effects of breathing kerosene fumes. I didn't bother researching it, because the headaches were enough to dissuade me from using kerosene heat. I just used the wall-mounted heat carefully and dressed in warm clothes. A kotatsu, which I unfortunately never had, is great in the winter. They make table-and-chair ones too.

[fluffyhamster]

Like one of the other posters suggested, get a small electric heater (halogen lamp ones are good cos they also provide a cosy light source and are silent with it). You should be able to heat a 6-8 tatami room non-stop with something like an 800W halogen lamp (depending on how well-insulated the room is), and your electricty bill will remain below 10,000 yen. Certainly, electric heaters are less smelly than kerosene ones, and less noisy than ACs running on heating mode (actually, I've found that ACs are TOO efficient and make me feel iller than a kerosene heater ever could...I guess I just can't take the heat LOL. Anyway, that explains why ACs cost a fair bit to run). But if you do continue with the kerosene thing then I'd suggest opening the windows nice and WIDE every 3 hours or so, rather than just depending on a little crack to give you the fresh air you need. You can also get kerosene heaters that have motorized extractor pipes to connect through walls to the outside (rather than being stand-alone units), which helps cut down on the need for continual ventilation somewhat (but installing one would probably need permission from a landlord).

[gaijinalways]

I personally wouldn't use one for sleeping (makes my eyes water, really). During the day is fine, as we use them in larger areas and they do save a lot on the electric bills. Another option is to buy an heating oil heater (not so common in Japan, and hot, so you have to make sure the dog doesn't play with it ), but they do a great job of heating a room, and of course no smell.

[rai]

I'm always surprised at what different people try to economize on. I'm happy to pay an extra 10,000 yen/month on heating if it means being comfortable at home, and not getting sick. I hate kerosene heaters.

To each her own...

[J.]

There are so many kinds of heaters here that it's mind-boggling when you go to the store and it seems I've used them all at one time or another. The ones I have settled on for moderate cold are small halogen ( for under the computer desk and the kitchen), a small ceramic/electric one as a room heater and an electric one in the bathroom that we turn on for baths, etc. I also use an air conditioner in my main living/sleeping room when I am there, but I turn it off at night. I have a goose feather quilt that makes it too hot if I use any heater at night.

I also own an "oil fan heater" basically kerosene with an electric fan to move the air around. I only use that in very cold weather as I also feel it is unhealthy and seems to cause eczema around my eyes and mouth as well as headaches.

Plus, I wear a scarf, padded hantan jacket, layers, gloves and sometimes a knit cap in my old and leaky Japanese house ; at least no worries about the ventilation here. :)

[nawlinsgurl]

Thanks for the info. I was quite worried as my husband said he has had some headaches and my nose has been bleeding (but that happens a lot even w/o the heater b/c of zyrtec) Anyways, I'm appreciate all the advice!!!

[nawlinsgurl]

Also--Gordon or anyone is-- is the carbon monoxide tester the little box under the oven? It flashes green? Does anyone know what I am talking about?

[furiousmilksheikali]

[G Cthulhu]

[Gordon]

[User N. Ame]