Advice needed on Paraffin ... 27 August 2022 at 6:47PM in LPG, heating oil, solid & other fuels 6 replies 498 views

cronosoft

I have just bought a modern indoor laser paraffin heater for use in the home, as being in a very rural area, I really can't afford to use electric heating any longer, and are off-grid for gas.

Does anyone have any knowledge on which type of paraffin is usable safely with this, that I can buy from a heating oil company?

I know that normal heating oil (28 second kerosene) is not suitable, and that I require "C1 paraffin"...  but can anyone tell me, is
Premium Kerosene for AGAs the same thing,  (and safe to use without any nasty fumes) ?   

Premium AGA kerosene is less than £1.00 per litre, compared with about £2.50-£3.00 a litre for C1 paraffin.

Thank you for anyone with any advice.

MX5huggy

The AGA oil is just the same stuff at the K28 with additional additives for cleaner burning it’s not Paraffin. 

Section62

You really need to speak to the supplier to find out if the fuel is suitable for your appliance and use.

Paraffin used to be readily available in bulk and was a cheap fuel, but it is now much harder to get hold of, and the smaller quantities sold by shops like B&Q work out expensive per litre.

You may be able to find a supplier who will deliver (to your area) a larger quantity such as 20 or 200 litres, which may work out cheaper depending on delivery costs.  E.g. you may be able to get 20 litres for around £1.50 a litre.

Alternatively, you might want to consider returning the paraffin heater and getting something else using cheaper or more readily obtainable fuel such as bottled gas.

Safety is paramount though - don't use combustion appliances indoors without being absolutely sure the fuel is correct and the ventilation/flue arrangements are appropriate.

matelodave

Bottled gas is still pretty expensive unless you can get it in big cylinders, like 47kg and not easy to carry around in larger sizes

A 15kg cylinder of butane is anywhere between £40 and £50 depending on where you get it (15kg of butane =205kwh) = 19-24p/kwh..

Looking on t'iinterwbeb 47kg of propane is around £150 if you don't have a cylinder to swap and £90-100 if you do. There's around 657kwh in 47kg of propane = 13-15p/kwh at present prices if you have a cylinder to swap..

You also need to bear in mind that both paraffin and LPG heaters produce a lot of moisture when burning so you need a lot of ventilation both for burning and to help prevent condensation otherwise you'll end up with a problem with mould

The previous owners of our bungalow used LPG heaters instead of the manky old storage heaters and we had a major problem with damp and mould to clean up and eradicate when we moved in

JohnMars

Just Google heating oil suppliers near me and ask if the sell paraffin, lots near me sell 20l containers, but if your planning it as only heat source get a 200l barrel it’s much cheaper per litre.

As others have said for goodness sake don’t use kerosene or home heating oil, it’s all too unrefined and will gum up modern laser heaters.

I have tended to buy it in 4l containers from hardware shops etc it works just as well.

visi

The best one is Class C1 which some modern paraffin heater manufacturers actually specify.  There is a youtube channel called funky prepper and he uses Rye Oils which you can get on ebay.  There are others also on ebay.

steveo3002

visi said:

The best one is Class C1 which some modern paraffin heater manufacturers actually specify.  There is a youtube channel called funky prepper and he uses Rye Oils which you can get on ebay.  There are others also on ebay.

its dearer than buying from a diy store though