Category: Heating

Do Little Buddy Heaters Produce Carbon Monoxide?

Do Little Buddy Heaters Produce Carbon Monoxide?

The Little Buddy is a popular brand of indoor propane heater and propane heaters can release carbon monoxide if it is burned in too high of volume or if there is a malfunction in your heating appliance.

  And carbon monoxide is poisonous and can result in making you sick or even death if not detected and rectified.

The Little Buddy propane heater does not burn propane in high volume and is a properly working appliance. But like any other appliance, if there is a malfunction with the heater, then there is a chance of the heater producing carbon monoxide. 

As a propane heater intended for indoor use, it comes with the standard oxygen depletion sensor that will shut the heater off if it senses that the oxygen in the surrounding area is lowering.

A very nice feature since the absence of oxygen is the introduction of carbon monoxide.

Propane is actually a very clean burning gas that is very safe to use to heat a room or even a house. That is as long as the heater, like the Little Buddy, is rated for indoor use.

What’s the difference between an indoor and an outdoor propane heater?

Because rooms that are inside a house are normally tightly sealed,

Indoor propane heaters come with extra precautions to guard against the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Oxygen depletion sensors automatically shut the machinery off if they sense the oxygen level going down in the room.

Outdoor propane heaters are not required to have the same standard of safety precautions because any carbon monoxide that is created while burning, dissipates very quickly outside.

Carbon Monoxide detectors

And while using a indoor propane heater like the little buddy is not dangerous and the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning is very low while using it,

Carbon monoxide detectors are inexpensive and should be employed anytime that there is propane gas, natural gas, or even wood burning in your home to produce heat.

In most states it’s actually the law to have a carbon monoxide detector in your home if you use any sort of gas or have a fireplace.

And though the little buddy propane heater is well built and precautions have been added to ensure your safety, appliances can break.

Summary

Do Little Buddy Heaters Produce Carbon Monoxide?

Little buddy heaters are indoor propane heaters that are properly rated for indoor use.

That means that they have precautions built-in to help ensure that carbon monoxide poisoning does not ever happen.

There is very little threat of carbon monoxide being released while using a little buddy propane heater.

But like any appliance, propane gas heaters can malfunction for any number of reasons.

A malfunctioning propane heater can definitely be a threat of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

For this reason, before using a indoor propane heater or any other type of heater that burns fuel or wood,

You should install carbon monoxide detectors in your home or business.

Carbon monoxide detectors are fairly inexpensive and are often combined with Propane and other natural and explosive gas detectors in the same unit.

And since installing Carbon monoxide detectors is actually the law in most States, you probably already have them.

And this article may just be a reminder to make sure that they are working and that the battery is fresh.

Do You Need a Carbon Monoxide Detector with a Propane Heater?

Carbon monoxide can be an issue anytime that there is fuel being burned as a source of heat.

It’s for this reason that almost every state has a law in place that requires carbon monoxide detectors in some capacity whether it be in homes or daycares.

At the very least it is highly encouraged to have a carbon monoxide detector in your home.

Carbon monoxide is invisible, tasteless, odorless, and is a hazard to your health.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can even result in death. It’s not be toyed with obviously.

   A properly functioning propane heater will produce nearly zero carbon monoxide.

But a malfunction in a propane heater can cause incomplete combustion. Which will lead to the presence of carbon monoxide.


 And could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Do you need a carbon monoxide detector with a propane heater?

Carbon monoxide detectors are  inexpensive and should be employed anytime you are using a propane heater. For any heater that uses gas.

And since the probability of you already having carbon monoxide detectors installed, it’s always a good time to make sure that they are working and that the battery is good.

Other Propane Heater safety measures

Oxygen depletion sensor (ODS)

Propane heaters that are meant for indoor use come with an oxygen depletion sensor as a standard protection mechanism.

This is a safety feature that causes the heater to shut off when the oxygen around the heater becomes depleted.

This is important because when the oxygen becomes low, it creates a void where carbon monoxide will fill it.

If the oxygen depletion sensor shuts down the heater, although there is a good chance of carbon monoxide, the ODS sensor will not detect it.

Another reason that a carbon monoxide detector is a must when using a propane heater indoors.

Propane additives

Propane is completely odor free at its origin. For that reason, a harmless chemical called Mercaptan is added to let you know when there is a leak.

The smell is similar to rotten eggs or a dead animal. So there is no mistaking when you smell it.

But relying on the sense of smell is not full proofed. One of symptoms common to cold and flu season is a reduced sense of smell.

For that reason, it is highly suggested that in addition to a carbon monoxide detector that you use a propane gas detector.

Multi function detectors like the Kidde Nighthawk Carbon Monoxide Detector & Propane, Natural, & Explosive Gas Detector

will add a higher level of protection from the threat of a propane leak or any other natural or explosive gas and serve a carbon monoxide detector in one.

Summary

Do you need a carbon monoxide detector with a propane heater?

A Carbon monoxide detector is highly suggested with the use of a propane because even though a propane heater may come with an oxygen depletion sensor, it does not have a carbon monoxide detector on board.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can be deadly and is not something worth risking since the price of a carbon monoxide detector is fairly inexpensive.

  Many people opt for multi-detectors that can measure carbon monoxide as well as gases like propane and other natural gases. And sound a loud alarm when they are detected.

Can You Use a Propane Heater Indoors?

If you are like me, you would probably say that a propane heater should not be used indoors.

It would seem pretty obvious. A heater that burns dangerous gas in the house? I’m thinking no.

But I would be wrong.

A little research reminded me that natural gas is used inside of the house in some fashion every single day.

The Central heat and air system burns gas, the oven in the stove uses gas (unless you have an electric stove top). Gas burning dryers are also very popular.

So it is definitely not a new thing to use gas to heat and cook inside of the house.

Propane is no different.

Can you use a propane heater indoors?

Propane heaters can be used indoors provided that they are specifically marked and rated for indoor use.

Indoor propane heaters have extra precautions to guard against carbon monoxide poisoning.

Propane is actually a very clean burning gas and with the right precautions, it is a very economical way to heat a room.

But remember, Not all propane heaters are built the same and they are not all intended to be used indoors.

What’s the difference between an indoor propane heater and an outdoor propane heater?

Indoor propane heaters come with tighter safety precautions to prevent CO2 poisoning.

Oxygen Depletion sensors monitor the air quality as the heater is operating. If the oxygen level in the room becomes too low, it  causes the heater to automatically shut off.

You probably have carbon monoxide detectors already in your house.

Because it is the law.

Household carbon monoxide detectors are required in any room that has a fireplace or heater, as per the carbon monoxide safety act.

Smoke detectors are also required.

This may be a reminder to check the batteries and make sure all your CO2 detectors are fully functioning.

Propane gas itself also has an extra layer of protection because of the way it is sold.

Because Carbon monoxide is odorless and tasteless, additives that create a smell like rotten eggs are added to propane so that a leak can be easily identifiable.

   The smell will alert you to turn the propane heater off immediately so you can identify where it is leaking and have it fixed.

Outdoor propane heaters are meant to be used in open air surroundings.

It is because propane dissipates very easily in the open air.

And because of this, there is no possibility of CO2 build up.

Can you use an outdoor propane heater indoors?

It is not recommended to use an outdoor propane heater indoors ever.

Outdoor propane heaters do not have the same safety precautions to protect you against CO2 poisoning that indoor heaters do.

They are all so much more powerful and hotter than you need to have inside of the house.

Just a brief look at the amount of BTUs that each uses makes it pretty obvious.

The average indoor propane heater is around 5,000 to 30,000 BTUs whereas an outdoor patio heater is around the 46,000 BTU mark. Forced air propane heaters can get up there in the 60,000 BTU range.

Quite a significant difference in the amount of power between them.

Should you use an outdoor propane heater in the garage?

You definitely start to get into a gray area when you are talking about using a propane heater in an area that is typically more open than the inside of the house. But it is not so open that it qualifies for being outside.

Propane heaters are not one size fits all. And neither are garages.

If you have a small garage and intend to keep it closed while you are working, then using an indoor propane heater will probably suffice and be a much safer option.

If you have a larger garage, then having a larger heater is going to be a better option. But remember as the size of the heater increases, the more ventilation that you will need will increase.

And having a heater so big that you have to keep the garage door open to use it is probably not the result you were looking for either.

And it’s important to remember that garages often double as storage areas where paint cans and other types of combustibles like gas and oil are often kept.

Keeping these items away from a heater is the utmost of importance.

But if you have a large garage that is well ventilated, there are certainly options available for you.

Forced air propane heaters can heat up a room as large as 3000 square feet.

Ceiling mounted propane heaters can also be a great option to keep the heater off of the floor and away from debris and combustibles that are often found in shops and garages.

Propane heaters can literally be found in just about every size for everyone’s needs.

Can you use an outdoor propane heater indoorsSummary

Can you use a propane heater indoors?

Propane heaters can be used indoors as long as they are marked for indoor use.

Indoor propane heaters are outfitted with safety precautions to help prevent carbon monoxide poisoning that outdoor heaters are not.

Indoor propane heaters that are intended to be used inside of a house are much smaller and do not create nearly the heat as an outdoor heater would.

An outdoor propane heater is specifically intended for use in the open air. And it does not come with the same carbon monoxide precautions.

But there is a grey area.

Propane heaters are very popular for use in garages.

Garages tend to be more open and have better ventilation than inside of the house.

But they are not so open that they do not warrant any type of safety precautions.

Garages are not all one size and neither are garage heaters.

And as the heaters get bigger and hotter, there tends to be less information provided on the CO2 safety side.

There seems to be a built-in acceptance that you are smart enough not to put too big of a heater into, too small of a space.

Ventilation is the key.

I think that the smart money is on using carbon monoxide detectors anywhere that you have a propane heater burning.

Regardless if it’s a small indoor heater, a full size outdoor heater, or a heater that you are using in the garage.

How Do You Get the Most Heat Out of a Candle?

You may have wondered if it was worth it to try to get heat out of a candle?

After all, what can one or two candles actually do in terms of getting enough warmth off of them to make a difference?

But you may be surprised to learn that there are some very unique ways that people have come up with to concentrate the heat off of only a couple of candles to generate enough heat to warm your hands on.

 How do you get more heat from a candle?

Getting more heat from a candle comes down to supplying more oxygen to the candle.

When you generally let a candle and set it on a table, the oxygen burns and floats up to the ceiling. Creating a situation where the oxygen is lost very quickly.

So to increase the oxygen, it only makes sense that you would somehow trap the already supplied oxygen in around the candle.

That is the premise around these uniquely designed do-it-yourself candle fueled heaters.

Let’s take a look at a few.

The first one is called a “coffee can heater”

You can find a whole variety of coffee can candle heaters on ol interweb.

A lot of very creative ideas.

But the simplest ideal for a coffee can candle heater is to combine a metal coffee can with two or three tea lights burning in the bottom of the can.

Tea lights are the elixir of this easy design.

Because they already have a metal cup that they sit in, they naturally get hotter on the outside than glass-based candles.

Simply burning a few tea light candles in a clean metal coffee can that has been stripped of any kind of paper on the outside, is enough to create enough heat to get you by in an emergency situation.

Just remember the bottom of the can is going to get very hot, so don’t sit it on anything that may burn.

And though you probably are the cautious type, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t leave a coffee can candle heater alone.

Another type of interesting candle heater that is easy to make and can help you get quite a bit more heat off of a candle or two, then you would be just lighting it is the flower pot heater.

This design takes a clay flower pot with the plate base that usually comes with it when you purchase them.

The ideal is to use the plate to place a couple of lighted candles and to suspend the flower pot upside down over the candles.

Most people just use a couple of bricks to lift the flower pot above the flower pot plate. But you can also get creative and hang the flower pot above the plate using hooks and chains.

Again, it is a very simple design that works because the clay flower pot gets very warm when it is heated.

Placing the flower pot upside down over the candles traps the heat under the clay, supplying more oxygen to the candles, so that they burn hotter, and trapping the heat inside of the flower pot.

After seeing these ideals for an emergency candle heater, I plan on buying my coffee in a metal coffee can next time I’m shopping for coffee.

And the ideal with the clay pots connected with hooks and chain really looks like a cool do-it-yourself project.

Can a Single Candle Heat a Room?

Can a single candle heat a room?

You may have wondered yourself about how much heat can actually come from a candle.

Emergency situations can and do arise and having a contingency plan that includes survival techniques and a MacGyver knowledge of household products like candles can be very helpful.

What can a single candle do to heat a room? Really.

You could logically say that a single candle could have a heating effect on the temperature of a room even if it is very miniscule.

Some often quoted research suggests that it takes about 20 burning candles to match the heat of a small space heater.

That’s based on the ideal that a candle is creating about 80 w of heat and a space heater is rated at 1500 watts.

  So one candle out of 20 burning will potentially give you 1/20 of the heat that you would get from a small space heater.

But in reality, if all you have is one candle to heat a room, you shouldn’t expect to do much to warm it.

  That’s not to say that candles are useless at helping keep warm.

There are some really awesome survival methods that people have concocted over the years that can magnify the heat from one or two candles,

And while it is not realistic to say that a single candle can heat a room, there are methods to use a candle or two, combined with a coffee can or a couple of clay pots, can give off enough heat to warm a very small space or warm your hands at least.

The easiest way to get more heat out of a single candle is to encase the candle so that the amount of heat is multiplied.

You can do this with a metal coffee can.  By placing a couple of tea light candles in the bottom of a coffee can.

The heat coming off of the candles combined with the heat transferring from the metal of the candle to the metal of the coffee can, can build up enough heat to huddle around it in an emergency or survival situation.

Another unique way that people use candles combined with household items to create heat is to trap the heat of the candles inside of a clay flower pot.

Even the small amount of heat coming off a candle is enough to heat a clay flower pot to the point of not being able to touch it.

  A simple flower pot candle heater includes a couple of mid sized flower pots. A mid-sized flower pot and one flower pot slightly smaller.

A long piece of ‘All Thread”. All Thread is a type of solid pipe that is threaded like a screw.

Five long washers that go around the all thread. And five nuts that screw onto the all thread.

Four tea candle lights.

Use the illustration for assembly.

Summary

Can a single candle heat a room?

You’re not going to be able to heat a whole room with a single candle. But there are creative ways of combining candles with items like coffee cans and clay flower pots that can cause a candle to produce much more heat than it would if it were lit and sit on a table where the oxygen could dissipate quickly.

 
 

Can Tea Candles Heat Up a Room?

Can tea candles heat up a room?

There’s a lot of people interested in alternative ways to create heat besides using electricity.

One of the most popular reasons that people search these things out is simple survival in an emergency situation.

For instance, candles are a household item that in a power outage, are an easy go to for getting some light inside of the house.

Most people have an assortment of candles around the house including tea light candles.

But what if the weather is cold outside and you’re stuck in a power outage without not only light but heat too?

Are candles good for heat? Can tea candles heat up a room?

Tea candles are very small candles and compared to the average small votive candle, only create about 30 watts of energy compared to the 80 that you might expect to get out of a votive candle.

But they do have a uniqueness that other candles do not have. And that is that they are surrounded with metal. (This is an important point that will get back to you in a second).

According to multiple resources, a candle is worth about 80 Watts of heat. In comparison to a small space heater which all space heaters are 1500 w on high, a candle can create about 120th of the heat that a small space heater can.

So with that math, it would take roughly 20 candles burning at the same time to create the amount of heat that a small space heater can in a room.

Can tea candles heat up a roomThat’s a bunch of candles.

But tea candles only create around 30 watts of heat per candle. So if you were to compare the amount of heat of a tea candle to a small space heater, you would come up with a number more like 50.

It’s doubtful that you have 50 tea candles hanging around in the house and if you did, lighting 50 tea candles is a whole other story. Not to mention the risk of starting a fire with that many candles lit.

So yes, technically you could heat a room with tea candles provided that you had at least 50 candles burning at the same time, but even in an emergency situation like a power outage, 50 tea candles burning is not going to last you long enough to justify lighting all the candles. My opinion.

But, there is an alternative for using tea candles to generate some heat if you were to get into an emergency or survival situation.

And this is where the point that tea candles sit in a metal cup comes in.

The idea was this,

You can take an empty metal coffee can and simply burn three or four tea candles inside of it, to get a small alternative heater working if you have no heat otherwise.

Because the tea candles are sitting in metal themselves, they tend to heat the metal coffee can up as they are burning.

And since the coffee can keeps the heat concentrated inside of a small area, you can get a fair amount of heat coming off of the coffee can by using this  method.

A couple of things to remember if you decide to try this are:

One, The coffee can is going to get hot and could possibly scorch whatever it is sitting on. So pick a place that is not going to get burnt.

Two, make sure that you take all the paper or label off of the outside of the coffee can before you light the candles inside of it. Paper is flammable. And you will up your risk of causing a fire by having paper on the can.

Summary,

Tea candles can heat a room provided you have a mountain of them lit.

That’s about 50 candles. So even though technically it’s possible, you probably shouldn’t do it. Imagine the fire risk involved.

But, survivalists and other unique geniuses on our Earth, have discovered that burning a few candles in the bottom of a metal coffee can can generate enough heat to warm your hands.

You may be amazed at the amount of DIY coffee can heaters you can put together in a small amount of time with things you probably have around the house. 

  It might not be enough heat for a whole room, but warming your hands when you are freezing is a big deal at that moment.

What Candles Produce the Most Heat?

What candles produce the most heat?

Trying to warm your hands up with a candle or even more seriously, an entire room is not an easy thing.

  And if you find yourself in such a situation, you are going to want to have some candles that put off plenty of heat.

So… What candles produce the most heat?

The easy answer is soy candles because  the wax burns longer than with paraffin candles. And the longer the candle burns, the hotter it will get.

And when you get into the question of what is the longest burning candle, the variety that you can pick from goes up substantially.

For instance, there are survival candles like the “Candlelife” brand that can burn for 115 hours.

Or the ReadyHour that burns 100 hours.

But if you are planning to try to heat up a large area with candles, you are going to need a bunch of candles.

If you were to use the popular ideal that a candle is worth 80 w. That means you would need about 20 candles to equal the heat of a small space heater.

And going off the most recent Amazon price for a ready hour 100 hour candle at $6.95, that’s $139 to heat a small area with candles for a 100 hours.

Not exactly cheap.

And not exactly the best way to get the most heat out of a candle.

If you have been searching long for solutions related to getting “heat from candles”, you probably come across some of the do it yourself candle heaters that people have invented.

The clay flower pot candle heater is one such invention that is pretty unique.

The idea was to take a couple of flower pots, the brownish Orange clay flower pots that are fairly popular and can be purchased at most any big box store.

With one pot slightly bigger than the other, you take a piece of “all thread” and connect them upside down with a space of about 2 in between them and use the plate as a shelf to put the candles underneath the pots.

With this ideal, it will take a lot less than 20 candles to get some heat to warm your hands by.

But if you want the heat to last longer you’re still going to have to purchase the bigger, longer lasting candles.

Another simple candle heater uses tea candles, which were actually very small candles. But the difference is that they are poured into a metal container.

  This makeshift candle heater is very easy to make. It is basically a metal coffee can with burning tea lights at the bottom.

Since the tea light candle wax heats the metal that it is sitting in up, it helps heat the coffee can up to. And because the candles are sitting down in a coffee can, the heat is concentrated and doesn’t allow the oxygen to disperse as easily.

You may not be talking about a Honeywell space heater that can heat up a 200 foot space, but at least if you are in an emergency, it makes a good little survival heater to warm your hands up.

Summing it up

The kind of candle that puts off the most heat is a larger candle that uses soy wax.

The reason is, Soy Burns longer than paraffin and a bigger candle burns longer than a smaller candle.

Is it Dangerous to Leave a Candle Burning?

Is it dangerous to leave a candle burning?

There’s a lot of talk about whether or not you can get enough heat generated from burning candles.

And of course if you have enough candles, you can eventually get enough flames lit that it will heat up a room.

But aside from the obvious fire danger of having a huge amount of candles all burning at the same time inside of a room,

  There is also the problem of whether or not it is actually dangerous to leave a candle burning for that amount of time.

Is it dangerous to leave a candle burning? Yes it is, candles are not made to burn more than an hour. Doing so causes carbon to build up on the wick.

Once carbon is built up on the wick, you have an issue of the smoke coming from the candle being black and sooty.

Leaving a candle burning too long can also cause the wax to become too pliable leading to the wick falling sideways.

Which not only reduces the life of the candle, also causes sooty smoke to burn from the candle.

And what’s more, letting a candle burn too long can make it much too hard on the outside to handle.

And the scariest thing is that even though most household candles are poured in jars and have little chance of spreading outside of the container, that is not always the case.

  The candle that is left to burn too long and become sooty also has the chance of the flame becoming abnormally large because of the carbon on the wick.

  Once this happens, the chance of the fire spreading outside of the candle becomes much larger.

Is it dangerous to leave a candle burning? People have a tendency to generally feel safe with candles burning throughout the house.

But the truth is, fire can be unpredictable and you should never leave a candle unattended or sleep with a candle burning.

  And never allow a candle to be too close to anything that might catch fire. Some materials can catch fire much easier than others.

The humidity in your home may be extra low without you knowing it. Meaning you may have furniture that is extra dried out, without knowing it.

And a little flame on a candle can cause a big accident if it gets too near to something that is dry and combustible.

Summary

  Leaving a candle burning too long can be dangerous. Candles are not made to burn for more than an hour.
After an hour the wax can become too pliable, allowing the wick to lean.

When the flame begins to melt the wax because of the leaning wick, the result can be a black sooty smoke.

Candles that are allowed to burn too long also form Carbon on the wick which is also a source of black sooty smoke.

And though that black smoke is hard to breathe, that’s not the worst of it.

  At that point, the flame on the candle can become large and the risk of the fire coming out of the candle and causing a house fire goes up substantially.

Heat From Candles – Can it Compare to a Space Heater?

Does the heat from candles compare to a space heater?

 

It’s an interesting question, and yes provided you have enough candles burning, you can get enough heat off of candles to warm up a room.

According to multiple sources, the magic number of candles that you would have to keep lit is 19.

That’s based on fact that a burning candle creates about 80w of energy and the typical space heater is 1500w

1500 ÷ 80 = 18.75

So yes the possibility of warming a room with the heat from candles is definitely there.

But the more important question is “Should You?”

I’m going with No. Of course there are always extenuating circumstances, emergencies that could come up that may say otherwise.

But as a general method, my opinion is still No.

There are 3 good reasons I would say that.

1.  Much too dangerous
2.  VOCs
3.  Not economical.

1.  Too dangerous

I’m going to insert a personal story here as to why.

As a young person I was a recording artist. When I first began recording I laid down a fortune in recording hours at the “big boy” recording studio in my city.

It only took a few songs to realize I was not good enough to do one or two takes of anything. And with the clock burning through my wallet, I needed to find a better way.

So the logical solution, if I was going to be able to learn this recording stuff, was to use the money I was spending at the Professional Studio on a home studio where I could do as many takes as I needed on any song.

This is where the candle part of the story comes in.

As I got comfortable with recording in my home, I started lighting a candle or two to create some mood in the room.

And the more comfortable I got, I didn’t always make an effort to make sure the candles were blown out.

I thought it didn’t really matter because they were small candles inside of a jar.

But as stupid as it was, there was a specific incident where I left the house to run to the corner convenient store and

I didn’t think it was worth shutting down because I was going for a drink and I would be right back.

But, as I was on the way to the store I realized I didn’t grab my wallet. So I turned around and immediately went back to get it.

As I opened the door I smelled smoke.

I ran into the recording room and found that a pair of headphones had been too close to a burning candle. The cord on the headphones had combusted.

I don’t know what material that headphone cords are made of, but it went up like a dead Christmas tree.

It had caught fire and melted to almost nothing in the time it took me to leave the house and turn around and come back because I forgot my wallet.

  Up till then, I didn’t consider candles to be dangerous. But after that incident I’m pretty wary of using candles.

It scares me now when I see someone, especially one of my teenage children sleeping with a candle burning. Especially when they have been told not too more than once.

I never knew how fast fire could take hold and spread so easily.

It’s as if the flame had jumped off of the candle and landed straight onto the headphones. Honest truth.

So when it comes to keeping 20 or so candles lit to warm a room, that in my opinion is a definite no no.

The ease in which a fire could start is much too risky.

2.  VOCs

Most of the information that you can find on whether or not it is safe to breathe with a candle burning suggests that it is completely safe as long as it is only one or two candles and it is an open area.

  And that the candles are non scented…

This statement kinda blows the idea of keeping a room warm with candles out the window.

Firstly we are not talking about 1 or 2 candles. We are talking about 20.

Secondly, we are trying to keep the room warm which automatically means closing the doors and windows and sealing it in as well as possible.

And granted, if you were going to purchase candles to warm a room, you probably wouldn’t choose apple cinnamon or warm vanilla sugar.

But I think it goes without saying that the scent of a candle is the main appeal besides putting off light.

And the candles most of us have around the house are strongly scented.

That’s the point

It’s the fragrance that they put into candles that creates soot and the black smoky flame. Imagine multiplying the amount of soot by 20.

  The chemicals released from the fragrance fall under the category of Volatile Organic compounds ( VOCs) .

Air purifiers are designed for getting rid of VOCs. Because they are dangerous to breathe.

I haven’t tried it, but you know it would be hard and near impossible to breathe with 20 sooty scented candles burning.

3.  Not economical

Candles are not cheap.

Votive candles are approximately $2.50 a pop. Times 20 is 50 bucks for about 5 to 7 hours of burn time.

Even if they burned 8 hours you’re still looking at $150 for 24 hours.

You can buy an excellent space heater for $150. You can buy three small space heaters for that.

And I know that they have emergency candles that last 100 hours. But they are definitely not $2.50. More like $10.

Times that amount by 20. You’re still looking at $200 for $100 of heat.

So heating a room with candles is definitely not a cheap way to get heat.

Emergency or Survival Candles

I understand that in an emergency there may be a need to use candles to warm up your room.

But unless you have a stockpile of candles already,

  I think the better money would be on purchasing a propane space heater for emergency situations.

Summing up

Whether or not candles can heat a room is an interesting question.

And the answer is yes. If you have enough candles burning, you can heat up a room with candles.

The number of candles that it takes to roughly match the heat of a 1500 watt heater is about 19 to 20 candles.

That’s based on a candle being able to create about 80 watts of heat.

But even though it can be done, is it something that really should be done?

Most people will say, “what about an emergency?”

That makes sense. What if the power is out and you do not have any heat, and it’s cold outside.

So yes, I can see how if provided, you have 20 candles sitting around already, that lighting them all would be a way of getting some heat in your room in that kind of situation.

But if you don’t have 20 candles ( more like 60 in a 24-hour period) then buying candles for emergency preparedness is not going to be the best ideal for warming your house or room. And not the best ideal for preparing for an emergency or survival situation.

The amount of money that it would take to purchase enough candles to keep a room warm for 24 hours is enough to buy a more than adequate propane heater that can be lit without electricity.

And be a much safer option than having that many candles lit.

No Heat Coming Out of Vents in House-Help!

If you have no heat coming from the vents in your house,

There are 4 things that you can look for that are super easy and will save you a lot of money.

  1. Check the Filters
  2. Check the Thermostat Battery 
  3. Make sure the Igniter is firing
  4. Clean the Sensor

This article will layout a few tips on what to look for and how to easily get the heat back on.

Recently as me and my wife are going to bed on a Saturday night we begin to notice that our bedroom is getting cold.

Upon inspection, it became pretty clear that the whole house was getting cold including our two daughters’ bedrooms.

Our house is heated by a Rheem Criterion furnace that sits in the Attic.
Not the most convenient thing to get to late on a Saturday night so we decided to just bundle up and go to sleep.

And also since it was Saturday night and the next day would be Sunday morning, calling a HVAC service guy over to take a look at it was going to have to wait till Monday anyway.

We woke up to a house that was about 50°. Not the worst, but definitely chilly.

My wife lit the fireplace and everybody kind of migrated to the living room. So it’s not like we didn’t have any heat.

Having an HVAC technician come to your house is going to be potentially expensive regardless, so I knew I was going to take a look at it myself before doing so.

We’ve had a few instances in the past where we had to call out a heating and air service, so we knew a little bit of what to look for before we called up somebody.

Let’s just say that some of the problems that can occur with your heating can be so easily rectified that calling someone in to fix them can lead to embarrassment.

So these are the 4 things that I know to look for based on experience. There are probably way more things that can be the problem at any time, but these are the things that have helped me out more than a few times.

4 Things to Look for When You Have No Heat

That leads to the first thing to look for when you’re not experiencing heat coming from your vents.

1.  Check your filters.

 If they are too dirty, your system will not be able to get any air flow and it will eventually block the heat from coming out of your vents.

Paying a HVAC technician to come out and inspect your furnace, only to emerge with a dirty filter is an embarrassment and a cost that is easily avoided.

Ask me how I know….

Replacing the filters is too easy and could easily be your problem.

2. Thermostat Batteries.

 Make sure the batteries in the thermostat have not died. This is another super easy diagnosis that can be easily checked and rectified. And a huge embarrassment and cost to have someone come in and “fix”.

These days you can purchase thermostats that will send you alerts when your battery is dwindling down.

But I will venture to say that most of us don’t have that feature so it’s important to check your thermostat from time to time for a” change batteries soon” message on the actual display face.

If your heat is out and you go to check your thermostat to see what the temperature is but the display is blank, your battery is probably dead. Thus no way to control the amount of heat.

Simply, change the battery.

3. Igniter not working

 Now we’re getting a little further down the rabbit hole on possible things that could be keeping your furnace from heating your house.

This will require you to take the face off of your furnace and most of the time this is where most people will stop and just call a service man. And I don’t blame you.

But if it’s Sunday and you’re like me and don’t like to pay a bunch of money only to find out it was something super simple that I could have fixed myself,

Then let’s venture on.

Important , Be sure that you turn off the electricity to your furnace via the breaker box. The breaker box is a easy suggestion but you may find that there is a on and off switch that controls your HVAC close by ( because if you’re installing a HVAC in the attic, you sure don’t want to have to be running up and down to use the breaker box to turn it on and off). At the very least there’s probably an outlet that it’s plugged into that’s easily accessible.

Here’s what you’re going to want to watch for.

1.  Does the igniter get hot and light the furnace?

If you have an older furnace that has a pilot light, then you can tell very easily whether or not the pilot fire light has blown out.

If it has, set the dial to pilot, relight and hold the button down for about 10 seconds. The pilot light should stay lit and then you turn the dial on and you’re set.

But… And this is where most modern homes will fall,
If you have a newer furnace then you have an igniter called a “hot surface igniter” that heats up and eventually fires up the gas.

Here’s the important part:  If the igniter doesn’t get red or gets red and fizzles out real fast, then the problem with your heat is that your igniter is not functioning.

Igniters generally run under 30 bucks and come off with a screwdriver or a quarter inch socket pretty simply.

If you have a igniter that has stopped functioning, then replacing it is a simple process that will save you a bunch of money versus calling out a HVAC tech.

But they are a “part” that you can’t generally just go down to the hardware store and purchase. So if it’s a Sunday, prepare to wait it out another day till Monday to buy one.

Again, ask me how I know…

4. Sensor

 If your igniter works fine, then the next easiest thing to look for is the sensor.

Btw Congratulations if you’ve gotten to this point, because most people we’ll have bitten the bullet and called out a serviceman by now.

But this is another thing that is easy to fix and usually will not cost you a dime to do so.

But if you call out a HVAC technician, he will probably charge you over $100 for this.

The sensor on your furnace is usually located on the opposite end of your igniter. It is a small probe looking piece that is inserted into your furnace to tell the furnace went to come on and go off.

The problem is that these things get covered in Ash and soot from the flames.

And even though the part itself is very inexpensive, most of the time you can easily remove the soot from the sensor with a piece of sandpaper.

Look…Here is an easy diagnosis to determine whether or not your sensor is dirty
and needs attention is to turn your furnace on and watch as it fires up.

If the igniter comes on like normal and fires the gas up like normal BUT the furnace quickly fires down again.

Then you have a dirty sensor.

You may have to do a little Googling to find it on your specific furnace, but generally it will be held in with a couple of small quarter inch bolt screws at the other end of the burners from your igniter.

You simply pull it out and sand it clean. Reinstall it and turn the furnace back on.

I learned this trick by watching a HVAC guy that I called out to get the heating going in my house. He came in, looked at the heater for about 2 minutes, pulled a tiny piece of sandpaper out of his pocket, did some mysterious thing with the sandpaper, then wrote me an invoice for $120.

I knew right then, I was getting financially had over a tiny bit of knowledge that I did not have. And with the internet available 24/7, it was inexcusable for me not to have it.

Cleaning your sensor yourself is super easy and will save you that money!

No Heat Coming Out of Vents in HouseConclusion

That’s as far as the rabbit hole goes for me, but I’ve been able to diagnose and fix the problem based on these 4 easy solutions more than a few times.

Of course this is not an exhaustible list. Nor is it always going to be one of these solutions. For instance, if a new battery does not fix your thermostat, then it may be time for a new one or something else. Not everything is cut and dry.

But these tips have helped me and I’m glad to share them.

BTW, It was the igniter in the specific instance that I was sharing at the top of the article. Saturday night is a very inconvenient time for HVAC issues. To say the least!

Thanks for taking the time to read