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This is a great little heater if you don't need to heat huge spaces. At 10K BTU it is powerful enough to heat my 640 sq ft basement to 75 degrees even with a crack in the window and outside tempreture of 30 degrees. If you use a good quality Kerosene such as Crown 1-K or a reputable K-1 Clear suitable for use in unvented Kerosene heaters, you get virtually no odor from this heater. Adjust the flame correctly and it is a sweet burner for sure. I may use this one regularly to knock the chill off on those extra cold nights. I would recommend this heater.
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This is a solid little kero heater. It doesn't have the traditional twist -type knob for on/off and wick adjustment. Instead, it has a adjustable lever that slides up and down. Next to the lever is a push-type button to extinguish the heater, which sends the lever up to the off position.To start the heater, you simply push the lever all the way down to the bottom position and hold it there briefly. This engages the battery-operated ignition and lights the wick quickly. Interestingly, the heater has a audible chiming sound that is heard when the unit is ignited. After the unit lights ( in about 1-2 seconds) the lever can be released. This causes the lever to sit in the wick adjustable range on the lever slide.I have not had to adjust the wick once since purchasing this unit about 1 month ago.The fuel tank is of the type that is removed,filled and placed back in the heater from a hinged cover on the top of the unit.I was a little confused about the fuel level meter at first but have come to realize that the fuel level meter only shows the fuel level for about the last 25% of kerosene left. Before that it simply remains a solid bar ("full")until the last 25% of fuel is reached in the unit. It is at this point that the meter level begins to decrease.I am impressed with the efficiency of this heater and it seems to be a well constructed appliance.
The only aspect of this heater that I dislike is the audible chime that sounds when you ignite it. It's not extremely loud (like a smoke detector) but,none the less, could wake up someone in a nearby room if the unit is started while they are sleeping. It only chimes for as long as the wick is held in the "ignite" position, which is very brief.
All in all, a great, fuel efficient little unit. I purchased mine from Ace hardware. If you choose to pick it up at a local Ace store shipping is free. I found a coupon online for $10 off any purchase from Ace of $100 or more and paid about $110 for the heater. Ace shipped it to my nearby store (it was not in stock at the store and was purchased from their online site) in two days.
Update: After owning this for about 2 months, I must say I am pleased with it. No problems,just a few things I had to adjust to that's all. I find the chiming sound that is present when the igniter is used is not as loud as I at first thought. It hasn't been a problem for anyone sleeping in adjacent rooms. The unit is easily portable and weighs about 25lbs when full of fuel. You can pick it up and move up when it is lit (carefully) without the unit shutting off. It has been used in very cold conditions ( 4* yesterday) and still manages to heat the lower two levels of our 1500 square foot tri-level home. At the extreme lows it does struggle to provide adequate heat though. It has proven to be very fuel efficient.
Update #2 After using this heater for two solid winters, it has proven to be a winner. No problems with the wick, igniter, or other parts of the unit. The only issue is the glass globe has become hazy.I have tried to clean it using all manner of cleaners and abrasives to no avail. I plan on replacing the globe this Fall.
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I have owned my Sengoku Heat Mate for two winters now. Because I am an emergency preparedness buff, I studied up on the topic of kerosene heaters for sometime. What I like about kerosene heating is kerosene is a very safe fuel to store. It is a lubricant and is not volatile like gasoline or propane. I also like the fact that if the electricity goes out, I can have this back-up heating source (and lighting and cooking!) using kerosene. I am extremely happy with this heater. This heater, unlike other radiant heaters, has a very long catalytic converter. This results in a cleaner burn and a greater heat output. The most important thing you should know before buying this heater is that you need to buy a good wick for it. The factory-included wick is junk. You will have a lot of odors and not a good, clean burn after a couple of uses. I suggest you order a good quality wick from Miles Stair's Wick Shop (Google it). For about 6 bucks you will have a high quality wick instead of the cheap, thin one that is included wiht this unit. You will have a better, cleaner burn, no odor and good heat output. The wick is long lasting, too. The manual that comes with this heater will show you how to replace the wick. It's a little involved, so if you are not handy, you should get someone to help you. Please don't let this disuade you from buying this heater. This heater is really good and it's worth this minor inconvenience. You will have to change the wicks anyway sooner or later so why not learn from the get-go, right? Once you have your wick and ready to go, you remove the fuel tank/canister and fill it up. It holds about a gallone of kero. You insert the canister back in and must wait an hour (only with a new wick or dry wick) and then light her up. The auto ignition makes a high pitch beep as it lights and it usually lights right up within one to two seconds. Now, you must know that all kerosene heaters do produce some odors on light up and shut down. This is normal. It's the nature of the beast. Because I have high celings in my living area, we don't mind too much. However, if you are lighting up your kerosene heater in a small room with low ceilings, you may want to light it in a garage or outside on the porch and then bring it back in once it's burning completely. This is part of kerosene heaters. I don't mind the kerosene smell but some people do and are sensitive to it. You can expect a tank to run anywhere from 10-12 hours depending on how cold it is, how you have the flame set and how many times you shut her down and start her back up. Like I said, I have a large living area with high, vaulted celings. Large kitchen and three bedrooms on the main floor. If it's 45 degrees outside, I can keep my whole upper level warm (about 73 degrees and obviously a little cooler in the bedrooms) with this heater running. For only a 10600 BTU ouput, that's pretty good. My wife, who is cold blooded by nature, loves this heater. So much for emergency use! We find ourself using it all of the time for some extra heating. The kids love it too and even my 5 year old knows how to start her up and turn her off. As with every kerosene heater, after so many hours of use you beging to get a carbon build-up on the wick. Too much carbon can make light-up difficult, longer start up time, and can produce more odors and less efficient burning. To avoid this problem, you must remove that carbon build-up from the wick. And it's very easy to do. You need to do what is called a "dry burn". A dry burn simply means that you allow the wick to burn until there is no more kerosene in the tank. With this unit, you can do it fast with little kerosene waste if you do it right. When you begin to see that it's getting harder to light and takes longer to burn bright and you get more odors, it is time to do the dry burn. Burn your unit as normal, and when you are tank is almost on empty, take your unit outside or into the garage. Remove the catalytic converter, raise the wick and light it. It will burn smokey with the catalytic converter removed but that's okay. Burn it until it goes out. When it goes out, come back and light it again. It will burn for a few more minutes then go out again. Repeat this process a few times and you will see that your wick, although black, is free from carbon deposits. Let cool, wipe down the inside with a damp cloth to clean off any soot, refuel and you're ready to go. I can usually do this in about 30 minutes or less. The secret is knowing that you have just a bit of fuel left in the thank. This way, you waste very little kero doing your dry burn. After your dry burn is complete, you will watch in amazement as your heater (don't forget to let the kero re-soak into the wick for an hour) lights right up in just a second and burns nice, hot and clean. This unit puts out a lot of heat for being such a small guy. Take care of it and it will take good care of you. I also recommend you apply a coat of car wax to the exterior before using. This will help protect the finish and keep your unit protected and looking good for many years. Highly recommend this heater...just not the wick that comes with it!Read Best Reviews of Heat Mate HMN-110 Radiant Kerosene Heater 10000 BTU 380 Sq. Ft. Here
I'm on my second season with this little heater. At the end of the 2009 winter we threw out the other kerosene heater because this one was so clean burning. Almost no fumes. The glass chimney (catalytic converter) is tall and this means extra-clean burning. Very Fuel efficient providing ~10 +/hours on it's small 1 gallon tank. It's large enough for us to take the edge off the cold in our house living space. If we loose electricity this is also the back up heat for our house. A review on another web site noted quality Japanese parts, good design and clean operation. I purchased the heater directly on-line from Ace and picked it up at a local store.Another reviewer noted the loud sound the heater makes with the ignition button is pushed. This is not a buzzer but the sound from the pizo electric ignition system. This starter is suppose to be more reliable than the glow type.
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Based on all of the research I put into buying a kerosene heater, this one seemed to fit the bill. The most important consideration was minimal fumes. After reading the reviews and other internet info, I expected better performance. Following all instructions for set up in the manual, I had trouble with both lighting the heater and an unacceptable amount of fumes. Thinking that I had performed the dry burn wrong, I repeated it. It seemed that the problem was resolved. Fast ignition and clean almost fumeless burn. I was loving this heater. Fumes and difficult ignition returned after third use. Performed dry burn again. Heater worked well again for 2 to 3 uses. Repeated dry burn process with same results. Considering I have used only 5 gallons of kerosene, this is way too much effort. Doing the dry burn is a time consuming and cold process as it must be done outdoors. I contacted the manufacturer's customer service and it was suggested I do another dry burn or return the burner to Ace Hardware. I was not impressed with this advice since I have performed so many dry burns already and am not sure that Ace will allow a return after 2 months. (I will have to check this out.) What I really want is a clean burning heater that does not require constant maintenance. I don't know if I got a dud or what. The heater operation is quite simple. It doesn't seem like that much could go wrong. I don't know what to do at this point.Thid review is a follow-up to all of my previous comments. Based at advice I have received from Adam and Miles Stairs' website, I have changed the wick and repeated the dry burn. (See additions to my initial review.) I am sick of this heater. Having done everything to make it work without fumes, I give up. The initial use after a dry burn is excellent. The fumes return after that and I have to do another dry burn. I am sick of doing dry burns. To compound my problems, the electric ignition is no longer working. Customer service is polite but worthless and so is this heater. I am glad that others are having good luck but for me all of this nursing along is just way too much especially since it does not improve the long term use of the heater. I would never recommend this heater. If zero stars were an option, that is what I would give it.
