Cheap World Marketing of America KC1208 Kero-World Compact Convection

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $169.99
Sale Price: $124.95
Today's Bonus: 26% Off

We use kerosene heaters all the time during the cold Missouri winters. I have a large 23,000 BTU heater (the most common style you see in the hardware stores) and I have a radiant 10,600 BTU that we use all of the time. I found my 23,000 BTU heater to be too much of a kerosene sipper so I wanted another smaller unit for my downstairs so I opted on this one. This model is advertised as being a convective AND radiant kerosene heater. I will tell you straight up, the reason they are also calling it radiant heater is because there is no housing around the flame and you do get some but very little radiant heat from this heater. Most of the heat is convective wherein it warms the air coming from the top of it. The main reason I decided on this heater was I liked the fact that I could see the flame. It's fun to watch a flame burn while you are sitting there relaxing on the couch. This heater is pretty easy to operate. Fill up the tank (about a gallon of kero), wait an hour and push the ignition button. (don't forget to install the batteries for the ignition). Now, the biggest problem I have with this heater is the control knob. You turn the knob clockwise to raise the wick. Just like with any kerosene heater, after it has warmed up and the kerosene is vaporizing more efficiently, you need to adjust the wick (i.e. lower it) because the flame starts growing too high. You need to maintain about a 1/2 inch flame around the burner (too high of flame,you get soot and smell from burning too rich...think of a candle with too long of a wick). This heater, unlike your larger convective kerosene heaters, gives you almost no play whatsover to lower the wick and you must, while holding onto the knob, press the off button, which releases the wick. Other heaters are designed to give you enough play with the knob to lower the wick w/o having to use the release/off button. So, getting it to lower just right is a pain. It usually lowers too much or you end of with the wick contracting completely and have to start from ground level again. Now, it's not THAT big of a deal (for me anyway), just a minor irritation. I can live with it. But it may be a bit too troublesome for someone who isn't experienced with kerosene heaters. I still enjoy the heater, it warms a bedroom or living area very nicely without sucking so much kerosene like the bigger guys, but if you do decide to purchase this, be ready to fight with the wick a little to get it lowered after it's burning. They need to redesign the clockwork mechanism with that knob. Besided that, I like everything else. It's fun to be able to watch the flame dance around. The fuel guage is nice to let you know how your kero supply is doing. The carrying handle is well built and it's not too heavy to carry around even with a full tank of kero like the bigger units. I rate this unit a straight B. It would be an A+ if it weren't for that knob.

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Basically I like the heater. It looks to be the smallest I could find in the US. Maybe, though, I should have gone with one named 'alpaca' shipped from Korea which would have cost $175. in total. I light the heater outside, wait for it to warm up and bring it inside. Then take it outside to shutoff because they smell bad. The wick knob ratchet DID NOT work at all on my heater! The plastic release lever was not connected to anything! I cut the hooks off on both ends of the spring on this adjuster and now I can adjust the wick and simply turn the knob all the way counterclockwise to shut it off. I called World Marketing and told them I want some refund in price because it didn't work at all and there were already other complaints. She told me she wasn't giving me any refund. The instruction on assembly are not good and don't describe how to install the wick well. I have a CO detector just above my wood stove door and see it works every time I open the door. These kerosene heaters need to be operated in a narrow range or they'll produce CO and smell. This woman tried to tell me CO is made from re-burning CO2. She has it backwards-I could look this up and calculate the change in energy states of each reaction if need be. I give this product and WM zero stars. I've seen this before. Some importers think they can make a good profit for themselves and all they have to do is import stuff from China or wherever and don't even inspect to see if the parts fit together.