Safety & CO4 min read
What You Must Never Burn Indoors (And Why People Still Do)
Charcoal, generators, camping stoves and patio heaters kill people indoors every winter. The mechanism behind each, and what to use instead.
Dana Kerr
Editor — heating, stoves and indoor air
Twelve winters spent testing heaters in cold, draughty buildings, and a slightly obsessive interest in what a flame is actually doing.
- Based in
- Minnesota, USA
- Experience
- 12 years
- Guides written
- 9
How Dana got here
I got into this the unglamorous way. In 2013 I was renting a badly insulated cabin in northern Minnesota with a kerosene heater the landlord swore was fine, and one January morning I woke up with a headache that did not go away until I went outside. Nothing dramatic happened. But I spent that spring reading everything I could find about unvented combustion, and I have not really stopped since.
Since then I have written about domestic heating for trade and consumer publications, run long-duration burn tests on wick and radiant heaters in unheated garages and cabins, and spent a lot of time with a carbon monoxide meter watching numbers that most owners never see. The thing that keeps surprising me is how much good information sits in appliance manuals that nobody opens.
What I try to do here is write the guide I wanted in that cabin: the actual numbers, the conditions attached to them, and a straight answer about when a heater does not belong in a room at all.
The journey
2013
A bad winter in a rented cabin
A kerosene heater, a sealed room and a headache that only stopped outdoors. The start of a long reading habit.
2015
Service writer at an HVAC contractor
Two years translating between engineers and homeowners, and reading several hundred failure reports on flued and unflued appliances.
2018
First published heater tests
Began running side-by-side burn tests on portable heaters, logging CO, room oxygen and fuel use over full nights.
2021
EPA 608 certification
Formalised the refrigerant and appliance side of the work while continuing to write about combustion heating.
2024
Joined UpFuel as editor
Now writes and edits the heating, fuel-quality and indoor air guides, and argues with manufacturers about their manuals.
Areas of focus
- Kerosene and propane heaters
- Carbon monoxide risk
- Ventilation
- Solid fuel and stoves
- EPA 608 certified
- Former HVAC service writer
- 12 years covering domestic heating
Guides by Dana Kerr
Buying Guides5 min read
Indoor Fuel Heater Buying Checklist: The Nine Specs That Matter
Certification marks, ODS, tip-over cutoffs, BTU sizing and runtime — the spec-sheet items that decide whether a heater belongs in your room.
Fuel Conservation5 min read
Practical Ways to Save Fuel at Home and on the Road
Fuel saving that actually works, ranked by payback — driving habits, tyre pressure, servicing, cooking and heating, and the useless gadgets.
Fuel Science4 min read
The Wood Considered Unfit as Fuel Is Green, Unseasoned Wood
Freshly cut wood can be half water. That moisture halves the usable heat, produces heavy smoke and deposits creosote in your chimney.
Fuel Science4 min read
A Liquid Fuel Used in Homes Is Kerosene
Kerosene is the liquid fuel used in homes, in wick stoves, lamps and heaters. Here is why it suits domestic use where petrol never could.
Fossil Fuels3 min read
Is Kerosene a Fossil Fuel? True or False, Explained
Kerosene is obtained by fractional distillation of crude oil, so it is a fossil fuel. The statement 'kerosene is not a fossil fuel' is false.
Run Costs4 min read
Indoor Fuel Cost Per Hour: Kerosene vs Propane vs Natural Gas vs Electric
Cost per usable kWh for every common indoor heating fuel, with the arithmetic shown so you can redo it at your own prices.
Safety & CO5 min read
Carbon Monoxide Alarms for Fuel-Burning Rooms: Placement, Standards and Limits
Where to mount a CO alarm, which standard to buy, what the ppm numbers mean, and why a compliant alarm can stay silent at harmful levels.
Kerosene6 min read
Are Kerosene Heaters Safe to Use Indoors?
Only under specific conditions: an indoor-rated unit, real ventilation, a CO alarm and 1-K fuel. Here is exactly what those conditions are.