What I Googled while the power was out

Mr. Heater

A powerful snow storm rolled in last weekend and knocked the power out. I sat in the cold cold house, no warmth except the dim Google light of my phone.

As a pernicious chill set in, desperation drove my phone activity. Here is a summary of what I searched, and what I found:

I Googled:  *battery powered space heater*

I found: A website called "commonsensehome.com" that said:

"There are thousands of online searches each month for "battery operated heaters" and "battery powered heaters".  Small individual battery powered heaters for jackets, blankets, gloves, boots and 500BTU 12v car battery heaters do exist. The bad news: A large portable battery powered space heater does not exist.  :-(


I attempted to Google:  the physics of heat transfer, to answer the question --"On the next Starbucks run should I get one big Venti cup to go or two talls? Which would stay hotter longer?"

In my search I used convoluted combinations of words like:

*big cup coffee lose heat faster small cup*

 *heat loss big cup coffee*

 AND

*heat loss big cup vs small cup*.


I found: A batshit crazy article claiming that adding cream to coffee makes it cool off more slowly, because dark liquids emit more heat. I know for a FACT this is B.S. Just watch how many times I ask the waitress at a diner to warm up my coffee, into which I have emptied many little creamers.

Oh, and the consensus is that larger volumes of liquid lose heat more slowly. But heat evaporates more rapidly through wider mouths, and the bigger the cup the wider the mouth, so....either way, I was going to be drinking cold coffee.



I Googled: the Outages Map on the KCPL website.  Repeatedly.

I found:  The number of outages was going up, not down. Tripling from 30,000 souls affected to 90,0000. Then from 90,000 to 103,000.  Then from 103,00 to 118,000. Welp. Better keep looking for an alternative heat source that doesn't use electricity. 


 I Googled:   alternative heat without electricity

I found "Mr. Heater--Indoor Propane Heater."

"Mr. Heater is approved for indoor/outdoor use. Clean-burning. Nearly 100% efficient." 

(Sounds great! Bring on the propane! This is perfectly safe, right? Wait, what do the reviews say ?)


Reviews on Amazon for Mr. Heater :

Be forewarned! Carbon Monoxide
....it started to set off my CO alarm EVERY time between 20 and 50 minutes. Carbon Monoxide!! Yes, I did have a window open for air. 


On numerous occasions, the control knob became stuck on so that I could not turn it off. 
This is extremely dangerous....having the control knob stuck in the "on" position until the tank runs out is unacceptable.

Defective Product Not Safe
I went to turn it off and the big red dial switch would not turn. It was on high and it would not turn down to low or off. I had to blow out the flame to extinguish it. I think the switch is dangerously defective.


Lit my daughter's sleeping bag on fire
This heater literally lit my daughters sleeping bag on fire when we used it the first time. It says safe indoor heater but I would never buy it again. 

Don't bother with this POS.
It only lasted a couple of months. I have more joy killing it with a bat then trying to go trough their useless warranty.


Caught fire!!
Went to turn it off and flames started coming out of unit where the propane connects. Had to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. Melted the whole side of unit!


Worked great, until it caught on fire
A week ago something inside ruptured and it burst into flames. I would never use one of these again after this. 

Extremely Dangerous
I almost died using this indoors. I passed out due to the unit consuming all the oxygen in the room. I woke up on the floor injured from the fall but fortunately alive because there was still oxygen at floor level. This is a very low-quality product that doesn't work well at all! It is a deadly dangerous device. Do not use indoors!

Burst into flame
Was happy with it until today, when it burst into flame. If I hadn't had a fire extinguisher handy, we would have lost our garage.


This thing just blew up!
 It worked untill it caught fire today. (11-11-2017) I would never suggest anyone purchase this item as it could have caused much more damage and possibly death.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS...DANGER...STAY AWAY. DANGER...WILL CAUSE PROPERTY DAMAGE...COULD CAUSE DEATH!!!



(Okie dokie. That was it for Mr. Heater. After reading that, I turned off my phone to conserve battery and went back to sticking my hands into the candle wax.)