Dyna-Glo Pro 70,000 BTU Kerosene Portable Heater

As I’m writing this article, I’m warm and toasty inside my home – its 70 degrees F. But ol’ man winter is setting in and the warmer temperatures headed south with the migratory birds. Snot freezing weather is right around the corner.

A few weeks ago, I was working on an electrical wiring project and the dexterity in my fingers just wasn’t there. I needed to warm up, and fast. In a flurry of freezing frustration I fired up our parts truck and raced to The Home Depot to end my frozen plight.

Nestled among the industrial shelves, I found myself staring at dozens of heaters. Electrical heaters with fans, convection propane heaters, and convection kerosene heaters. Towards the end of the row I found what I was looking for – a forced air kerosene heater – you know, those torpedo-looking units that shoot fire from within. Those noisy, but oh-so effective heaters that will get you warm and toasty in minutes – something I desperately needed.

Our shop is effectively the size of a 4-car garage with 12-foot high rafters and twenty feet high at the peak. Insulation isn’t present, so I knew I needed something that would really push some hot air around – much like most of our 4x4Review staff.  I quickly perused the manuals of several units, compared their effective square footage heating capabilities and purchased a unit that was one size up from the recommended size – just to be on the safe side.

The unit I purchased was the 70,000 BTU Dyna-Glo Pro forced air kerosene heater, made by CFM Corporation. The Dyna-Glo Pro model will run on kerosene, Number 1 heating oil, and even diesel fuel. We decided to run on kerosene as it burns cleaner and isn’t quite as noxious either. It’s a 110 volt unit with a 5-gallon fuel tank, which will run just shy of 10 hours of constant use (our tests netted us 9 hours and 40 minutes) of use.

The Dyna-Glo Pro heater is a rather sophisticated unit as it has a relatively simple and semi-effective thermostat, a computer-control unit which senses fuel levels and fuel pressure, and a built-in fuel gauge to let you know when it is time for a refill. All working in harmony to keep the unit running flawlessly.

The Dyna-Glo pro heater can be powered by a variety of fuels too, such as Kerosene, JP8/Jet A Fuel (Cool!), #1 & #2 Fuel Oil, and #1 and #2 Diesel. We haven’t tried jet fuel or fuel oil yet, but we did run both kerosene and diesel through it. Kerosene burns very cleanly and has a low-to-moderate smell. Diesel on the other hand is quite a bit more stinky.

The Verdict

Arriving home from our shopping trip, we promptly filled the Dyna-Glo Pro’s fuel tank with 5 gallons of clear kerosene and added a bottle of vanilla scent to the tank as well (which was a total waste of money I might add, but brought out my feminine side). We powered up the unit and hit the ON switch, waiting rather impatiently for the Dyna-Glo Pro to spout forth its fiery heat.

After a few false-starts and sputters during the first firing, the Dyna-Glo Pro came to life and started heating the shop – rather quickly. To date, we’ve run 25 gallons of kerosene through the heater and it has worked perfectly for the last 40 days.

The Dyna-Glow Pro heater does come with a thermostat control, but it’s pretty useless and inaccurate. The fuel gauge located on the fuel cap is a really nice addition, and it unlike the thermostat, is pretty accurate.

Kerosene isn’t the cheapest fuel to buy – diesel is slightly cheaper – but it is rather low-odor and certainly less noxious in comparison. In my area (Dallas, TX), Kerosene is not readily available, except at the Home Depot in 5-gallon jugs, and it’s pretty expensive. It does however, beat numb fingers, blue lips and frozen boogers.

In the end, the 70,000 BTU Dyna-Glo Pro heater is a great adornment to our shop and keeps us toasty warm (really). It has worked flawlessly and consumes fuel at its advertised rate of .53 GPH. We haven’t had any false starts since the initial start up, and the thermostat is there for looks, but overall it works as advertised and does its job well.