Are DeWalt's Kerosene Heaters Worth Buying?

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When it's time to prepare your house for cold winter weather, you might take steps like sealing gaps around windows, performing maintenance on the home heating system, and inspecting your chimney and fireplace. For work spaces outside the home, though, preparing for low temperatures is a little different. In a workshop or garage, you could try insulating the walls or covering the concrete floor to reduce thermal transfer.

But when temperatures dip low enough, you're going to need some sort of heating source, such as a kerosene heater. If you already use one of the best-ranking power tool brands — DeWalt — in your workshop, you might want to focus on DeWalt models when shopping for a kerosene heater. DeWalt offers almost two dozen portable heaters that you can use in a garage, including those running from kerosene, electricity, and propane. Its kerosene heaters range in price from about $230 to $500, depending on the amount of heat produced.

When looking for specific workshop or garage heater brands to avoid, should DeWalt be on the list, or is DeWalt a highly trusted brand for this type of product like it is for power tools? After studying reviews and product features, we found that DeWalt's kerosene heaters are priced competitively and offer a variety of heat output options. However, reviewers say the heaters have some reliability issues, so you should fully investigate the pros and cons. And as a reminder, if you plan to use the kerosene heaters indoors, you will have a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and fires. Never leave the heater unattended. Maintain adequate ventilation and a supply of fresh air during use.

Price is an area where DeWalt kerosene heaters compete favorably. DeWalt has a reputation for manufacturing power tools that are more expensive than some other brands in the market, but its kerosene heaters don't have a premium price. DeWalt's 215,000 BTU Heavy-Duty Kerosene Heater costs $500 at Home Depot. Mr. Heater has a 140,000 BTU model for $309 at Home Depot, while Dyna-Glo Delux has a 400,000 BTU model for $1,355.

Many of the larger DeWalt kerosene heaters use flat-free tires, allowing you to easily move the unit wherever you need extra heat. The larger units also have a protective roll cage that keeps you from bumping into the heating element and burning yourself or damaging it. YouTube reviewer The Fox Shop says the DeWalt model's design means it doesn't seem to run at the same volume as an older kerosene heater used previously. "One other nice thing on this one is it has a built-in fuel gauge," The Fox Shop says. Speaking of fuel, some reviewers appreciate that the DeWalt models can run on kerosene as well as various types of diesel or fuel oil.

One customer on the Home Depot website was impressed with how quickly the 215,000 BTU DeWalt heater raised the temperature in an uninsulated wood shed, describing, "It was 37 degrees Fahrenheit outdoors, about the same inside. The DeWalt heater raised the temperature inside to 54 degrees in 15 minutes." By increasing the temperature quickly, you might be able to run the unit for less time, saving on fuel costs.

DeWalt's kerosene heaters do not have highly favorable customer ratings on retail websites, which may give you pause about buying them. The 215,000 BTU heater has a 4.0-star rating on Home Depot's website, and only 70% of customers would recommend the product. It has only a 2.4-star rating on DeWalt's website. Durability and performance are common complaints among reviewers. "This is my third unit after sending two back ... but it seems like they are all like this. It will not light unless I cover the back," one customer says.

DeWalt's 50,000 BTU Kerosene Heater ($230) has a slightly higher customer rating on the Home Depot website at 4.1 stars, and 77% of customers would recommend purchasing it. Although many reviewers were pleased with the ability of this small heater to quickly raise the temperature of a jobsite or garage, others had a poor experience with it. "Used one day, and ever since, this junk hasn't worked ..." one reviewer says. "Save you[r] time and money and buy a decent heater elsewhere."

Many of the other kerosene heaters on Home Depot's website have better customer ratings than DeWalt, although the differences are minimal. The Dyna-Glo Delux 400,000 BTU unit has a 4.3-star rating on the Home Depot website, and 83% of customers recommend it. The Mr. Heater 140,000 BTU model has a 4.2-star rating, but only 60% of customers would recommend it.