Winter Storm Warning

Checking the weather channel I saw there was a Winter Storm Warning for my area. First gut instinct was slight panic, then I saw that this would be a one day event and I have diesel in the tanks, kerosene for the heater, and lots of food in the pantry. I can brave one whole day of winter weather. Had it been forecasted to last a week I might start to really worry. Oh well, better get to Walmart to pick up milk and bread with every other resident in Greenville who scrambles to the grocery stores at the mention of potential winter weather.
I had a real tear-jerker of a night last night. My kerosene heater is severely polluting my bus at night. It must be putting off some type of invisible fumes because my eyes started burning as if some old lady just pepper sprayed me. I moved the heater towards the front of the bus and returned to bed. It didn't help. Seriously, this was bad. I couldn't open my eyes and had to feel my way off the floor cluttered bus to get some fresh air. Tears were streaming down my face, my nasal passages dripped watery snot. I took this subtle hint as a sign something was wrong with the quality of the air on the bus. It has happened a couple of times before with the kerosene heater but I tinkered with it and the offensive fumes went away. This time the only remedy was to turn the heater off. I would rather suffer the cold under blankets.
I am very motivated today to solve this problem of my only source of heat.Since my second hand heater didn't come with an owners manual, I researched kerosene heaters online and found that the wick needs to be 'maintained'. Accumulations of carbon buildup can cause odors and smoke I found out. In order to combat this, according to the online owners manual, I have to periodically 'dry burn' the wick. That is burn all the fuel out of the tank until the flame goes out. Then light the dry wick again and let it burn again. Then scrub the blackened, gummed up burnt fringe of the wick until I break off these carbon deposits, using pliers to break up stubborn pieces. Add a little kerosene back in the tank and repeat. This all should be done outdoors because of the massive amounts of smoke that is produced. Tricky part in urban camping is finding a suitable place to do this dry burn. I am not into the hobo look nor am I a fan of drawing the attention of a fire marshal. I will find a way, winter weather is coming.
This is a good time to mention that the writing on this blog is not spell checked, proofed or reviewed before I publish it. I am usually chaotically trying to get something up between other projects. My online time is precious and posting here, especially with pictures, takes an hour or more. I make the post the last thing I do before I log off, when I have time. But it invariably takes longer than I anticipated and it gets rushed. I concentrate on a basic overview with things that were important to me. Subjects are accidentally omitted, incomplete and/or too brief. One of my biggest problems is cohesiveness because I type this as a stream of consciousness instead of working from a well thought out outline. In the future, my writing should take on a more coherent format.
One item that made an incredible difference for me is insulating the windows. I used a product that in the past I dismissed because I thought it would be too flimsy for my application. It is a Saran Wrap-like cellophane that I stretch over the windows and held in place by double sided clear tape. Then I take out a hairdryer, which I ironically have never used for my hair, and shrink the cellophane tight. This makes a 1/4 inch wrinkle free air barrier between the cellophane and window glass. It is the same principle as double paned residential windows. The air is the insulator. As a bonus I also no longer have to be concerned about condensation on the treated windows. If only I could figure a way to do the windshield. Hopefully I can maintain this insulation on the windows. The fragile cellophane is highly susceptible to puncture and things always falling against the window...broom handle, cat paw, me...to mention a few.
Now I must rush off to dry burn my wick.