>>My few uninformed observations (casual inspections at curbside) of kerosene appliances like heaters and stoves is that they seem to get rusty fuel tanks after a few years of (presumedly) infrequent use .... P_L, does anyone offer kerosene appliances with stainless steel reservoirs, some sort of in-tank fuel driers, or things like that?<<

Not that I'm aware of... but I haven't checked Lehman's in awhile. The only stainless I've seen on kerosene stoves was on some versions intended for boating, and that's mostly about salt water- and salt air.

The problem seems to be that people tend to store the appliances (heaters, especially) filled. When stored in an unheated area (where else?), condensation forms in the closed tanks and starts rust. The heater manufacturers say to store the things empty with the tank cap off to prevent this- but emptying one is a hassle, so most people don't. It's not so bad if you have some sort of pump.

I keep the lanterns inside in the heated area, and ready to go (well, most of them), and a few are brass (which has other drawbacks). Some of the Czech and German lanterns can also be had in tinned versions. I've never seen nor heard of one in stainless.

Note that many of the old-timey wick-burner stoves had glass "tanks"- no corrosion. The thought of glass holding kerosene makes one a little nervous, but they seemed to be pretty heavy and thick.

I justified the Aladdin lamps by admitting that being holed up without any entertainment for days or weeks *without being able to read* was going to endanger my mental health. Two new ones I bought from a dealer who was going out of business and was willing to sell them at far below "list" (that took some research), and one is an old one that I bought cheap, tore down, cleaned, and rebuilt. They're all brass (the old one is bronze finished), so no corrosion worries there.

I haven't had odor problems with K1, except for a few moments after blowing a wick out. K2 (heating oil) is a different matter.