Supra

Supra is a maker of fuel-burning and electrical home kit, and for a household preparing for emergencies the useful question is not what the range looks like on a shelf but what it does when the power goes off, the boiler fails or a storm keeps you indoors for a day or two. The answer is that Supra kit is designed to give you heat, light and cooking when the mains supply cannot, and the job of this page is to explain how to choose it, run it safely and keep it ready between emergencies.

The single most important thing to understand before you buy or use any fuel-burning Supra appliance is that it must be used with good ventilation and a carbon monoxide alarm, and you must follow the manufacturer's guidance for that model¹. Carbon monoxide is produced by incomplete combustion of fuels such as coal, wood or gas, and it can build up in a room without you noticing². That is why the safety sections below come before the convenience ones.

The rest of the page covers what Supra makes for UK households, how to use heaters and stoves in a power cut, how to store fuel within the legal limits, how to keep batteries and appliances ready, how to check for recalls, and where to get support, spare parts and warranty help.

What Supra makes for UK households

Supra's range is built around the jobs a household needs doing when the mains supply is not available: heating a room, cooking a meal, lighting a space and keeping small electrical items running. In an emergency plan these are the jobs that decide whether a household can stay in its home through a power cut or has to leave, so it is worth thinking about each one separately rather than buying a single do-everything appliance.

The official advice for a power cut is to consider what alternatives you have for heating, lighting and cooking before the cut happens⁶. That is the frame for everything on this page: Supra kit is one way to answer that question, and the sections below take each kit type in turn and link to the section guide that covers it in more depth.

Whatever you choose, the household plan should say who checks it, how often, and where the fuel and batteries are kept. A kit that is stored at the back of a shed and never tested is not ready when the power goes off at night in winter.

Supra heaters and stoves for use in a power cut

A power cut in cold weather is the scenario Supra heaters and stoves are made for. The official guidance is to think ahead about heating, lighting and cooking alternatives⁶, and to keep heaters away from curtains and furniture and never use them for drying clothes⁷. That last point matters more than it sounds: a heater placed too close to soft furnishings is a fire risk, and a clothes horse draped over a heater is one of the commonest ways a winter power cut turns into a house fire.

When you are choosing a heater or stove for emergency use, think about the room you will actually heat. A household that plans to sit in one room through a cut needs a heater sized for that room, a safe place to stand it away from anything that can burn, and a clear route to a door. The fire and rescue service advice is to keep heaters away from curtains and furniture⁷, so plan the layout of the room before you need it.

For cooking, a stove gives you a way to heat food and boil water when the mains gas or electricity is off. The same ventilation and carbon monoxide rules apply as for heating, and the maker's instructions for the specific model decide how it is set up and what fuel it takes. If you are not sure whether a particular appliance is suitable for indoor use, treat it as unsuitable until the maker's instructions say otherwise.

Using Supra kit safely indoors

Indoors is where most emergency kit gets used, and indoors is where the risks concentrate. The fire and rescue service advice for the home is simple: do not overload your electrics⁸. If you are running a heater, a light and a phone charger from one extension lead, you are asking for trouble, and the risk is highest exactly when you are tired and the power has already failed.

Flats and high-rise buildings need particular care. If you live in a flat, check with your landlord or building management before using any fuel-burning appliance, and keep the escape route clear whatever else is going on. Store the kit near an exit to your home, such as by the front door or under the stairs, so it can be easily grabbed⁹.

Store your emergency kit near an exit to your home, such as by the front door or under the stairs, so it can be easily grabbed¹⁰. That advice is about getting out quickly, but it also keeps fuel and appliances out of the rooms where you sleep and eat. A torch by the front door is worth more in a power cut than a box of kit at the back of the loft.

• Keep heaters away from curtains and furniture, and never use them for drying clothes⁷.
• Do not overload your electrics⁸.
• Store the kit near an exit so it can be grabbed quickly¹⁰.
• Keep escape routes clear, especially in flats and high-rise buildings⁹.

Ventilation and carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is the danger that decides whether a fuel-burning appliance is safe to use indoors at all. It is produced by incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels such as coal, wood or gas, due to poor ventilation or faulty equipment². It has no colour and no smell, which is why the alarm matters as much as the ventilation.

The official position is consistent across the UK. For any fuel-burning equipment indoors there must be good ventilation and it must be used with a carbon monoxide alarm¹. Without adequate air supply and efficient flue operation, dangerous levels of carbon monoxide can build up with the possibility of fatal consequences¹¹. The NHS in Wales puts it plainly: carbon monoxide is a killer, and without checking appliances and proper ventilation it can build up and become very dangerous¹².

If you suspect a carbon monoxide leak, open all doors and windows to ventilate the room and do not sleep in it¹³. Get fresh air in, get out if you need to, and do not wait to see whether you feel better. Opening doors and windows is not a substitute for fixing the cause: for fuel-burning devices, opening doors and windows is insufficient to prevent build-up of carbon monoxide concentrations from these devices¹⁴.

Fuel and storage

Fuel is where good intentions most often go wrong. The law sets a limit on how much petrol a household may keep: you may keep up to 30 litres of petrol in a suitable container in a garage or shed³. The same limit appears in fire and rescue service guidance, which refers to one demountable fuel tank of up to 30 litres¹⁵.

Store fuel in a suitable container, in a garage or shed rather than in the house, and keep it away from anything that could ignite it. You may keep up to 30 litres of petrol in a suitable container in a garage or shed¹⁵. Do not store fuel near a heat source, and do not decant it indoors.

For other fuels, follow the maker's instructions for the appliance. LPG equipment can be particularly vulnerable, and blocked or partially blocked burners can lead to higher carbon monoxide levels and flame failure; LPG can also leak from damage to hoses¹⁶. Check hoses and connections before each winter, and replace anything that looks worn.

Charging, maintenance and storage between emergencies

The difference between kit that works and kit that does not is what you do between emergencies. A household emergency pack should include spare batteries⁵, and a car emergency kit should include a phone charger¹⁷. Those two small items cover most of what goes wrong when the power fails: a torch with a flat battery and a phone with no charge.

For anything with a battery, charge it fully before the winter and check it again at the start of each season. For fuel-burning appliances, check the burner, the hose and the connections, and follow the maker's instructions for servicing. For smart devices that form part of your plan, the National Cyber Security Centre advises that for detailed instructions about updating a specific device you should refer to the support area within the manufacturer's website¹⁸.

Keep a simple maintenance log with the kit: the date you last tested the alarm, the date you last charged the batteries, and the date you last checked the fuel. That log is what turns a cupboard of equipment into a plan you can rely on.

Safety notices and recalls

Recalls are rare, but they matter, and the way to catch one is to register your appliance and check the official sources. Register your appliance so manufacturers can contact you about faults or recalls⁴. That single step is the difference between hearing about a safety notice and not hearing about it.

To check for recalls or safety notices, use the Electrical Safety First website⁴. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) also issues product recall notices, and you can check those notices directly¹⁹. If a recall applies to your appliance, the maker may ask you to stop using the product until it has been repaired, replaced or returned¹⁹.

The pattern of a recall is worth knowing. A safety notice identifies a product, gives a case number and tells you what to do; the official notice for an unbranded carbon monoxide alarm, for example, gives the product description, the case number 2112-0591 and the ASIN²⁰. If you receive a notice like that for a Supra product, follow the instructions in the notice rather than continuing to use the appliance.

Support, spare parts and warranty

Support for a Supra appliance starts with the maker's own support area, which is where you will find instructions for updating a specific device and for servicing¹⁸. Keep the manual with the appliance, and note the model and serial number somewhere you can find it, because that is what support will ask for first.

Registration is the other half of support. Register your appliance so the manufacturer can contact you about faults or recalls⁴, and keep your proof of purchase with the registration details. If you move house or pass the appliance on, update the registration so safety notices still reach the right person.

For spare parts, contact the maker's support team with the model and serial number. For older equipment, be aware that some older systems no longer meet current legislative requirements and will not be replaced, repaired or maintained²¹, so it is worth checking whether a part is still available before you rely on an old appliance for an emergency.

If you need help paying for heating or keeping warm, there is support. Age UK and Home life from Cumberland Council offer advice and possible support for people struggling to keep their home warm or struggling financially, including advice about grants available to keep your home efficient and warm if you have long-standing health conditions²². Suffolk Winter Warmth provides items such as hats, gloves, scarves, blankets, duvets, baby sleep bags, hot water bottles, LED bulbs and draughtproofing²³. For households in England that are low income, off the gas grid and have an Energy Performance Certificate between D and G, the Home Upgrade Grant provides energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating via local authority funding²⁴.

If you are on a prepayment meter and running out of gas or electricity, your supplier provides an emergency credit facility which you can access automatically via your meter, and suppliers are required in certain situations to offer additional credit²⁴. That is worth knowing before a cold snap, not during one.