Portable heaters — the two real HUD failures

A portable heater by itself is not the deficiency. The two real HUD failures are an unvented fuel-burning heater in the unit, and combustible materials stored within three feet of a heat source. Everything else is usually a conversation, not a cite. Post what your inspectors have actually written up so we can separate the standard from the folklore.

This one matters because the folklore costs people money and arguments. Crews have torn out perfectly legal electric space heaters, and inspectors have been challenged on cites that were actually correct — both directions come from not knowing the two real failures cold. An unvented fuel-burning heater is a carbon monoxide story; combustibles within three feet is a fire story. Everything else is a conversation. What is the most creative portable-heater situation you've walked into — and did it involve either of the two real failures?