Survivalist Forum banner
36K views 31 replies 22 participants last post by  Faultyphoenix 
#1 ·
There is an interesting article on the BBC about solar powered lights, and how the company that makes the lights won some kind of environmental award.

What I found interesting, the article states that 1.5 million people die each year due to Kerosene fumes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10486605.stm

The company, set up by Indian entrepreneurs, says indoor air pollution by Kerosene fumes kills 1.5m people per year.
Back in April of 2009, I posted a video on youtube about using solar powered lights instead of candles. When I was making the video, I was not thinking about the danger of fumes. Instead, I was more thinking about the fire hazard that candles and lanterns pose.



I know a lot of people stockpile kerosene for use in lanterns - but lanterns pose 2 health risk, 1 from the fumes, and 1 from the fire hazard. It seems to me that the hazard from fumes is overlooked a lot.

When my wife and I use our kerosene space heater, we crack a window in the kitchen so that the house can vent. But I had never really thought about kerosene lanterns needing to vent. Its such a small flame, I had not really considered that fumes cold build up to the point of being lethal.

With a kerosene lantern you have this little bitty flame that barely puts out enough light to read by. The thought of the fumes from that little flame killing 1.5 million people every year, is just mind boggling to me.

Maybe I need to re-think my whole attitude on kerosene and move to solar powered lights? It seems to me solar would be a lot cheaper and safer then kerosene.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Kev, I bought a bunch of those BUT I also got the ones that are the "spot light" type, they work fantastic. 2 of them together really light up a room.


These little solar lights are a win, win, win item, (IMO) are the best lighting option.
 
#5 ·
If those are the ones I'm thinking about, I have a couple also. They're designed for landscape lighting, aiming at a tree or the house, and have a panel on top that can be adjusted to face the sun? They're a lot more efficient than the lower powered walkway lights.

Oddly enough, I originally bought mine to light up a halloween display...lol
 
#3 ·
I run a combo of rechargeable and kerosene. I wish the article had given more information on the kerosene hazards. I guess I'm going to have to research that. I mean if it's because they're running 2 dozen smokey old lanterns in a tiny airtight shack, that doesn't really apply. But if it's something about the fumes, even in small quantities killing people, then it's important to know about.
 
#11 ·
They do make great rechargers. Another good option is the old style pathway lights that used flourescent tubes. They had a larger panel and a 6v gelcel battery. I have 3 of those that the gelcels went out in. I replaced the cells in 2 and use them as small power sources. The third I stripped for the panel. It'll charge 4 AAs (or other size) at a time and will do about 3 seperate charges (AA) on a bright day.

I don't see them for sale anymore since the LEDs took over, but I still see them dirt cheap (like $1 a piece) at second hand stores and garage sales all the time.
 
#12 ·
Another reason to be careful of kero fumes is that breathing them in over a period can cause pancreatitis - a life threatening condition.
A few years ago I was admitted to hospital with pancreatitis (probably the most painful experience of my life) and the doctors could not find a reason for it in a young, otherwise healthy person. The guy doing the ultrasound mentioned that he had only seen this in people working in areas filled with kero fumes. It struck me then that I was working in a cold shop that was heated with a kerosene heater and I sat next to it a lot. When I got out of hospital and threw out that heater the symptoms stopped.
 
#13 ·
This is why I asked about making an olive oil (or other cooking oil) lamp. I've made a few to try out and find that they don't smell at all and actually burn for a long time with just a little bit of oil. I find that, at least in Maine, cooking oil is a lot cheaper than lamp oil anyway and it will be much easier to find a naturally occurring plant oil than something petroleum based-should the time ever come.
 
#15 ·
With a kerosene lantern you have this little bitty flame that barely puts out enough light to read by. The thought of the fumes from that little flame killing 1.5 million people every year, is just mind boggling to me.

Maybe I need to re-think my whole attitude on kerosene and move to solar powered lights? It seems to me solar would be a lot cheaper and safer then kerosene.
When the BBC talks of people being killed by keosene fumes, what they are referring to is supposed premature deaths caused by years and years of exposure to soot particles. They also refer to 'millions' of people who die each year as a result of wood smoke inhalation, basically, people who do all their cooking on wood fires will breath in some smoke and on average they die younger than people who cook with gas or electricity so 'therefore' the wood smoke is killing them.

This is not a warning about kerosene fumes killing you suddenly like carbon monoxide, but rather the cumulative impact of years and years of breathing in smoke.
 
#18 ·
We had several kerosene lamps that were on an old table in our house, while cleaning one day my wife dropped one of them and the glass lantern busted in a million pieces spilling what little lamp oil that was in them on the floor.
Even though it was on a tile floor it took months for the smell to go away, and after rethinking the fire hazzard they posed we switched to other types of lighting in our house for SHTF.
We still have some of the old lamps safely stored away in the attic, but it would have to be a bad long term SHTF before I dig them out.
 
#20 ·
I have one of these:



Supposed to be multi-fuel, but I've only tried it with white gas and kero.

Naturally it does give off some fumes. There is also a cooking attachment which I haven't tried yet.



But I am worried about the fumes and consumption of oxygen - especially in my new residence which is rather air tight and well insulated. If you have to vent for such items, then you are giving up the advantage of a well insulated air-tight house that holds in the heat.

It seems what would be needed would be some kind of attachment to vent it, like a stove does.
 
#21 ·
I've heated with a kerosene heater for 2 winters, and used kerosene barn lamps several times when the power went out (like clockwork around her in the winter). As long as you don't try to turn them on "HELL", they really don't smoke. And kerosene is cleaner-burning than coal or wood, and is said to be more efficient than even propane for heating.

I've had the heater's wick go out, and believe me, it's like being in a room with an M-18 smoke grenade cooking off.
 
#22 ·
Let's be blunt, the primary attraction of kerosene is that it's cheap.

Many houses built here post-WWII had nothing but electric heat (baseboard or in the ceiling) - too expensive to use nowadays, so many use portable kerosene heaters as their main source of heat.

And as I've posted before, they don't take them back outside in sub-freezing temps to refill.

So they remain a cause of structure fires here.

A far safer (but more expensive) alternative would be propane heaters, either portable or through-the-wall.

I'd never willingly use liquid fuels inside my home.
 
#25 ·
There is an interesting article on the BBC about solar powered lights, and how the company that makes the lights won some kind of environmental award.

What I found interesting, the article states that 1.5 million people die each year due to Kerosene fumes.

Solar lamp wins award for helping developing countries



Back in April of 2009, I posted a video on youtube about using solar powered lights instead of candles. When I was making the video, I was not thinking about the danger of fumes. Instead, I was more thinking about the fire hazard that candles and lanterns pose.



I know a lot of people stockpile kerosene for use in lanterns - but lanterns pose 2 health risk, 1 from the fumes, and 1 from the fire hazard. It seems to me that the hazard from fumes is overlooked a lot.

When my wife and I use our kerosene space heater, we crack a window in the kitchen so that the house can vent. But I had never really thought about kerosene lanterns needing to vent. Its such a small flame, I had not really considered that fumes cold build up to the point of being lethal.

With a kerosene lantern you have this little bitty flame that barely puts out enough light to read by. The thought of the fumes from that little flame killing 1.5 million people every year, is just mind boggling to me.

Maybe I need to re-think my whole attitude on kerosene and move to solar powered lights? It seems to me solar would be a lot cheaper and safer then kerosene.
When I was a dumb young'un I used a kerosene lamp all through winter in a cabin up in Alaska. The cabin had a white, drop-in ceiling. Come spring the fumes had turned the tiles pitch black. Reckon the fumes did me some damage too. I remember blowing black boogers.
 
#32 ·
I just bought another gallon of "klean heat" kerosene alternative. I suppose the same warnings apply. I am also trying to clean up a 3 burner kerosene cooking stove my brother bought me at an antique store. Klean heat and white gas and lantern fuel all have their thing here. I have do many lanterns because I've found them at garage sales for $5 for the box full. I would always crack a window even though this place is far from air tight.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top