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15K views 35 replies 21 participants last post by  dee seeweed  
#1 ·
I want to purchase four quality kerosene lanterns. Over many years I have purchased a few & I'm not happy with them, poor light, leaks etc. Basically junk, you get what you pay for. I don't mind spending a few bucks for quality. I have done my homework on fuel & know that I need to use a K1 kerosene (no dye) for best results.

I've been looking at Dietz lanterns, but don't really know anything about them. I don't want the Coleman kerosene lantern. I have several Colemans, propane & C fuel, they are loud (hisss) and burn hot.

I sure would apperciate you thoughts & recommendations. One last Q, I have read (on some like forums) to use mineral spirits (paint thinner) for your lanterns, good results. On a Dietz site it tells you DO NOT use mineral spirit paint thinner for fuel?? I would appreciate your comments.
 
#2 ·
I have never used mineral spirits, so no opinion on that.

As for lanterns - I use the big ones from a local big box mart. A lot of what you get out of your lantern is how you use it.

Cut the wick in an arch, instead of leaving it square. This makes the flame easier to control and less black smoke. If the wick is as wide as a quarter, then cut the top of the wick on the same arch as a quarter.

Put your lanterns in the bathrooms so the light can reflect off the wall mirror.

For rooms that do not have a wall mirror, use a smaller, hand held mirror, propped up behind the lantern to reflect light back into the room.
 
#4 ·
I am reposting this information. If you want the best in kerosene lamps, these can't be beat. The link on the bottom was provided by Katbalou and directs you to where many models can be purchased. IMO, Once you have an Aladdin lamp you will never consider the standard wick ones again.

The one piece of equipment that seems to do it all. Providing light equal to a 60 watt light bulb, enough heat output to heat a medium sized area, the ability to cook and bake, and it sips fuel like a miser. The Aladdin lamp does not get much mention but, in my opinion, it is a must have. I would not trade the two I have for anything if I could not replace them. They have been priceless during the many power outages experienced, even rivaling my generators in their importance. Those of you who have one will most likely agree. The Aladdin lamp is far superior to the standard hurricane lamp.

The light output is intense. They say that it is equal to a 60W light bulb but it sure seems brighter when you are relying on it during a power outage. Thanks to the Thorium mantle, the light produced far exceeds that of candles or hurricane lights.

Aladdin lamps burn HOT. A piece of paper held over the chimney will burst into flame immediately. The heat pours out the top to such a degree that it will heat quite a large area. If you live in an apartment or in an area that you cannot have a generator or woodstove, the Aladdin lamp will keep you warm. The heat from these lamps rivals that of the woodstove I use during power outages. Many times it starts to get uncomfortably warm in the rooms that the lamps are being used in even though it is in the teens outside.

Because of the high heat output, it also can be used to cook. Using scrap metal, I fabricated a high cooking tripod that will hold standard pots and pans. You can cook on it by removing the Thorium mantle and just use the wick but I have found it works much better leaving the mantle in place.

Also, by using heat ducting, an oven can be easily fabricated. My first prototype used 8" stovepipe. When I found that this crude oven worked so well, I constructed a better model using rectangular, galvanized ducting available at any home improvement center. Fabrication of an oven is simple. Put together the two halves of the square duct. Then seal both ends with sheet metal, in effect forming a box. One end must be hinged to act as a door, the other end can be permanently fixed. Cut a 3 or 4 inch hole towards the end of one side of the duct and cut the same size hole on the other side of the duct, near the other end. One hole is for the end of the Aladdin lamp chimney top to feed heat into the oven, the other hole is to allow excess heat to escape. I used steel shelving legs (scrap) to support the oven at the height necessary to allow the chimney to come within an inch or so of the heat collection hole. Once into place, a small piece of sheet metal is just laid over the hole cut to allow excess heat to escape. All you have to do is slide it around to reduce or increase the amout of heat that escapes, thus controlling the heat level in the oven. Bread bakes very well using this oven. The bread pan must be supported to allow heat under it, of course. I also wrapped a thin layer of insulation over parts of it. Works great. Not a great cook here but I see no reason why anything can't be baked in it. The high heat of the Aladdin lamp makes its use in this manner possible.

Aladdin lamps burn much cleaner than hurricane lamps and they require little fuel to keep them going. I keep some old dish detergent (squeeze type) plastic bottles filled with standard kerosene for efficient filling. Better than using funnels because you can see when to stop fueling. No, the kerosene won't dissolve the plastic. Have been using the same ones for years.

When using Aladdin lamps, do not leave them unattended. In addition to the high heat hazzard, if you burn them at maximum they may start to form carbon on the mantle. If you get carbon formation on the mantle, simply turn the lamp down and it will burn off gradually. Like any mantle, it will break if abused. The spare parts to be stored include wicks, mantles, a spare chimney, and a wick trimmer. Extra mantles are most important. I have never had to replace a wick or chimney but you never know!

I purchased mine 30+ years ago from NitroPack. I do not know if they still carry them. They are definately worth looking for. Perhaps others know who still sells them. The technology has been around 100 years. There are Aladdin lamps in antique shops although I have found these to be less desireable than the newer ones. The new ones are sold as fancy ones with expensive glass shades or simple ones with aluminum bodies and simple chimneys. I use the simple ones since I am only interested in utility. The fancy ones are beautiful, worthy of a show piece in any home.

After one severe power outage in the the 1980's. I bought 2 dozen of them and sold them where I was working at the time (in a city), making a small profit , of course. Everyone loved them even though they weren't into preparedness as we are. The same lamps were still on the job when I retired. In my opinion, you will not be disappointed if you decide to get one. I also store 60 gallons of kerosene just for these lamp. The lamps work fine with 30 year old, untreated kerosene. They use so little fuel that these 60 gallons will see me through any uncertain future. For your consideration

http://goodpick.com
 
#7 ·
I tried the alcohol. Fred is correct, very little light. Also, the red dye in fuel designated kerosene doesn't affect the operation of either the standard lamps or the Aladdins. It is just a bit more messy but it is a lot less expensive. Standard hurricane lamps are great to have in addition to the Aladdins, they have their uses. I have wall mounted standard hurricane lamps spread around the house that act as "night lights" so we don't have to stumble around the house while the Aladdins high light output is used in rooms we are occupying . The Aladdins burn so hot I avoid carrying them around. Thanks to the Aladdin lamps, we do not have to run our generators as much during a power outage.
 
#10 ·
This is a timely discussion...

We lost power for about 8-hrs Sunday evening and we have a pair of lamp oil lanterns that were with our preparidness stuff and we dug them out to give us some light and heat while we played games with the kids.

These use a wax-oil type fluid and it doesn't smoke or smell and it did give off a decent amount of heat but certainly we don't stockpile enough of this wax/oil to really last a long time.

I was close to rolling out the Generator but just about the point I was going to hook it up the power came back on (isn't that always the way it works?).

Regardless, I think I need some kerosene lanterns as well as I can store a lot of kerosene for the laterns but I am concerned about how smelly these are for inside the house. Most likely I would continue using the lamp oil lights for most power outages but time for another addition to my stockpile...
 
#16 ·
I buy kerosene in bulk for $3 a gallon and store it in 16 gallon drums. The red level is for scale, its 4 feet tall. Even though the drums hold 16 gallons, I only put 15 gallons in them. This leaves a little head space.

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#15 ·
I get my kerosene from a small town gas station that caters to rural and farm folks. They pump it out of 55 gal barrels. I haven't bought any lately, so I don't have a clue what the current price is.
It used to go by the name Coal Oil.
 
#18 ·
Nice pics Kev! They look identical to my barrels. I see you have a different way of checking the "level" of the kero in the barrels:D! I just couldn't let that one get by without saying something.
 
#19 ·
$3US a gallon?We will buy our air tickets tomorrow to America!!.There is I think at least 4 litres to the gallon so that means I,m paying here in Australia $8US per gallon.Our gasoline(we call petrol) is around $5Us per gallon.Anyway Thanks so much for the information everyone.
 
#24 ·
I have a couple of Dietz lanterns, work fine. Trimming the wick in an arch makes them less smoky.
In the summer I use citronella oil in them for sitting out on the deck and also while out camping to keep the "Summer Bird of NJ" under control.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Lamps, Lanterns, and all that stuff...

I am also looking at the Dietz brand kerosene lanterns, ya cant have enough light.

First... Don't use gasoline or pain thinner in this type lantern. There is a name for a kerosene lantern filled with gasoline, its a molotov cocktail, ha. Kids don't try this at home. As a kid I did try this because walking a few miles to the service station to get a soda pop bottle of kerosene was more than I was prepared to do. It was a bit exciting.

I keep kerosene for my back up wick type space heaters, so having a few lanterns seems to be a natural choice. I have heard the arguments on both sides of the red dye, story. For readers that don't know what this is about, the Fed's require the dye in kerosene to identify fuel that has not been "road taxed". I use the cheaper kerosene with red dye, no problems so far and have been using it for years in the heaters. My personal opinion about the dye is there is no difference. If there was a serious side effect they would select a different dye, everyone that uses "off road" fuel, farmers, would be lining up to get the feds to pay for their repairs. Anyway, its a personal choice what we all use, and just my opinion, your opinion is just as good. Before I leave the basic fuel topic, I have used the re-refined kerosene, distributed by Exxon, sold as "clear lite", there is absolutely no smell, pretty amazing stuff. The cost of clear lite is twice that of regular kerosene, but might be worth considering if you or your wife cant stand kerosene smell. Lastly, if you want to reduce or eliminate most of the odor, light the lantern outdoors and take it out to extinguish. Lighting the lantern and extinguishing are the two periods that produce most of the fumes.

The Dietz brand claims their lantern will go out if knocked over while burning, a very important feature. I have not tested a Dietz to verify it, maybe one of us should. I have a Wal-Mart kerosene lantern, and I tipped it over on purpose, not lit. Kerosene went everywhere, not a good thing. That particular lantern may have been defective I don't know. From my survey of the various Dietz (cold draft) type lanterns the light output is low, from a low of maybe 4 candle power up to a maximum of 12-15 candle power, this is in the range of a car tail light bulb. Sometimes you don't need or want a lot of light, just don't expect Coleman type performance. The other options available in the Dietz lineup are very small lanterns, and lanterns with a huge fuel tank, 72 hours run time between fillings. Dietz lanterns are now made in China, like everything else, there are not any other US sources except eBay for an old lantern. Spare parts are widely available on the internet, buy some spare wick, trim it occasionally and you are good to go.

I am glad one of the other post above said something about this. My neighbor invited me over for a demonstration of his Aladdin lamps the other day, these are non-pressurized lamps, that have a mantel as opposed to a simple wick. I was amazed at the light output. The quality of the light is very good, a nice warm even light source, easily as bright as a 60 watt bulb. I was very impressed with the Aladdin lamps, they are attractive, and your neighbor wont think you are a cave man if they see one on your mantel. Aladdin lamps are pretty darned expensive, get ready for sticker shock.

Last, while we are on kerosene fueled light sources, you might also consider the pressurized kerosene lanterns. You said you were not interested in the Coleman variety. Again, for those that are following this thread, Coleman makes two kerosene pressurized lanterns. These lanterns require some pre heating to operate correctly. Typically you will be burning a small amount of alcohol and allow it to burn to pre-heat the lantern, then they burn about like the regular Coleman fuel type lanterns we have all seen and used. Last year I bought a Britelyt lantern, these are made/assembled in the USA, in Florida. Note, some components are made elsewhere, more about that later. "Britelyt is Petromax" if you recognize that name, they bought out all the other partners and former owners. I still call them Petromax named after the inventor, but they are much improved since those days. These lanterns will burn anything, gasoline, yes gasoline, kerosene, diesel, old motor oil, you name it. They have even been run on bio-diesel. These lanterns are not exactly cheap, a little more than the mass produced Coleman lanterns, but high quality gear, nickel plated brass, as shiny as an old Buick's bumper, ha. Beware the cheap Chinese knock offs, sold as butterfly and others, they are not nickel plated brass, more likely thin chrome plating over sheet metal, those should not burn gasoline. That is about all I want to say about these, except, Eddie and the folks there have my endorsement, if you are thinking of a burn all fuels lantern check these people out, give them a call or watch their demonstration videos on line.

That's all I know, keep the post coming I want to hear others experiences, and recommendations.
 
#26 ·
Aladins are the best... I do have a "pressure" kerosene lamp that works like a Coleman, but on kerosene... chinese manufacture, no brand, but it works well once ya git'er fired up... i've been told Jet A fuel is a good grade of kerosene that will light up your life.. guess i'll find out.. i use the old hurcane laterns for outside use and low light needs.. simple and safe... there is no such thing as dark, only the absence of light, no such thing as cold, but the absence of heat, no such thing as evil, but the absence of God... be lighted, be warmed, be holy.. pilgrim78
 
#27 ·
Some ancient civilisations used vegetable oils. Their lamp designs weren' t as advanced in design as lamps today. Don't know how well it works in todays lamps.
In the post situation, if one has a good supply or manufacturig process, it would be a good barter item.
Candles made from bees wax is also another type of lighting, can be easily made and, most of the wax can be recovered to make more candles. Parafin wax doesn't leave a lot to be recovered in comparison.
There are various ways to use candles in extreme outdoor conditions.
Just another alternative that maybe worth a thought.
 
#29 ·
Just a suggestion, regularly test this idea as safely as you can, the refineries are always changing their additives. I haven't had a problem so far but todays diesel is not the same as it was 20 years ago.
 
#30 ·
One of the achilles heels of Aladdin lamps is the need for special mantles. I have an aladdin lamp, and it worked fine at my home, for a few days. Then a bug flew in, lit on the mantle, while it was off of course (would have fried, if it were on at the time), and mantle ruined!!!

I also have Humphrey gas lights... love them, but the weak link there is specialized mantles (that have to be ordered...:mad:).

What I want, is a lamp that'll work off of hog lard... (wild hogs have soft, or liquid lard)... a natural product, that will always be available, regardless of the world oil situation.
 
#31 ·
This lamp isn't a kerosene lamp but a vegetable oil lamp. This guy makes his from scratch but I can't see why one couldn't use vegetable oil in the kerosene lamp. If someone tries this, please post results. I don't have a kerosene lamp, but if it works with vegetable oil I will get one and use the veggie oil.