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16K views 20 replies 19 participants last post by  methemom 
#1 ·
I did a search and it looks like the Petromax Britelyte is a popular, versatile choice for using indoors. I already have a myriad of MagLites, a UCO candle lantern, and a Coleman duel fuel lantern, but nothing that is quiet and burns cleanly inside. I live in an apt. and everything is electric. If the power goes out, I have an issue for both light and cooking.

Regarding the Petromax, I have 2 questions:

1. Is it quiet/silent? I've never used one.
2. Is it worth getting the cooking attachment? I already have a Coleman 2-burner, Coleman Exponent (1 burner backpacking), and a couple homemade alcohol stoves.

This is what I'm looking at: http://store.britelyt.com/servlet/-strse-16/petromax-geniol-britelyt-aida/Detail

A Dietz hurricane style lantern also sounds like a popular choice but with a lower light output. Since they are so cheap, I may get one of those as well and use it on the balcony with citronella oil.

Any input would be great!
 
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#4 ·
that was my suggestion too. i use oil lamps in my guest cabin, and lived with those and candles for years before i got solar power again.
they are dirty, but work well.
btw, 'lamp oil' burns a lot cleaner than 'kerosene'.in britain they call it parafine.
it leaves the wicks a lot cleaner and burns cleaner too.
 
#6 ·
The good old Aladdin lamps are very good, also. No pumping and a mantle makes them very bright. They work best with the clear lamp oil or clear kerosene that they sell at Menards' for the kerosene heaters. They are brighter and produce no odor with this fuel.

Another possibility for low level lighting at no fuel cost would be the "driveway solar lights" that people use for accenting their landscaping. We've used these in our tents and they produce no heat which is good in summer heat conditions.
 
#8 ·
They are everywhere

Humphrey lamp. I got'em everywhere! http://www.globaltowne.com/product_info.php/products_id/110 Shop around. Get the tie on mantle, and pick up a hi-altitude jet. Mine worked better (no carboning up) With the hi altitude jets even though we are at 650' The mantles for a 500cp britelite lantern work great and are cheaper than the humphry's Do not buy butterfly/Chinese knock offs! Shop around...prices vary
 
#10 ·
I was helping the mother-in-law with replacing a bulb in her attic. On the top of a shelf I saw an old Coleman lantern box, so I asked her about it. She answered that it was an old lantern that my father-in-law had used when he was a scout master (over 40 years ago!). Inside was a white-gas lantern in great shape with one lantern mantle still intact! The other had broken off and was laying on the bottom of the reflector. She said if I wanted it I could have it, so I took it.

When I got home I removed the old mantle and the remains of the one laying on the bottom of the reflector and placed them in a small plastic bag. Through the bag (which should shield many of the low intensity betas) I got a reading of 0.3 mr/hr with the probe on a CDV700 in the closed position (gamma rays only) in the open position it read 25 mr/hr!!! on contact with the bag! So if you have any of the old ones still laying around I suggest you dispose of them and replace them with the new no-radioactive ones (thorough the bag on them there is a zero reading). And by the way, these old ones had a green top....

If your mantles are over about 10-20 years old I suggest you replace them with as soon as possible and be careful to wash your hands afterward and don't inhale the dust if they crumble!
 
#12 ·
In the warmer months, you are not going to want something that puts out 5,000 - 8,000 BTUs, just to use for light. You can use alcohol in a regular oil lamp, as long as it wasn't previously used with lamp oil. But, a rechargeable solar lantern might be a better option, or a solar shed light. You can affix the panel inside a window. If your apartment isn't too small, you could also do a small solar 12v setup. It could power your laptop, a DC fan, DC lights. You could have a few 1.5W 38LED lights burning for several hours.
 
#14 ·
In the warmer months, you are not going to want something that puts out 5,000 - 8,000 BTUs, just to use for light.
Anything that puts out that much heat is putting out too much light anyway. Why people feel the need to light up indoors as if it's mid day outdoors, I'll never know. It's also a lot harder to keep light discipline with super bright lights going.

I have a couple Aladdins and I don't think I actually have a use for them unless I need to do up close detail work of some kind (I have weak eyes). They're just too bright.
 
#16 ·
We bought a Petromax prior to Y2K ( I know, loser) because of the multi fuel options and because of it's brightness. We had plenty of regular oil lanterns but thought at least one really bright one would be needed if we ever had to do anything (like minor surgery) where a bright light would be needed. Otherwise regular cheap oil lanterns were the standard.

We have a couple of Alladin brand lanterns but they are a little fussy although they do burn brightly, also replacement supplies are expensive and frequently on back order.

I love the Dietz type lanterns because they have a carrying handle so you can hang them from hooks on the ceiling, they are less likely to turn over and spill, you have to really work hard to break the globe and it is safer to take outside or into a barn at night.

I never had a problem with a kerosene smell, and you can also burn diesel fuel in them, but you will have to clean the globes more frequently. Lamp oil is just kerosene so I could never justify the cost of buying the oil.

We also had a couple solar battery chargers for flashlights/headlamps.

If you have other cooking options I wouldn't bother with the cooking attachment for the petromax. You can make a sturdy cage out of hardware cloth that will support a pot for warming food or water.
 
#17 · (Edited)
We have a couple of the Dietz lanterns. We use liquid paraffin in them, and there is no odor. Also, the liquid paraffin doesn't evaporate at room temperature, so you can leave it in the lanterns.

One of the lanterns has a removable top and comes with a cup for cooking/heating. It's pretty neat.

The liquid paraffin is a bit more expensive than kerosene, but we think it is much better.
 
#18 ·
#19 ·
LED's are bright and much more fuel efficient than other sources of artificial light. They are also much safer than flame lanterns indoors. But LED's light is very directional. There three ways of LED lanterns are constructed: 1.The post LED lanterns have a series of LED's arranged in a pattern around a lineal upright so as to vary the direction of the various LEDs to achieve a broad area of light. 2. The second has a reflective cone. A series of LEDs are mounted in a base and aimed at a reflective cone that redirects the light to a wider area. 3. The third type has fiber-optic mantle using a 45 degree cone milled into a piece of fiber optic rod. The light from an LED is directed at the point of the cone through the opposite end of the mantle. The cone refracts the light much the same way a prism does in a pair of binoculars. The first lantern to incorporate the fiber-optic mantle is the FlashLantern by Bogden Outdoor Equipment.
 
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