[iceman121]

Ok guys, I am new to any form of oil lamps. I want to pick up a few along with a nice supply of the oil. God knows its all real cheap. But on ebay and some other online stores I am finding alot of kerosene ones. Like these. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LOT-2-KEROS...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f11b4743

My question is, can I just use regular lamp oil. The ultra-clear odorless etc kind?
The lamps look identical to the regular oil kind.
Thanks.

 

[Buffy]

I use regular lamp oil. Be sure to have your lamps already set to go, it takes a while for the wick to become fully saturated. Learned this recently when I tried to fill a lamp and light it.

 

[iceman121]

wow. Thanks for the quick replay. I ordering some now lol. And thanks for the heads up on keeping them filled. I would never have thought of that. I would have ended up sitting in dark wondering wtf is wrong with my lamps lol

 

[2DOGS]

Found 4 oil lamps at local Dollar Store,,$2.00 each,,,purchased all 4 of them,,,also a case of scented lamp oil for $1.00 a bottle,,,purchased the case,,,12 bottles total,,,extra wicks for lamps were purchased at Ace hardware locally for .97 cents each,,,purchased 12,,all they had,,,these lamps will burn lamp oil and kerosene equally well,,,have used 2 of the lamps already,,,very wise to keep a few oil lamps on hand,,,just in case,,,SEMPER FI

 

[davmatt74]

Was at the local warmart and saw an entire endcap of oil lamps and the next aisle was an entire endcap of oil yesterday in housewares dept.

 

[kev]

Things to consider:

Type and quality of the kerosene - clear, colored, scented
Size of reservoir on the lantern
Trimming the wick before use
Keep the lantern where children can not reach it

Personally, I buy kerosene in bulk. I'll go down to a local store and buy 15 gallons at a time. The kerosene is stored in some 16 gallon drums that I bought just for kerosene, gasoline and water. The drum is kept in a storage building that is separated from my house. To get the fuel out of the drum, I use a squeeze hand pump - I got mine from Lowes for about $2. From the drum, the fuel is put into a couple of lamp oil fuel containers I got from wal-mart. Its easier to handle a bottle, then it is to handle 15 gallons.

I look for lanterns that have a large reservoir. The larger the reservoir, the longer they can burn between refills. Look for something that holds enough fuel that you can go at least 8 hours without a refill.

Be sure to trim your wick before using the lantern. I like to trim my wicks in the shape of an arch. In other words, I cut the corners off the top of the wick before I use it. That way the flame is easier to adjust and puts out less smoke.

Keep in mind that lanterns are a fire hazard. Be sure to keep them away from where people can not bump into them, and where from the reach of children. When I use lanterns, they are put in the bathrooms, where the mirror can reflect the light, and at least 6 inches away from the edge of the counter top.

 

[usmcgirl]

Was at the local warmart and saw an entire endcap of oil lamps and the next aisle was an entire endcap of oil yesterday in housewares dept.

They had a few different one here but only at some locations. They have cheap replacement wicks too. Antique stores are good places to look, not the high end ones, the ones that look like inside flea markets! :thumb:

 

[Phoenixdadeadhead]

I switch back and forth on the oil I use in my lamps, normally running a mixture since they never get empty. Kero Heaters though, you want to run only on Kero. It will run on diesel or heating oil, but it quickly scorches the wick.

 

[MikeK]

I just use kerosene in mine. Unfortunately kerosene is almost rare here. Unless we want to buy it in 5 gallon drums at about 5 times the price of anywhere else in the country, we have to buy bulk from the petroleum distributor at 3 times the price instead. Ugh.

Anyway, you can get gallon cans of deodorized kerosene in the paint section of most hardware stores. You can also burn deodorized mineral spirits, and in fact, it burns cleaner and brighter in round wick lamps. If you want to make your kerosene burn cleaner, add 1 ounce of methanol per 10 gallons of kerosene. It's the same stuff they sell as "clean burning additive" for kerosene, usually pine scented.

 

[iceman121]

How often do you guys trim the wicks? B4 every use?

 

[Big Pow Pow]

We've used lamps extensively over the past decade or so. This rural area has power outages on a regular basis. If a dog pees on a light pole, we get a power outage. If a storm comes through and the power goes out, we will be without for a week or more.

My wife and I have gotten to the point to where we don't use the Kerosene lamps in the house. The smell. the added danger of having one fall off of a table or shelf, just adds to the inconvenience. We have pretty well gone to oil lamps with regular lamp oil and lately we've added have several homemade olive oil lamps. Even if you knock them over, they go out. Very low smell or smoke factor and they put out just as much light as any kerosene lamp. It also pretty easy because you store only olive oil for cooking and fuel. If it ever becomes too rancid for food, it will always be fuel.

 

[MikeK]

How often do you guys trim the wicks? B4 every use?

I trim only when it needs it. You can tell by looking at the flame. It should burn evenly from side to side with no flare ups, or dips in the flame, no smoke and even color. If it doesn't need trimming, it just wastes the wick to do it.

 

[overcomer]

just for fun, search for "kerosene" on this site. You'll find a manageable list of articles about different lamps, k1 vs odorless mineral spirits vs red dyed taxed Kero. Lamps, storage, stoves, other fuels . . . . It'll take a day or two to read the bulk of what comes up, but you'll have a whole list of equipment you'll want to buy.
OVC

 

[Big Pow Pow]

I've had several of you send me a PM asking about the olive oil lamps. I grabbed a small one out of my prep room and snapped a few photos. Hope this works, as I am not the photographer type. This little lamp is a small one made out of those mason type jars with the handle for use as a drinking mug. It uses a small wick. I ordered it from Lehman's Catalog about 10 years ago. However, when I saw how easy they were to make, I got some stiff wire at the hardware store, some wider oil lamp wicks at Hobby Lobby and used mayonaise jars and even a large pickle jar to make my own. The only objective is to keep the flame well above the oil, the wick under the oil and the wick adjusted so as to not over burn and give off smoke. If that happens, pull the wick down a little more to make the flame smaller. No bad smells, smoke or highly flammable liquids. I experimented by knocking over the lamp to see if it would flame up. The lamp goes out if more oil pours over the flame or is knocked over. Pour in a little EVOO and fire that mutha up. Here are some photos.