Testing out an old-school oil lantern.

G

gytheran

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Apr 6, 2009
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Forget all of those fancy flashlights, propane and gas lanterns. I decided to go old school with lighting, tested out an inexpensive oil lantern by Lamplight. :)
It's pretty cool if you're into these old-school types of gadgets. :)

[video=youtube_share;HZNRzhz2dcI]http://youtu.be/HZNRzhz2dcI[/video]
 
We used those in the backcountry camps at Philmont, where they are called "hurricane lamps." In fact in many camps those are the only lights. :)

I don't have one at home, but I do have several oil burning globe lamps for power outages. :thumbup:
 
All of the the similar lamps I've seen at stores recently seem cheap and chincy - flimsy thin metal.
I don't know where to buy the good old-school heavy-duty type, or even if they're still made today. :confused:
 
I use an original US made Dietz Little Wizard (5/8" wick) large fount and a Chinese Dietz Air Pilot (7/8" wick) for emergency lighting, but am impressed with the much smaller Feuerhand (1/2" wick) for the quality of light... the Feuerhand is 2x the price of the Chinese Dietz lanterns... for hurricane lantern info, the W T Kirkman Co is a good start

http://www.lanternnet.com/

small Feuerhand light output compared to a Coleman High Tech 3 AA lantern... yellow Little Wizard and red Air Pilot in background



size comparison
 
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Another vote for the Feuerhand. If you are patient, it's still possible to find good American made lanterns at junk stores.
 
If you want quality then the German Feuerhand or the Kirkman Champion are the top two to own. Dietz in recent years has gone to the dogs.
 
Quirt said:
.. Dietz in recent years has gone to the dogs.
Click to expand...


Purchased mine about 10-12 years ago, things must have changed.



Good thing about Lee Valley though, if you aren't satisfied with a purchase you can just send it back, they pay for the return shipping.
 
Hard to recall for sure, but I think the lamps at Philmont were Dietz, made in the USA. They had been around a long time, judging by their condition, on the verge of "vintage." They looked like the yellow one in post #6 above. The steel was durable and heavy-duty, and they held quite a lot of kerosene.

I have a small novelty (made in China) lamp in the kitchen that uses a string wick and a small glass jar for the oil. The enclosure and frame is thick steel. The whole thing is only a couple of inches tall, but it gives off good heat and enough light to find things. :thumbup:
 
A few months ago I purchased one of these chinese made hurricane/Dietz lanterns. I read the reviews about how the bases weren't properly press fitted together and they'd leak out kerosine. I originally picked it up because I planned on gutting it and turning it into a battery powered LED lantern with an old-school appearance. But I never got around to that, and I finally decided to test it out. I let it set for a full day with kerosene in it, and it's holding it just fine. The next step is going to be seeing how well it drafts when lit.
 
It finally got dark enough for me to test out my lantern. These are the pictures of how much illumination it puts out.





This being my first experience with an actual oil lantern, I don't know how much soot residue on the globe and the hood of the lantern is normal. Does anybody know?
 
Charlie... I use clear 1K kerosene and not paraffin lamp oil... with a cleanly trimmed wick I get very little smoke/soot... I light the lamps with an extended butane lighter, so don't have to raise the wick to get it to light, which may be producing some of your soot
 
It's a possibility. Like I said, this is my first experience with an oil lantern.

The tinkerer in me is wondering about the ventilation holes though. Would there be less soot if the holes were widened a little?
 
I guess I am retro.........
We used these in Scouts and ROTC

Use kerosene
Keeps the wicks trimmed
too much carbon on the wick makes smoke
Light the wick
Let the lamp heat up
Then bring the wick down shorter
No soot at all
 
I ditched the kerosene and got basic lamp oil. The smoke is gone, the soot is gone, most of the smell is gone, and the flame is far more manageable. The light it puts out is decent but not extraordinary in nature. But for emergency use I think it'll work just fine.

EDIT: Pictures now included.







Not bad for a cheap chinese piece of tin.
 
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I've used and maintained oil lamps all my life. Four can heat a room and give off pretty good light without a lot of toxic fumes and hardly any soot if the lamps are used properly. Two of my lamps are 1800's antiques and two are newer. All have modern replacement chimneys and good new wicks. I keep extra wick, oil and replacement parts on hand. They aren't as bright as electric lightbulbs, but they do the job. I can read by them. Lehmans keeps a good supply if you can't find the antique ones. Be careful buying replacement chimneys. There are some untempered decorative ones out there that can shatter when they get hot. Reflectors and globes can increase the amount of apparent light they give off too. Note also that there are three standard wick sizes, 5/8", 7/8" and 1 1/2". Know which size your burner uses. They usually come in packs of 5. Oh, and some Aladdin brand burners use a round tubular wick.
 
Aladdin lamps rock!!!

Codger_64 which Lehmans lanterns do you use - assuming that is where you purchased your two newer one?
 
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