Oil lamps

Any SIMPLE place where these "blast" and "center draft" and other terms are explained with pictures?

How would I clean an older lantern? Soap and water? Kerosene/lamp oil? Windex?

My inlaws have an old Dietz in their cellar I'd like to clean up and have around. It is kind of a bright blue. they have several others as well. If I posted photos, could someone ID them?

Thanks.
 
Coyote33 said:
Any SIMPLE place where these "blast" and "center draft" and other terms are explained with pictures?

How would I clean an older lantern? Soap and water? Kerosene/lamp oil? Windex?

My inlaws have an old Dietz in their cellar I'd like to clean up and have around. It is kind of a bright blue. they have several others as well. If I posted photos, could someone ID them?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Try here for questions then search for other sites to get answers to specifics not covered -

http://www.lanternnet.com/faqs.htm

Windex works but I use Simple Green only because I have a lot of it. I've used auto degreaser too. Before you spend too much time cleaning it, be sure that the fount isn't rusted through on the bottom. If it leaks, pull the globe, burner, and filler cap & chuck the rest.

ID is easy on the Dietz. Blue could be a Wizard (cold blast) or a Monarch (hot blast). The Wizard is preferable for indoor use.
 
I've started looking for a couple Wizards to add as back-ups. They run fairly cool, have minimal odor when running, and self-extinguish if knocked over (like all Dietz's). The other one to consider is the original Boy Scout lantern, the Dietz Comet. They are tiny but will run a ~12 hours on a tank and are ~4CP. That doesn't seem like much but it will light up a room enough to see by and is preferable by far to open flame like candles. Before 1969 the Comet was made in the US and after that, Hong Kong. I've had both and they are equivalent in terms of quality.
 
Cold & hot blast refers to how fresh air is mixed into the globe.

The differences are clear at a glance, hot blast lanterns have simpler venting -

Dietz Wizard (cold blast) -

2500.jpg


Dietz Monarch (hot blast) -

monarch.jpg
 
green_metalflake said:
Try here for questions then search for other sites to get answers to specifics not covered -

http://www.lanternnet.com/faqs.htm

Windex works but I use Simple Green only because I have a lot of it. I've used auto degreaser too. Before you spend too much time cleaning it, be sure that the fount isn't rusted through on the bottom. If it leaks, pull the globe, burner, and filler cap & chuck the rest.

ID is easy on the Dietz. Blue could be a Wizard (cold blast) or a Monarch (hot blast). The Wizard is preferable for indoor use.
Click to expand...

I'm certainly no expert, but my understanding is that hot blast is better indoors, and that seems to be confirmed by the Kirkman FAQ you linked to. (That may well be where I first got my info.) That would make the Monarch preferable to the Wizard for indoor use.

Do I have it wrong or maybe do you know something I don't? I find kerosene lanterns very interesting and I'm always looking for new info about them.
 
I have a few Feuerhand huracane lamps. It burns paraffin oil or kero. Tank content approx. 350 ml, weight approx. 600 g. Burns for approx. 20 hrs depending on fill level.
The FEUERHAND hurricane lanterns are produced in Germany. Verly light weight. They work well.
 
Saw this post on another site.

I've heard that you can use baby oil in kerosene lamps (not the ones with the expensive mantles, just your plain everyday inexpensive oil lamp).

Has anyone tried this? If so, how did it work?



With one reply:
Uhmmmm, might be worth a try, just to see if it works. Don't have to actually put it in a kerosene lamp. Make a "lamp" by drilling a hole in the metal cap of a GLASS bottle. Insert a wick (cotton shoe string, string from a cotton string mop, etc.) Hole in the metal cap sized match the wick of choice. For more info on this type of lamp, search "olive oil lamps". That'll lead to all sorts of non-traditional oil lamps.

Now for baby oil. Just some thoughts.... Wonder if there are chemicals in baby oil that we wouldn't want to breathe if burned? The stuff that makes it smell good. Smoke is a factor. Just don't know how much smoke this oil will release -- how cleanly it'll burn.
 
blindndead said:
I've heard that you can use baby oil in kerosene lamps (not the ones with the expensive mantles, just your plain everyday inexpensive oil lamp).

Has anyone tried this? If so, how did it work?

With one reply:
Uhmmmm, might be worth a try, just to see if it works. Don't have to actually put it in a kerosene lamp. Make a "lamp" by drilling a hole in the metal cap of a GLASS bottle. Insert a wick (cotton shoe string, string from a cotton string mop, etc.) Hole in the metal cap sized match the wick of choice. For more info on this type of lamp, search "olive oil lamps". That'll lead to all sorts of non-traditional oil lamps.

Now for baby oil. Just some thoughts.... Wonder if there are chemicals in baby oil that we wouldn't want to breathe if burned? The stuff that makes it smell good. Smoke is a factor. Just don't know how much smoke this oil will release -- how cleanly it'll burn.
Click to expand...

Is baby oil cheaper than kero or lamp oil? I know that veggie oils will not work in a conventional oil lamp. It is a viscosity issue. The wick cant "pull" the oil up. I have made a veggie oil light from a cotton mop string, jar and piece of wire. I used sunflower oil I pressed myself. It was an interesting experiment but veggie oil is calories that I dont want to burn. I need to eat it. Try it with baby oil outside.
 
Reading the guys post I guess the baby oil would be something If somebody was in a jam and for some reason could not get your hands on lamp oil.
 
Last edited:
OK... my needs are simple. I'd like a few lamps for emergency purposes. Here's my requirements:

- I hate cheap shit... I'd like something that will last for decades
- Decorative is not important, just build quality
- I'm happy to spend what it takes, but not be wasteful
- And finally, what "extra" stuff should I buy (oil, wicks, spare parts?)

What should I buy and where should I buy it?

Thanks!

Rich
 
richc said:
OK... my needs are simple. I'd like a few lamps for emergency purposes. Here's my requirements:

- I hate cheap shit... I'd like something that will last for decades
- Decorative is not important, just build quality
- I'm happy to spend what it takes, but not be wasteful
- And finally, what "extra" stuff should I buy (oil, wicks, spare parts?)

What should I buy and where should I buy it?

Thanks!

Rich
Click to expand...

Go to lanternnet. He has about the best quality you are going to find in the new market. You can also look for clean older wick lamps and lanterns at junk/antique shops. I usually look for the clear glass table lamps with solid brass burners. They are easy to clean and look nice. As for spares, wicks, oil, chimneys, and maybe a spare burner. If you hunt around it is often cheaper to buy a complete lamp than the spare burner and chimney. For lanterns it is Dietz. Same deal as the lamps. Spare wicks, globe, and oil. Also many times it is cheaper to buy a second used lantern than new spare parts. If one is rusted out but has a good globe I will buy it for the globe and trash the rest.
 
Coastie nailed it, at least WRT the antique shop route (never dealt with lanternnet).

When the old lamps were made, they were a real tool, and built in a competitive environment - only the good makers survived. Their stuff still survives.

Kind of a Darwinian thing....if the lamp survived for 100 years, it's likely a good one.
 
In many a city and suburban home there is a
DIETZ Lantern
stowed away somewhere -- all ready for use.

Perhaps this lantern is a bit dusty, but it has not deteriorated in the slightest and is ready to give light at a moment's notice. While its owner may see it seldom, he knows it is there because it has helped him out of a jam on numerous occasions when a fuse has blown out, when power lines have failed in violent storms, or perhaps during fire or flood. The fact that in some communities public lighting fails but rarely only makes the darkness seem blacker and the household more helpless when the breakdown does come.

Those whose occupation compels them to use lanterns, know the un-compromised value Dietz builds into every lantern. Every family, wherever they live, needs at least one Dietz Lantern for emergencies.

Dietz Lanterns give the greatest economy of fuel consumption with undiminished light.
Proven efficiency prevents failure in operation.

Dietz Lanterns burn dry to the last drop, without interruption.

Got this from the lanternnet site. THought about it after I fired up the Dietz Little Wizard that has been hanging in the shed for about 10 yrs last night. It fired right up. I did wipe off the globe. It was Smores night and I figured I would check the lantern out as I hadnt used it. Fired up the other Dietz too. My Junior has a pin hole in the tank somewhere.
 
So how much kerosene fuel do you guys prep with? I was thinking of buying a 5 gallon can. I keep asking myself, how overboard am I going with this?
 
kman said:
So how much kerosene fuel do you guys prep with? I was thinking of buying a 5 gallon can. I keep asking myself, how overboard am I going with this?
Click to expand...

What are you going to use the kero for? Just light? Heat? Cooking? How long do you want to be able to have light? 2 wks? 6 months? Have burned kero in lamps in your house? Some people are very sensitive to the fumes.

I keep 20+ gals of kero on hand but I will also be cooking with it and as a back up heat source.
 
coastie said:
What are you going to use the kero for? Just light? Heat? Cooking? How long do you want to be able to have light? 2 wks? 6 months? Have burned kero in lamps in your house? Some people are very sensitive to the fumes.

I keep 20+ gals of kero on hand but I will also be cooking with it and as a back up heat source.
Click to expand...

I was thinking as a backup fuel for lighting 3-6 months and maybe even a backup fuel choice if I can find a cheap heater. I have a few 32 oz bottles of the pure lamp oil which work without smell but it's expensive @$10.50/bottle. I've burned the cheap Walmart lamp oil stuff @$4/bottle and its smells to me. I thought earlier in the thread though that people said K1 kerosene worked best in their lamps. I saw Lowes sells the 5 gallon can for $44
 
Many Hess stations have a Kero pump, so it may be less than Blowes. IIRC, there's a locator on the Hess website.

If you're going to be using it for lighting, do a trial run, to see the light level you'll get, is it enough, and how much fuel you'll use per hour. Different lamps have different rates of consumption.

When Irene came through, we had the first night kero only (and I have some nice, old large-wick lamps) and the general consensus was that we wanted more light for "work". The second night, we went to a combo of wick-type kero and coleman mantle lamps. I was simultaneously using propane (kitchen lamp); Coleman fuel (2 lanterns in the main rooms of the house); kero (3/4 inch wick lamp to light the hallway, upstairs); and wax (votive in the bathroom). Add in a flashlight for the kids.

I, personally, thought the old-school was acceptable, but MsHappy was of another opinion.

This is one thing that I think many people who prep screw up on - not running a drill. When I say, "Do a trial run of the lamps", I mean NO electricity use - no TV, light in the kitchen from the oven, no swithching on the light over the medicine cabinet to brush your pearly whites.

I'll never hold myself out as a prepper - I'm more of the "Long pig keep well on the hoof" school, and will invite the neighbors over for dinner when it's TEOTWAWKI time, but the 4 days without power last year were a good trial run for the "collectibles" I have kicking around.

The other consideration is that your eyes adapt - one big glass votive candle in a strategic location illuminated the entire main floor of my house, and the stairs down to it, so I could let the dog out. Not bright, but more than enough to avoid stepping on a cat, or tripping over something.

Every house is different, and sight lines, etc., are important - testing before you need it is vital.
 

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