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Oil lamps

mu2bdriver said:
I was at the local Walmart by me and saw that they sell two sizes of lanterns - small and large - for $5 and $10 ea. Made in China, kind of rickety looking, but would likely get the job done in an emergency.
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I bought 3 of them, very cheap, but they work...

I'd like some better ones, but they seep to be hard to find except online. I remember always having them around as a kid in the house and they were always the go to item in power failures...
 
K1 Price Checks Central CT

Central CT:
Newington Hess K1 $4.99/gallon
Ace Hardware: $21 for 2 1/3 gallon
They had a bunch of lamp oil in various sizes from $4-20.

Mr.T said:
Ace Hardware usually has lamp oil, 2-3 choices in Canton store. Probably not the cheapest price, but there's no S/H charge either.
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chris_1001 said:
I bought 3 of them, very cheap, but they work...

I'd like some better ones, but they seep to be hard to find except online. I remember always having them around as a kid in the house and they were always the go to item in power failures...
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I'll have to see what I can find in my travels....If I get some working old-time lanterns, I'll post a message here...I go to auctions, estate sales, etc., and have been passing on them as I have enough....
 
I have been hitting antique stores lately and I see a lot of the old Dietz. Alot are in good shape but a number are beat up. Prices seem pretty close to what new ones go for. Look very closely at the founts as those will often have pin holes in them. I currently a half dozen of these that are waiting warm weather so I can reseal the founts on them. For the money I think your best bet is to look at www.lanternnet.com and buy new from there. The guy knows his stuff and sells a good product.
 
Here's what I just completed doing:

Got into a PM discussion with COASTIE, who seems to be somewhat of a Coleman "GURU". He's very knowledgeable.

I have an older "220" coleman lantern, which ran on "Coleman Fuel".............. Very expensive fuel, and when (and IF) the SHTF, not likely to be in good supply or universally available, like kerosene would.

So, for about $20 worth of parts (from Coleman), I was able to change out the "generator" on the lantern, install a pre-heat cup (installs around the generator tube), and use a plastic squeeze bottle (that I got from Coleman for this purpose) with 100% isopropyl alcohol (otherwise known as NAPA gas line anti freeze) in the pre-heat cup, ran the Coleman lantern on straight kerosene.

K1 fuel, readily available in lots of places, is perfect for the new version.

No cotton wicks to buy (yes, I know the Coleman lanterns use mantles), more light, and rugged.
 
MisterHappy said:
OK, here's a question: Kero and diesel are pretty close....would one of these conversions work on Diesel....

If, truly, the SHTF, then diesel ( or No. 2 fuel oil) will be far more prevalent than either Coleman or Kero...
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It might I havent tried it. Personally I wouldnt do it inside because of the fumes. It would probably gum up the generator pretty quick.
 
Got a wal mart lantern $4.88 trying it out for a wile now and it works good just dont like the heavy smell it has when burning but its good light for the money.
 
Grab a lot of wicks, but remember old cotton denim can be trimmed to make great wicks as many found out in the Great Northeast Ice Storm of the 1998.
 
Not quite antiques, but the lamps at Walmart are like 5 bucks, and not a bad think to throw in the basement just in case. I have a few on top of the refrigerator, they came in handy this past winter, we lost power one night for a few hours.
 
I have picked up alot of mine at tag sales and flea markets. I have gotten some really nice ones for very little money. Usually just need oil and new wicks.
I have them in all rooms of my house. They have come in handy quite a few times.
 
Watch craigslist, I scored two big 3/4" wick glass base lamps (large oil capacity) for $20 total. They were used a someones wedding and he had bought too many so these were NIB.
 
cstockwell said:
Not every walmart carries the lamp oils and lamps anymore. Most around here do not and I could not find any of those nice glass ones. Dartmouth actually had lamp oil today but only 3 bottles left and had the kerosene lamps in the camping section. I was hoping to find a couple more of the glass ones but no such luck.
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The Fairhaven Walmart carries the lamps and oil in the scented candle section, bottom shelf..
 
Hinsdale walmart has lanterns and lamps. A little K-1 goes a long way in some of them. Some of the Family Dollar stores have lanterns for $3-4. I have two of them and they work just fine.
 
tblount said:
If hard times come... there probably won't be any lantern oil available. This solar lantern has perfect reviews... I would probably take my chances with it:

http://www.harborfreight.com/all-purpose-solar-lantern-94740.html
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My only hangup with anything that uses batteries is the long term storage. Can I trust this if it has been sitting in my basement for 5 or 10 years? I know that I can leave an oil lamp and a gallon of lamp oil for a couple of decades and they will work fine. Same with a Coleman lantern and fuel.
 
I got my solar lamp today and it works quite well. Docs say the bulb life (and there are 12 of them) is 100,000 hours. It runs 8 hrs on a charge and the 3 aa rechargable batteries are easily replacable. If the solar charging mechanism doesn't fail, I think it woud be more reliable than finding petro fuel in hard times (or whale oil) ;) Probably I could work it into my budget to buy a $5 Walmart oil lamp too.
 
And, when you are stuck in your basement fall out shelter for ten weeks, where will you get the sun to recharge the batteries?

tblount said:
I got my solar lamp today and it works quite well. Docs say the bulb life (and there are 12 of them) is 100,000 hours. It runs 8 hrs on a charge and the 3 aa rechargable batteries are easily replacable. If the solar charging mechanism doesn't fail, I think it woud be more reliable than finding petro fuel in hard times (or whale oil) ;) Probably I could work it into my budget to buy a $5 Walmart oil lamp too.
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I have k1 kerosene to use in lamps but have also just purchased some Klean-Heat at Home Depot to try in the lamps. It is more expensive at $10 a gallon but it is designed to burn in kerosene heaters and lamps and produce no fumes. It would be good for indoor lamp use. I am waiting on my Aladdin lamps to come in so I can try it in those. I hear they produce a great amount of light compared to the normal oil lamps. Word is anywhere between 40 and 60 watt bulb worth of light from these things. They have a mantle like the coleman lanterns and have a unique burner design.
 
MisterHappy said:
Make sure that you have extra mantles, they're fragile.

The wick tends to crust up, too.

That said, they're cool items. Enjoy!
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Thanks. I did get extra mantels with each one and a little plastic wick cleaner. I am hoping they work well. How was your past experience using these?
 

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