Liquid Fuel Lanterns

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  • rhino

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    So . . . some lanterns are marketed for kerosene, others for paraffin/lamp oil, others for . . .

    Does it matter which liquid fuel you use, or are lanterns designed for specific fuels in mind?
     

    churchmouse

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    So . . . some lanterns are marketed for kerosene, others for paraffin/lamp oil, others for . . .

    Does it matter which liquid fuel you use, or are lanterns designed for specific fuels in mind?

    My older Colmans will only run on "White" gas or specific Colman liquid fuel.
    The Kerosene ones I have really only like Kerosene. The glass chimney lamps run best on regular Lamp oil.
     

    Slawburger

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    Stay away from the pretty colored oils (yes,even purple) because they can clog the wick.

    Kerosene will work in an "oil lamp" but it might smell and be a bit sooty.

    Coleman fuel and unleaded gas are for pressurized lanterns not for oil lamps. Bad ju-ju to use them in oil lamps.
     
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    Depending on which type of lantern you have indicates what type of fuel.
    A pressurized type can burn kerosene & white gas. A dead flame type can burn kerosene or paraffin.
    A tube type should only use kerosene , Never use mineral spirits, you can get a run away flame & a fuel explosion. Lanternnet.com is a great site for lanterns & info.. Rhino if you want to see some of those lanterns let me know, I use them all the time & have 2 types on hand..
     
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    If you are using a tube type watch out during winter months if you get kerosene in bulk, last year I got a batch of kerosene that had spirits added to thin it in cold weather.. almost had a major fire from it..
    First time you get new fuel keep a 5 gal bucket near by to cover lantern in can you get a run away flame..
     

    Car Ramrod

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    I looked for this answer a little while back when I was wanting to get more oil for my hurricane lanterns.

    It seems they will burn just about anything, but some oils are better than others. I read you can use kerosene, diesel, etc but some of them just tend to stink/be more sooty than others.

    Meijer had tiki torch fuel on sale. I bought some and it seems to work just fine in my lamps.
     

    smokingman

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    Green,red,or chrome Coleman lanterns will run on white gas,Coleman Fuel,or naphtha(they are all the same petroleum product). I restore these and own quite a few.

    Grey Coleman lanterns are dual fuel.They will run on white gas,Coleman Fuel,naphtha,or unleaded gasoline.

    Aladdin lamps are kerosene lamps with a wick and a mantle not under pressure.They will work with Kerosene or #2 diesel(though slightly more soot).
    One of our Aladdin's burning.
    264j2n4.jpg
    [/IMG]
    http://www.aladdinlamps.com/

    We own a few oil lamps(wick only) and stick to clear lamp oil for them,they are rarely used as the Aladdin lamps provide much better light.
     
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    rhino

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    Thanks to all for the feedback! I greatly appreciate the wealth of knowledge and having it shared!

    I have a couple of oil lamps in my garage with a couple of good sized bottles of lamp oil (paraffin). I got the lamps and fuel at Big R when they were on sale a couple of years ago for almost "free."

    On a related note, how well do the indoor-intended propane heaters like the Mr. Heater brand work as intended? What I mean is, they claim they're safe to use indoors and have an automatic shutoff if they emit too much CO, but are they really okay to use? If the electricity goes out in the winter (our fireplace is unuseable), I'm thinking a few of them would be a reasonable short term solution with a window cracked and everyone wearing coats insides.
     

    DeadeyeChrista'sdad

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    One omission I'm seeing. NEVER try to use gasoline or Coleman fuel in an oil lamp. Never.

    As far as the indoor propane heaters, I picked up a remington propane heater a couple of years ago on super duper sale. It uses a 20 lb grill tank, and will go about 27 hours on a tank. That will keep 2000 Sq feet warm in all but the coldest weather. On low, and shutting it off when you're at work or asleep, it'll last half a week easily. The smaller buddy units use the two lb camping tanks and obviously don't last as long, but they're a lifesaver when tshtf. Plus, you can buy converter lines to run them off of grill tanks.
     

    smokingman

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    I have a propane buddy heater rated at 9000 BTU.It does offer some heat,but is insufficient for heating any large space.They would work for one room in a power outage.A 1lb tank lasts approximately 6 hours on high.If you get one I recommend the adapter hose to run full size 20LB or larger propane tanks with it.

    On a side note the Aladdin lamps are 2500 btu each in addition to providing light.
     

    rhino

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    I have a propane buddy heater rated at 9000 BTU.It does offer some heat,but is insufficient for heating any large space.They would work for one room in a power outage.A 1lb tank lasts approximately 6 hours on high.If you get one I recommend the adapter hose to run full size 20LB or larger propane tanks with it.

    On a side note the Aladdin lamps are 2500 btu each in addition to providing light.

    Thanks for the info! Do they produce that much heat because of the different kind of wick, or will all similar lamps put close to that much heat into room?
     

    smokingman

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    Thanks for the info! Do they produce that much heat because of the different kind of wick, or will all similar lamps put close to that much heat into room?

    It is largely due to the mantle design with the chimney I believe.They produce very little soot due to the high temperature they operate at.Much cleaner burning than a simple wick lamp.It does take them around 10 minutes to reach optimal levels of both light and heat.In the link I posted is a short video comparing Aladdin lamps with standard wick lamps.

    I am a firm believer in Aladdin lamps at this point and agree they are equivalent to a 50 or 60 watt light bulb vs a standard oil lamp at around 5-15 watts equivalent of light.This far north the added heat during a power outage is also very welcome.

    The Aladdin burns 3 ounces of kerosene per hour. This is based on a 60 watt light out put, under normal conditions. If the lamp is turned down, the fuel consumption will also be lower. Sometimes high elevations (above 4,000 feet) will increase fuel usage. Most lamps hold approximately 12 hours worth of kerosene.Source of the burn rate * Aladdin Kerosene Mantle Lamp Operating Tips

    I do agree though a tank of fuel lasts from 10-12 hours(a pint of Kerosene in the model we have).

    The only drawback of the Aladdin lamps are cost related.Mantles are around $15 each and the lamps themselves are in the $100-200 range.If using them often you will need spare wicks and mantles for sure.
     
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    MickeyBlueEyes

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    This is a great discussion gents and ladies. I am glad to see the hamster wheel moving. I moved away from kerosene when it broke the 3.50 mark and started storing diesel. It was much cheaper then and is now cheaper. I only have hurricane and wicked globe lamps. ALso, my kerosene heater runs fine on the diesel. I try to get the clear diesel to keep it from clogs. I went to diesel when the lamp oil also trucked up into the 9-10 range for a gallon. silly to keep something so expensive, when something less expensive will work fine.
     
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