I have purchased an oil lamp, and would like to know if there are others out there that use them in place of electric lamps? The oil I am using is parafan wax oil. Is this a safe oil? I bought this kind of oil because it doesn't have a strong smell or smoke. What kind of oil do you use in your lamps and why? And I would appreciate any information about the different kind of oil lamps that you are using and why. Thank you.

-- Judy (allsmile@ctnet.net), January 09, 2001

Answers

Judy, I just have the cheapie Lamplighter Farms lamps that are sold at Walmart. I use their lamp oil, too. They don't put out much light, but they sure were a blessing during the ice storm. Definitely better than cursing the darkness. We sometimes use them instead of the electric lights to create a mood. Nice, soft light, and we can sit and talk just like Ma and Pa Ingalls. I have designs on an Alladin someday, but the price is a little dear. I may spring for one, though. I understand the light output is much higher than the ones I have.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), January 09, 2001.

Judy! I have a collection of working oil lamps. Last time I counted I think it was 84. I only have about 4 alladins in that whole bunch. Bought another past weekend at an antique show. It was priced for the horribly high amount of $2.00! That dude came home with Lil Dumplin and me. I prefer kerosene over any other kind of oil. I grew up using kerosene and really like the smell of it. It gives out more light that the scented oils and is a whole lot cheaper. I seldom use'm anymore except when the power is out. hoot. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), January 09, 2001.

we use kersosene lamps all the time...just plain old clear kerosene.. the colored oil seems to smoke alot more and the scented stuff makes me sneeze. A cheap lamp is every bit as good as an expensive one, although I have heard that the Alladins put out more light. we get plenty of light from ours because we use tin reflectors. God bless.

-- Lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), January 09, 2001.

Hi Judy, I use kerosene, too. The lamp oil is outrageously expensive. I have used several models of oil lamps,be careful with the meatl ones that have a seam on the base. Sometimes they leak a little, and then you can't fill them any higher than that seam. The mushroom shaped shades seem to be better for reading by. If using a glass lamp, I prefer the kind that has a wide, heavy bottom, as they are less likely to tip. I notice the odor mostly right after blowing the lamp out. You can minimize this by making little caps for the top of the shades from aluminum foil, put them on right after blowing the lamp out.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), January 10, 2001.

I love the aladdin lamps. They really put out the light of a 60 watt bulb if turned up all the way. But the amount of light can be lowered for mood by lowering the wick. We mainly use ours for power outages or just for fun.

I started with the paraffin oil but it's just tooooo expensive. We use clear kerosene now.

-- Denise (jphammock@msn.com), January 10, 2001.

Thanks for all the information, I do appreciate all your comments.

-- Judy (allsmile@ctnet.net), January 10, 2001.

We have several oil lamps, mostly use them during power outages, but they were all the light we had one winter when we were in Alaska. For occasional use during power outages, or for setting a mood, they are great, but if you are living off the grid and need light, Aladdins are *much* better. They work differently, and give off a LOT more light. They also give off more heat, so you need to be careful where you put them to prevent starting a fire. For once in a while use, I don't think they would be worth the money, as they are expensive, but for off-the-grid living, they are just about indespensible. We won't get one for every room, in fact, we may just have one, for the kitchen table, and maybe one more to put by a reading chair. Trying to read by a regular oil lamp is a good way to get a headache. We buy kerosene in five gallon cans, as it is much cheaper than buying bottles of lamp oil. But do fill them outside. A little bit always spills, and it's better to have the spills outside instead of in the house.

-- Kathleen Sanderson in NH (stonycft@worldpath.net), January 12, 2001.

My only light for 15 years was by oil lamp, (until I got a couple of gas lights) I used "Paint Thinner" (mineral spirits) most of the time, kerosene some of the time. Paint thinner is the same compond as Lamp oil. In those days I could buy it at Walmart for $.95 a gallon on sale, it came in it's own 1-gal. jug, easy to handle, produced a good bright light and did not smoke up the chimney as kero does.We still have lamps around for those power outages, filled with paint thinner and ready to go.

-- Howard C. Williams (redgate@echoweb.net), January 13, 2001.

Judy, the paraffin wax oil is the safest, and least smelly, actually there is no odor or smoke at all if the lamp is being used and maintained correctly. Kerosene has an odor and makes some smoke, and is more hazardous to store and mess with, and paint thinner is very hazardous!!!

The paraffin oil will keep forever sealed up, the kerosene and paint thinner will degrade and break down into less stable compounds. In my opinion, the paraffin oil is worth it, of course, we both have allergies that make smelling kerosene fumes distinctly undesirable.

We have both the flat wick oil lamps and Aladdins, the Aladdins require a bit of getting used to lighting them, it's an art form I guess, but the flat wicks put out less than half the light of an Aladdin, so it's a Zen question there. Always keep spare mantles with the Aladdins, they break way too easy! Good luck with them all,

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 14, 2001.

Has anyone tried the olive oil lamps? My husband wants one from Lehmans, but i would think with the cost of olive oil it would be expensive to operate.

-- Shau Marie (shau@centurytel.net), January 15, 2001.

I've wondered about the olive oil lamps also!

-- Denise (jphammock@msn.com), January 15, 2001.

The olive oil smokes a lot, and has a very funny smell!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 15, 2001.

Thanks for the info. Annie Miller. We read in Lehman's that olive oil lamps were smokeless, odorless and good for people with allergies. I don't know anyone with one so i appreciate the information. Thanks!

-- Shau Marie (shau@centurytel.net), January 15, 2001.

The little woman and I have several oil lamps(Alladdin and otherwise) that we use regularly in place of electric light. The biggest maintenance issue is a properly trimmed wick, this will eliminate most smoke and smell issues. One point I failed to notice mentioned anywhere was the obvious health risks from burning kerosene as averse to parafin oil. Kerosene fumes are FAR more dangerous to your nasal passages and probably general health, than those of parafin oil, at least from what I've read?!?!?!While the oil lamps make it a little tougher to read (or what have you) I still feel good Knowing the ole' meter isn't gobblin' up so much cash.With a little legwork was able to find a restaurant supply locally that sells the parafin oil by the gallon far cheaper than by the quart at the local chainstore. Good luck.

-- dan (dcbaker@2ki.net), January 16, 2001.

Dear Judy,

At my parish church of St. Elias the Prophet (Byzantine-Ukrainian Catholic) we use candles and hanging oil lamps exclusively for lighting during the services. We have over 60 oil lamps at present. The wicks are of cotton - 16 strands and the fuel is 100% pure olive oil.

Let me assure you that it neither smokes nor has an unpleasant odor if the wick is of the right height. The containers for the oil is a fifteen hour vigil glass. The glass is contained in a metal lamp that hangs on three chains suspended from a disk. We place these lamps before the icons in the church. The wick is held in a metal wick holder. It consists of a small crome plated cylinder held across the vigil glass by twisted wire. Thus the flame is always at the top of the glass. I fill the glasses about every six hours and cut the wick in order to remove the burnt carbon head. A newly cut wick is about 3-4 mm in length. We have been using this method for the last 15 years and have no problems. It is much cleaner in burning than the 100% beeswax candles we use. Because the wick can be controlled easily, it is not so effected by draughts as the candles.

I clean the wick holders a few times a year when I replace the wicks. I put the holders into simmering water and baking soda. It removes any carbon and resin. An old toothbrush helps if the water and soda does not removes it all.

The wick holders can be bought from the Church of the Nativity of Christ (Old Rite) in Eire, PA. You can find them on the web.

Sincerely,

(Fr. Protodeacon) David Kennedy

-- Fr. Protodeacon David Kennedy (slava@primus.ca), February 27, 2001.

Thanks to David Kennedy for his reply. I just started looking into olive oil lamps. Let me reiterate: olive oil is one of the best so far, nontoxic, as are kerosene and parrafin, which is a petroleum product. Mr. Kennedy, can you tell me where you got the actual lamps? I found a nice website with some stuff: EcoChoices. Thank you.

-- Heather Sibley (bageebabee@yahoo.com), May 04, 2001.