Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

white spirit and lamp oil

336 views
Skip to first unread message

john stone

unread,
Aug 12, 2012, 4:59:23 PM8/12/12
to
Want to get a small paraffin lamp going. Is the lamp oil you can buy
marketed for lamps simply like white spirit or turpentine you buy in
hardware stores? It seems more expensive, but is it any different?
Thanks.


newshound

unread,
Aug 12, 2012, 5:10:08 PM8/12/12
to
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-lamp-oil.htm

NT

unread,
Aug 12, 2012, 6:09:08 PM8/12/12
to
no, its deodorised paraffin


NT

Grimly Curmudgeon

unread,
Aug 12, 2012, 6:32:55 PM8/12/12
to
On Sun, 12 Aug 2012 21:59:23 +0100, "john stone"
<planet...@mail.invalid> wrote:

>It seems more expensive, but is it any different?

I'll say it's different. If you light lamp oil, it sucks all the light
out of the room, so that you can't see a bleedin' thing.

Andy Dingley

unread,
Aug 12, 2012, 7:06:56 PM8/12/12
to
On Aug 12, 9:59 pm, "john stone" <planet652...@mail.invalid> wrote:
> Want to get a small paraffin lamp going.

Yes, use lamp oil. Avoid boutiques and the price isn't too bad.
Using various other paraffin or kerosene grades will be dim, sooty and
smelly.

If you want useful light from it, get a lamp like an old Aladdin that
uses an incandescent mantle.
Lamp: £5+ any car boot
Lamp with glass chimney: £10+, better car boots
New glass chimney: £20
New mantle £5-10, old-school hardware shops or eBay

Mark

unread,
Aug 12, 2012, 7:35:15 PM8/12/12
to
Andy Dingley wrote:

> On Aug 12, 9:59 pm, "john stone" <planet652...@mail.invalid> wrote:
>> Want to get a small paraffin lamp going.
>
> If you want useful light from it, get a lamp like an old Aladdin that
> uses an incandescent mantle.
> Lamp: £5+ any car boot
> Lamp with glass chimney: £10+, better car boots

Onceuponatime maybe
Ebay has had an big impact on both price and availability of things like
that at car boot sales.
But i agree if you are going to use an oil lamp, Aladdin is the one to have.

-

Andrew Gabriel

unread,
Aug 14, 2012, 9:29:21 AM8/14/12
to
In article <93b91f90-59b2-4a36...@w8g2000vbx.googlegroups.com>,
Real olive oil also works as a lamp oil, whereas some of the
fake olive oils won't. (It's one of the tests for fake olive oils.)
Probably won't work as well as real lamp oil though.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

newshound

unread,
Aug 14, 2012, 12:07:19 PM8/14/12
to
Aladdin for looks, Coleman for performance?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IS32/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486540031&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001CSMHCS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1TA3WXN0NXFEEXZ98ZW9

John Williamson

unread,
Aug 14, 2012, 1:44:33 PM8/14/12
to
newshound wrote:
> Aladdin for looks, Coleman for performance?
>
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IS32/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486540031&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001CSMHCS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1TA3WXN0NXFEEXZ98ZW9
>
Aladdin for silence. When correctly trimmed, they give off about the
same light as a 100 watt incandescent and about a kilowatt of heat, but
are totally silent. All the Coleman ones I've seen have hissed.

Silence, light and heat makes them good as standby for long power cuts.
The only habit with them that can cause problems is if you leave them
unused for long periods with oil in them, as it migrates up the wick and
spreads all over the lamp and its surroundings.

Incidentally, if you can find an Aladdin lamp in reasonable condition
with the original blue flame burner, even without a mantle they're
approaching fifty quid in shops. Mantles are rapidly approaching fifteen
quid each. If you've got a white bakelite one, they're worth more, as
they're collectable on account of being only slightly more common than
hens' teeth.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

newshound

unread,
Aug 14, 2012, 2:51:58 PM8/14/12
to
True, the Coleman is a pressure system (like a proper blowlamp, although
they run on white spirit or petrol, which sounds a bit alarming).


Andy Dingley

unread,
Aug 14, 2012, 3:12:32 PM8/14/12
to
On Aug 14, 7:51 pm, newshound <newsho...@fairadsl.co.uk> wrote:
> True, the Coleman is a pressure system (like a proper blowlamp, although
> they run on white spirit or petrol, which sounds a bit alarming).

They run on white gasoline, aka Coleman fuel. They're a bit
temperamental on pump petrol.

If you want a Coleman (i.e. a pressure burner), get a Tilley. Bigger,
brighter and more solidly made. Less fussy about fuel too.

polygonum

unread,
Aug 14, 2012, 3:14:36 PM8/14/12
to
On Tue, 14 Aug 2012 19:51:58 +0100, newshound <news...@fairadsl.co.uk>
wrote:

> white spirit

White gas, surely? (Naphtha.) Or maybe white gasoline?

--
Rod

Rod Speed

unread,
Aug 14, 2012, 8:49:44 PM8/14/12
to
John Williamson <johnwil...@btinternet.com> wrote
> newshound wrote

>> Aladdin for looks, Coleman for performance?

>> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IS32/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486540031&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001CSMHCS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1TA3WXN0NXFEEXZ98ZW9

> Aladdin for silence. When correctly trimmed, they give off about the same
> light as a 100 watt incandescent and about a kilowatt of heat, but are
> totally silent. All the Coleman ones I've seen have hissed.

> Silence, light and heat makes them good as standby for long power cuts.

You're a lot better off with a decent modern rechargeable camping
LED lantern with eneloop NiMHs now.
0 new messages