Bright ideas continued from here.
First post from previous thread:
LEG – at 16:46
With the possibility of not having electricity, or of it being at least sporadic thus undependable, I am looking into battery powered options for providing illumination for different purposes in the house. There are different quantities of light desired depending upon the room or task needing to be illuminated. For instance, in the kitchen a broad work and eating space would be helpful to be lit all at once, compared to reading, where a mini book lamp would work. I have a Black Diamond Cosmo model head lamp, which I LOVE, which with the LED output works really well for task lighting and path light when moving around, but the blubs have a limited spray range of light, and it tends to get hot and uncomfortable after a while from the headband. 90 degrees is normal in the summer here in MO, with not much even cooling down at night. I have WONDERFUL flashlights that are windup called Illuminator, and everyone - planning 9 to 13 folks to sip on the farm - will each have their own. I just got a little LED 2 bulb light that hangs around the neck instead of on a headband, by Rayovac, which is great for light directly in front of you and can clip onto shirt to not bob around with each step. It is good for walking around with hands full of other stuff but lights outward more than down. I may get some solar garden path lights to charge AA batteries, but not for their light output which I found to be no better than a candle. I got at Radio Shack a wonderfully bright snake arm halogen light to plug into a DC power outlet like in a car that was on sale for 5 bucks, but since it is not a table top design I have to work on how to use it in the house. I like it’s performance so much, especially considering the cost, I just went back and got all 5 they had left actually, and will get replacement bulbs for back stock.
I do not want to use a liquid fuel (not renewable) and have no generator, but will use candles in hurricane type vases for fire safety, and have the ability and supplies to make more. I have lots of NIMH standard sized rechargable batteries AA,AAA,D with a charger, and a Xantrex Powerpack 400 Plus which is portable 400 WATTS, about the size of a music boom box, with 2 AC outlets and a 12V DC outlet (could use the snake light there, but the Xantrex takes up a lot of space on a tabletop). Considering the ease of controller and inverter built into one package in the Xantrex, I may even get another one of those - $99 on Amazon with free shipping expense. I will be getting at least one 15 watt solar panel for charging the Xantrex. Is one panel enough I wonder? I am not electrically minded, but very handy in putting things together from odds and ends, and I can make anything if I understand the concept and directions. I’ve got tools. I am in the process of collecting the parts to convert our exercise bike which has a large fly wheel into a pedal powered generator to use to charge batteries with, and keep every one fit - teeehee. Illumination is probably the only thing these batteries will be used for. We are designing to build an outdoor cook oven and have a solar well pump setup and will use solar to have warm showers - probably gravity fed - still working on that design. We are all campers, so roughing it is no prob. However, considering the time frame it is suggested we should prepare to sip for, I’d really like things to not be TOO tough. It will be intense enough with all the other things to cope with.
So I think I have the power part of the equation worked out (though wouldn’t mind any comments or thoughts in that area either), but I am having a terrible time figuring out the light FIXTURE part. I’d greatly appreciate any tried and true performance fixture suggestions for illuminating activites such as cooking and group gatherings (cluster of folks around a table for dining or games). I’d rather not have each of us holding a flashlight at the table!
Of course, we “could” just go to bed when the sun goes down, but in the winter here in MO it can get pitch dark by 5:30 in the evening! and we DO love to play games. Any and all thoughts welcomed…thanks. Linda
Gary Near Death Valley at 14:13- Yes you had the post I read a while ago. Thanks for a great idea!
Eccles at 20:22- You’re right, this SPL is very cheap. There’s no way to pull out the batteries to shut it of. I’ll take it back and hopefully can find a more expensive one where I can pull the battery or shut it off. What’s the use of a light if it burns all night (when you don’t need it). My DH pointed out that as with all re-chargeable batteries, after many charge/discharge cycles the batteries age and are less effective. Have to keep this in mind if I find a SPL of a better quality. Thanks for your comments!
I am approaching the power issue w/ 2 deepcycle batteries( trade between the two as not to wear one out too quickly )twin 15 watt solar panals and a 7amp charger controller. I have found 4 watt flourescent bulbs @ my local camping/RV center. I attatched an extension cord to each of the lights that I modified w/ clamps to attatch to the battery. Works like a charm. I can run my low wattage D/C television and recharge my flashlights (Stinger) The best deal on the net right now for panals ($66.00) and charge controllers($29.00) are at northerntool.com. Deep cycles batteries can be purchaces @ Sams Club for around $55.99 each. Good luck
Silenced Within-
Right you are. if you haven’t visited the Solar And Generators And Alternative power thread, you will find a gret deal of information on how folks have applied the same technology in their own situations.
Eccles- where do I go for the alternative power thread ?? ( I have been using this site for months now …but still have trouble locating threads)… thanx Silenced
LOL disregard last cookie… I found it s.w.
LA Escapee
Got my Aladdin, assembled it, let the Aladdin Lamp Oil soak the wick well for a couple of hours, ruined one mantle when I got the shakes trying to put the chimney on after burning the coating off the mantle, but second try was golden! Assume that one has to be very gentle moving the lamp around as the wick seems to be rather fragile. Luckily got four extra mantles (three extra now)!
Don’t know if it gives out 60 Watts equivilant or not, but pretty close, and it is a nice warm light. The parchment shade gets very hot, this is a worry as I know waht can happen to a wall over time if a woodstove is not spaced far enough away, poof! Short learning curve as to how hot, bright to burn, the mantle tells you when it is too hot as you know, then it is just a matter of turning it down to let any ash burn off at a lower temp. The only other issue is whether my wife will be able to stand the smell, kerosene makes her gag, this lamp seems much better with the Aladdin fuel, at least when it is burning, might have to store it down in basement when not being used. Thanks for your advice. That completes my preps in the lighting field at least!
Nautical Man,
I’m glad you got your Aladdin! They’re fun aren’t they? It makes you realize your ancestors weren’t such dummies after all. There is really a lot of art as well as science involved in the design and shape of the chimney, font, burner, wick, etc. Oil lamps were in use for a long time and they really got down every detail to the maximum efficiency for the purpose.
It’s fine just to use lamp with no shade, and only the chimney, if the parchment bothers you.
I’ve never used the parchment shades. Jack’s Country Store doesn’t recommend using a glass shade with a Genie either. I called them and they said it’s because it has such a small footprint and it might be top-heavy and tip over if somebody’s dog or kid went running by. They were referring to the heavy glass lampshade style shades.
I use a 4″ fitter frosted and etched glass gas shade. They are easy to take on and off, and you can look down and see how the mantle’s doing. You can use gas shades with an Aladdin if you buy a 4″ shade holder. That’s a a metal ring that holds the shade, and fits between the glass font and the burner. The shade holder is about $5.00. Gas shades come tall and short, and in every color.
I also have a heavy brass candle platform under my Genie II as a platform for the lamp. Really looks nice with the brass burner.
If you do end up getting a glass shade for a lamp later, save your money and don’t get dark colored shades, or cased shades in anything but white or very pale pastel. I gave away a beautiful translucent purple gas shade because I was burning a lot of fuel for a night light. Those green cased shades are beautiful, but intended to focus all the light down on a piece of paper, not around the room.
About the wall - this freaked me out at first too, but look on the internet at pictures of wall mount Aladdins. They are only about 12″ from the wall. That’s safe. Keep away from curtains or loose papers though.
Also, as I learned the hard way, don’t put your precious, wood antiques a few inches from the chimney or shade! It will discolor the varnish from the heat! I wouldn’t put it right in front of a valuable oil painting either - the heat might damage it. A mirror on the wall behind the lamp is safe and doubles the light. The main heat is from the flame up. Below it’s pretty cool. The air over the top of the chimney is very hot, so don’t put your hand there.
Regarding the smell - I’m surprised it’s that strong. Sometimes the kerosene is sitting around for a while before somebody buys it, which makes it smell stronger. Maybe because you just poured it and the smell is in the room? See how it goes the second time you use it - the wick will have soaked longer. Where did you end up getting the Aladdin fuel? Let me know how the Aladdin fuel goes - I’ve never used it.
Remember, at least 36″ from the top of the chimney to the ceiling. On top of a desk or table is perfect. Crack a window. And clean your wick with the wick trimmer before you light!
LA Escapee
Thanks for all the tips. Sounds like you are an Aladdin fanatic! Or at least an afficianado :0)
Could not find Aladdin fuel locally, place I bought the lamp I could not find it on their website, bought case of it from Lehman’s, even with the shipping just under $5 each when buying a case of 12. There is very little smell or smoke when using it, DW is just very sensitive to any kind of odd scent. How often do you use the wick cleaner, each time you light it? After it cooled down, covered top of chimney and then took off top assembly and covered burner also in saran wrap, negates just about all the scent when not in use, takes an extra few seconds to take it off before lighting. It looks very nice also with the sailing vessel shade, even the DW thinks it goes with the decor!
NauticalMan,
Yes, I collect Aladdins and flat wick lamps. You think I’m bad, you should go to one of the annual Aladdin shows - there are some real hard core fans there. ;-) I used to live in SF where you could get a lot of this stuff at flea markets, etc.
Yes, you are supposed to clean the wick each time with the plastic wick cleaner that came with your lamp, keeps it clean and even. You might look into buying an “insect screen” for the top of the chimney if DW is that sensitive - it is a type of cap for the top of your chimney with a brass or chrome screen at the top, but you could line that with Saran wrap and it wouldn’t show. They have two types - a modern, smaller, plain one for $6.00, and one described as an “antique insect screen” for $7.50. That one is really pretty and looks like it would easily cover Saran wrap. Look at them at the goodpick.com site (good pictures available) and see if it would work for you.
You know, you can buy an electrical burner that will fit your Aladdin, if you want to leave it out all the time and use it as a lamp when you’re not burning fuel. Just remove the fuel and clean, and screw in the electrical burner with light bulb. It looks just like the kerosene burner from the outside. DW might like that. However, if you do, you’ll have to resoak the wick, etc, when you want to use the lamp as an oil lamp again. Store the kerosene burner in a tupperware container in your cookie tin until ready to re-use. I hope you and DW ate all the cookies already, sometimes we have to sacrifice for our preps! ;-)
Recent camping trips and monsoon power outages have given my family a good workout with some of our emergency lights. Some of our favorites are:
Glowstar lantern: http://www.glowstar.net
River Rock LED lantern: http://tinyurl.com/c9tng
Princeton headlamps: http://tinyurl.com/pfbt3
Another one I keep reading lots about is the Brunton Glorb. Yes, glorb. The claim is that it has a normal and extra bright setting but at normal setting it runs 250 hours on 4 AA batteries. Without much searching I found it several places on the web for $24.99. One will definitely get ordered tomorrow and tested thouroughly.
bttt
NauticalMan,
I forgot to mention - if you have to remove the kerosene from your lamp font at some later date and clean, use Dawn dish soap - it cuts the grease and leaves your lamp clean.
Don’t use commercial glass cleaners to clean your chimney - you don’t want alcohol or other chemical residue coating your chimney, exposed to high temps when the lamp is lit. Dawn and warm (not hot) water and a rag will remove soot or dust with no problem.
Thanks LA Escapee,
Already washed my chimney once, using a natural dishsoap, very mild but effective, and use a similar product for all my glass cleaning, found commercial cleaners do a lousy job on windows and the ammonia is enough to choke me.
bump
bump
NauticalMan,
Sounds like you’ve got it covered. Thought I would mention a lot of this stuff because people today don’t know anything at all about kerosene or oil lamps. They’re not as simple as a flashlight, but if you need illumination (and heat) for longer than a few days and you handle them right, they’re a good choice. Without the grid, a lot of people are going to need more than one type of backup light.
LA Escapee- Thanks for the hint to put the light source in front of a mirror to double the amount of light! Never would have thought of that (but then again, the only mirrors I have in my house are in the bathrooms and over my bedroom dresser, I will have to get one for my lantern). I bought one of those farmer lanterns that burn liquid paraffin. I have absolutely NO experience using oil or kerosene lanterns - have never needed to. My DH has some Coleman lanterns but we have never used them indoors.
Jewel - I have the farmhouse oil lamps too. The reason NauticalMan wants an Aladdin is that they are MUCH brighter and warmer than farmhouse lamps, and you can actually read by them. In the old days, people just didn’t have one lamp, they had a bunch in different corners of the room. (Look at some old movies, or photos). People today are used to one 60 watt lamp lighting the whole room -you can’t really do that with flat wick oil lamps if you want to have decent light. Scattering them around the room eliminates shadows.
You can pick up Eagle farmhouse lamps at the flea market for about $5 - they were making Eagle lamps well into the fifties, and some other companies took over and made them even later, so a lot of people still have them. These same lamps go for $20-$40 at antique stores which is just ridiculous. Don’t fall for that.
Non Eagle flat wicks cost more, but don’t work any better. It’s the width of the wick that gives you light. Otherwise you’re just paying for fancy fonts and solid brass burners, which are pretty but not necessary. If buying a used lamp, look CAREFULLY for cracks, and feel with your finger for what you can’t see. You might want to bring a bottle of water and a kleenex with you to wipe it off if you can’t see - 90% of the time, lamps at the flea market are filthy.
When you first take it home, remove the burner, wash the font with lukewarm water and dish soap, dry, and fill with water. Dry the outside and bottom carefully. Let it sit on a paper towel for a while. If there’s any leaks, cracks or wetness, toss the font and save the rest. You can always get another font.
If the burner is dirty and stuck, don’t force it! Try warm water, then try greasing it up with lamp oil, then if it is really stuck you can soak it in a little lamp oil and it will come loose. If it’s stuck bad, you may have to soak it in an inch or two of lamp oil a few hours or overnight. Toss the old dirty wick out. They have little disposable plastic food storage containers that are good for soaking (or storing) burners.
My last Eagle font cost $1.50, and I already had the chimney, burner and wick from Walmart. (Lamp brands are identified by the name on the burner - usually on the wick turning knob). Keep around an extra chimney or two, at least one extra burner, and a couple of extra wicks.
When you first light the lamp, don’t turn it up to the highest point. Turn it to about medium, then wait around 10–15 minutes for the lamp to warm up, then use your judgment about how high it should go. The lamp tends to brighten as it warms up, and you don’t want to crack your cold chimney.
Walmart burners don’t fit the newer Eagles that have a fake, gold painted metal ring around the outside of the font opening. The chimneys and wicks fit ok though.
Walmart burners usually do fit older Eagles. The older Eagles have brass or gold painted screw-in threads lining the inside of the opening of the font. Walmart has new Lamplight Farms lamps too. When you buy, if you have a choice, pick a lamp with a pedestal - the higher the burner, the higher your light is. I like the old ones myself - prettier and heavier glass, therefore less easy to tip.
If you look for lamps at flea markets, buy a cheap Walmart burner, about $2.50, and take it with you. If you find a lamp font and it doesn’t have a burner, and your Walmart burner doesn’t fit, don’t buy - if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s too much trouble (and too much $$$) to find one that fits from a dealer. Also, glass fonts are better because you can see how much fuel you have left. Don’t let it go down to the bottom.
So now you do know something about oil lamps!
Jewell, I should have said, if the *wick riser* (the knob that turns the wick) is stuck, don’t force it. If you do, you could strip the gears and wreck the burner. That’s true of any kind of oil lamp, old or new.
Also, don’t use dyed lamp oil - clogs the burner. And fill the lamp at least an hour or more before lighting - this causes the lamp oil to travel up the wick and lubricate it. Fill the font with an inch of air between the bottom of the burner and the top level of the oil. The bigger the font’s tank, the longer you can go between refilling, so I don’t recommend buying those little teeny oil lamps for frequent use. They’re more for romantic lighting at the dinner table, not *seeing*.
I increase the amount of light of my Aladdin, kerosene, candle lantern, etc. by duct-taping three mirror tiles together to make an adjustable, foldable mirror. I can adjust the focus of the light by moving the end mirrors toward the center one. Cost was about $10 for six tiles.
WVtreehanger – at 21:08
That is a great idea and easy to do!
We have several very nice glass kerosene laterns but because of dogs and grandchildren I only put them where they are safe from being knocked over. I bought several of the “railroad” type at Wally World. They do not put out as much light but are less easily broken and can be carried around or hung from a hook.
Hillbilly Bill – at 10:53
How much kerosene are you planning on storing? I have 4 - 5 gallon containers for kerosene, but just not sure how long that will last, any guidance on what amount to store.
EastTN – at 10:59
I have about 6 big bottles of lamp oil (I prefer it over kerosene) and 5 gallons of kerosene stored. I would say that you have plenty stored, the lamps are pretty economical. If the electricity is off long enough that you run out of kerosene, what people are left will be rendering animal fat to burn in crude lamps.
Update on my Aladdin oil lamp for those interested. My DW finds that she does not in fact, notice very much the odor of the Aladdin fuel, which is said to be distilled rather than refined?! Finally reading the instruction manual again, the reason it does not put out the equivilant of 60W of light is that it is supposed to put out 60 CANDLEPOWER, not Watts!, and it easily does that, or about 50Ws. The manual also indicates that it puts out about 2800 Btus of heat, know it puts out a tremendous amount, would not be a good light choice in Summer if you are sitting there on a hot evening with no A/C! Could see warming ourselves around it in Winter. In a smaller room with some ventilation of course, would provide a lot of warmth. All in all, am very pleased with it and it is a lot of fun to use, but be sure to be cautious as it can be dangerous if not treated with respect, as is any open flame.
LA Escapee, thanks for all your tips and info. Hope I don’t get caught up in collecting them! Given how much money we have spent on preps, don’t think that will be a problem, at least till I pay off the last of what I have charged! Hmm, maybe another case of Aladdin lamp oil from Lehmans though? Best price have seen on the web, unable to find locally.
If TSHTF and we have intermittent power & water outages, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay awake past dinner cleanup time! If the power is off and I use artificial lighting, it will be to get a head start on laundry and meal preparation so that I get maximum time from solar drying & heating once the sun comes up. Moving water around, washing clothes by hand, hanging clothes out to dry, kneading bread, weeding, shoveling compost are all physical activities that many of us aren’t used to doing. I’m not a young thing like Kathy in FL, so the muscles & lower back feel a lot different than when I just worked on the computer.
When my new bride and I moved out here near Death Valley, and into our manufactured house, the electric company had not gotten around to putting in any electricity. For two weeks., we lived like pioneers, and you would be surprised how quickly your body and mind, settles in to the mode, “early to bed and early to rise,,,”. Not too long after sunset, and into the night time, we would be heading to the rack,,,and waking up at the crack of dawn. And I expect that will be the case again if (maybe when), the electricl grid begins to falter do to different things.
For electrical based lights, on a lumen/W basis, LEDs are best for close and focused light applications (e.g. flashlight, reading light, etc). For broad/wide lighting applications (e.g. kitchen, dining table, etc) CFLs (compact flourescents) are best. You can get CFLs that operate directly on 12 or 24 VDC with a screw in lightbulb base to use in standard incadescent fixtures (However, it might be a good idea to change the plug so somebody doesn’t accidently plug them into 115VAC.) .
LA Escapee and those following this thread and the Aladdin lamp. One last (I promise) note. Last week my oilman came to clean/tuneup my burner. After he finished I demonstrated my lamp and he used his probe and meter to determine the burn characteristics. Putting the probe about an inch into the chimney he found, no surprise, that carbon monoxide was high, which goes along with the warnings about ventilation, but the heat given off by this little lamp was over 1200 degrees! This is using the Aladdin brand lamp oil which burns very clean and smoke free. Maybe one more case of their oil from Lehmans. Third backup to keep us warm in emergency during SIP. Fascinating 100 year old technology. Use care and follow instructions closely as anything with an open flame and heat output like this can be dangerous.
hey, got some summaries for awareness week?
NauticalMan:
No wonder it warmed my whole room!
So now the question is, how can we use this lamp to cook? Any ideas?
LA Escapee:
Cook?! Now that is something I never thought of as I have four different ways now to cook when SIP, Electric range, woodstove, butane stove and Esbit stove. I will bet if there are any Aladdin users/collectors reading this thread, that somewhere in the almost 100 years of their existence someone has figured that out. I would guess as long as you have ventilation and a metal surface about the stove you could do it, although probably not recommended!