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Aladdin Mantle Lamps

5K views 25 replies 17 participants last post by  stevemaury 
#1 ·
After reading the thread on "white gas" I wondered if anyone else here keeps Aladdin or even flat wick type kerosene lamps for emergency lighting? I have two, a utility aluminum font lamp and a fancy glass font model for either display or illumination, and a flat wick to carry between rooms. The Aladdins burn brighter and with less smell or fumes than flat wick types. Either way they give a decent light and can take the chill off as well. Early last year, I found an Aladdin kerosene heater at a thrift store for $6. It needed quite a cleaning, but even the electric start works like a champ. It burns hot as a army field stove.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Kerosene devices have well known risks in regard to air quality.

But emergencies are emergencies ... and if owned and used (if needed) with due care, I think it makes good sense to have as much emergency equipment as your circumstances, including space, allow.

I prefer non-kerosene equipment, but I'd not discourage anyone with good common sense from keeping kerosene fueled equipment on hand ... just in case.
 
#4 ·
My wife and I have several of them.



They work well, and are very efficient. There is a large Menonite community in my area that eschew electricity. So support for these lamps is readily available. Additionally high quality Paraffin based fuel for these lamps is also available.

Keep your wicks trimmed and use high quality fuel and these lamps are very efficient. Adequate ventilation is always required for anything like this, but they work well. The only issue is that the high quality fuel that I keep for them out in the barn will actually freeze when the weather gets cold enough. I do not mind this though as this is a quality check on the fuel that I have stored. If it freezes then it is very high grade fuel.
 
#7 ·
I live in a rather rural location it's five miles in either Direction to the closest streetlight kerosene lanterns and heaters are a necessity for me I have four kerosene heaters and three kerosene lamps one is a flat Wick the other two are the hurricane type I rely on them frequently as the power goes out often I try to keep on hand six five gallon containers of white kerosene at all times I do agree wholeheartedly that it is essential to know how to clean and maintain kerosene equipment
 
#8 ·
Sure do!

Apparently it's been a family tradition---I've two Aladdins from my maternal grandfather's farm house, from before electrification made it's way out to his vineyard in the twenties.

In addition to the Coleman white gas lanterns I have three Deitz lanterns---two Hong Kong and one USA(I don't remember if it's NYC or Syracuse)

I looked at the new made in the PRC kerosene lanterns at Walmart recently and I can't say they impress me---very thin, breakable globes and the burners don't inspire my confidence---the Hong Kong ones were much better built IMHO.

I recollect that my local ACE hardware still stocks Aladdins.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I have three cold-blast lanterns (what people call Hurricane Lamps) - one is a Dietz Blizzard (7/8th inch wick), the other's a Blizzard Jr (1/2 inch I think) the other's a no-name clone of a Dietz Comet. Think of the Comet as a night-light.

They get used from time to time. Sometimes for legit power-out scenarios like hurricanes or other grid oopsies, and sometimes just for the ambiance of it. Because I love that light.

I love my lanterns, they're a reminder of childhood camping and of brown-outs and power-outs

I want a couple of Aladdins, they make beautiful light and are gorgeous on the own right. They do cost as much as a nice gun tho :)

I grew up in Puerto Rico in the 70's and 80's, and our power grid has always been the suck.. throw in political shenanigans, and you end up knowing how to wick, trim, fuel and run lamps by age 8. Coincidentally the same age I shot my first shots from a .38 Police Positive. ;)

I run my lamps on walmart petroleum lamp fuel (not the parrafin stuff used for liquid candles. Don't ever use that.) I used to run straight kero but that's nasty indoors. The Walmart stuff burns almost odorless. This gets confusing because Brits call Kerosene "Parrafin" but what we call parrafin will burn yellow and dimmer than kero.

I also have a couple of 1/4 inch round wick lamps I use a lot as accent lights. These are lovely little lights.

I come from a time and place where kero light was sometimes your only light (up in the hills in PR, for example) so I have a special place in my heart for any kero light.. but not for coleman hisssssssssssssss pressure lamps. ;)

You know what's a real good memory? Me, my uncle, a few friends, a table lit by kero lamps, the aroma of whisky, rum, cigar, pipe, kero, hoppe's bore cleaner all mixed together, everyone cleaning their guns from the day's plinking (that's what we called putting holes in road signs, trash cans and blowing up every beer bottle we saw).
 
#14 ·
I bought my "fancy" Aladdin piecemeal, a amber Lincoln drape font, a #23 burner, a Loxon chimney, spider for the shade and a milk glass shade. I keep a Ebay search for Aladdin lamps, pieces parts and portions bookmarked. My folks had a lake cottage in Michigan and had a brass Aladdin wall mounted in the living room for power outages. Good memories there as well.
 
#16 ·
We have several, they come out during power outages every so often, they can usually be bought pretty cheap if a person shops around. (reproductions that is).If Lehmans is still in business, they used to sell several types.
 
#17 ·
Oh man, surprised NO ONE has mentioned lamp oil yet. Kerosene indoors should be a non-starter, lamp oil is the way to go.

I have about five oil lamps (and a Dietz Wizard with a red lens, which IS a kerosene lamp), and I use non-scented lamp oil in them, which is basically paraffin. They still do smell a bit, but nothing a normal scented candle can't cover.

I'm really happy with the ones I got, I got them from a company called Vermont Lanterns. They sell some quality (and wife aesthetic-approved, very important) lamps and lanterns. I have both round and flat wick styles, and I've found the flat wick doesn't get consumed as quickly, to a degree.
 
#24 ·
Get some! They aren't expensive.
My local ACE carries Aladdin lamps.
WT Kirkman has Dietz Blizzard lanterns, arguably the best of it's type IMHO.
Colemans are available at yard sales/swap meets pretty cheaply
All give more useful light than candles and will never need batteries:rock:
 
#25 ·
I cant imagine not having at least a couple of Dietz lanterns for power outages. I used to collect them and once had close to 60..just the tip of the iceberg (diff. models, font sizes, lamp colors, very few duplicates). If you shop ebay or antique shops, you will pay outrageious prices. Garage sales, etc. Five bucks...high end 10 should get you a good us eable one, if you don't worry about old paint, etc.
Aladdins put out a great deal more light. You can actually read by them, about 60 watts worth, but they require much more care and time lighting properly. They go for much more than a good Dietz, but are more intended to be a permanent fixture either hung or in the middle of a cabinet/ table, and are much more fragile. As our camp is off grid, we are very redundant on light. Mounted and plumbed Pauline propane wall lamps, then Coleman propane bottled lamps, followed by the aladdins then Dietz...then we get to the flashlights!
 
#26 ·
I have lived off the grid for 35 years. The best (small) kerosene lantern is the Feuerhand #276 Baby Special, available from WT Kirkman, among others. But the cheapest source is Amazon.

And now the controversial. Modern low sulfur diesel fuel is about 1/3 the price of kerosene. If you add 2 ounces per gallon of isopropyl alcohol (HEET or Dri-Gas) to it, it burns in a manner and with a (lack of) smell no different than kerosene.
 
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