It's really important when rating lights to not have the light source in frame. The light source steals all the contrast and washes out the background. This is also true of *using* a lantern. You'll just get night blindness if you hold it in front of you. Best to hold it out beside you out of your field of vision. The best demonstration was in the pantry... when the lamp was out of frame you could read the labels quite clearly. While not living up to modern standards I would say the lamp seems to do a fine job of providing a light source in an emergency.
Yup. I use and restore a lot of double-wick, center-draft round wick, also Kosmos Brenner round wick lamps and well...let's just say that modern persons who have always lived with electric light have high expectations that oil lamps just won't serve. They are all better than lanterns, but even my (notoriously putzy) Aladdins have limitations at about a 40 watt equivalent. The beauty of these bloomin' lanterns is that they are totally idiot proof (unless you burn the flame too high!!) , are very mobile, windproof, and inherently stable and safe. The trade-off is that light output is OK, but not the best.
Exactly. If you look at the video at the 4:15 mark you can see the lantern is putting out perfectly usable light. But as soon as he moves the lantern into the frame the room goes dark. Kerosene lanterns are quite usable, and this video does not show them accurately.
I see the problem here: The wick was trimmed straight across. For best results, it should be trimmed to a low point, like a pyramid. The shape of the flame when trimmed straight across remains flat and short. When properly trimmed to a point, the flame shape is like an arrow head - tall and as wide as the wick. This results in a clean burning flame without having to turn it down to avoid the oily soot. This is a very large lantern, and should be able to produce around 12-14 candle power when trimmed and adjusted properly. My much smaller Dietz #10's reportedly produce about 7-9 CP. Not much, but get several of them going and your eyes will do the rest. Great for inside my truck topper or tent. Tip 1: Use parrafin lamp oil not kerosene for less smell and much cleaner results. Tip 2: Place a small mirror behind the lantern to double the light - or - make a shiny semi-circular snap -in reflector from polished metal to install on one side of the lantern. This makes a reflector to point the light - and a shield so you aren't blinded when using it outside at camp.
I have owned one of these for years. Mine was 100% tight when I first bought it, but after 7 or 8 years it began to leak. I used the KBS Coatings 5200 Gold Standard Tank Sealer and back to good as new. I used the tank sealer on both the inside and outside of the tank.I also bought the hooded reflector and lined the underside with HVAC mirror reflective duct tape and it help throw a lot more light though you have to hang it to get the full effect of the mirrored hood.
The lantern needs to heat at least 10 minutes. To get the full brightness, the reason is the oil is cold. As the flame heats the bottom of the lantern it will heat the oil, which causes it to flow easier up the wick. Don't turn it up max brightest during the heating, you will smoke the glass. Cut off all the burnt, carbon on the wick, cut a flat top, kiss cut off, ever so slightly the corners at 45 degrees. I do mean slightly. It will get rid of the devil ears. Get a reflector that slides over the handle. This makes a huge difference. I use 2 lanterns with my backyard hammock, they throw enough light. We have another brand, in addition to these out door barn lantern you can read by them. Very long tall shinny chimney, wide wicks and a frosted ball glass shade goes over the chimney. They are annoying to look at without the shade. These things are just fun to use. Recall camping, night fishing with one.
Yup. Frankly, for practical use - after decades of camping and lots of power outages thanks to my rural co-op electrical supplier - for cooking and reading, nothing beats an LED headlamp. It's simply the best way to focus a lot of light right where you need it. Haha - and this is coming from somebody who LOVES her oil lamps.
@@crazysquirrel9425 I have a pilot driven propane kitchen range - stove and oven - I use every day, plus my mom's wood burning cookstove in the kitchen. :) No electrical needed.
@@sandirobinson6966 Ahh you must have one of those old brown gas stoves, I used to use one long ago. Then moved into another place.... Only wood burning things I have is a charcoal grill, rocket stove, and firebox stove. All three need to be used outside unfortunately.
@@crazysquirrel9425 Nope. It's a GE -probably about 20 years old. They still sell a non-electric gas stove, but these days they use a (9V) battery powered sparker to light the burners and oven instead of pilot lights. Only difference. They are bare bone stoves, but mine has been a champ and I wouldn't give it up for anything.
If you want much more usable light from kerosene or that type of oil, the best I know of is an Aladdin mantle lamp. It has a mantle like a Coleman camping lantern except it has no hiss. Although they can only be used indoors they are more aesthetically pleasing which may be more acceptable to your girl. If you don't care that it's oil powered, or adds heat, and you want the simplest, brightest, cleanest, and very affordable form of off grid lighting, then take a look at those large panel solar yard lights that you can plug into the grass during the day to charge up, then bring inside to light up the place during the night time. They are also great to bring camping too.
Thanks for your reply. I'd love to try an Aladdin lamp-- they've been on my radar for quite awhile. But they're cost prohibitive for what is mostly a hobby. Truth be told: I've been investing in rechargeable LED lanterns. I haven't found a solar yard light that lasts. Despite good reviews, they always seem to burn out.
@@hardcorecampinggear Have you tried replacing the battery with a high quality Panasonic or something comparable? I know that they normally come with the cheapest battery they can possibly source. Mine have recently died and I need to change them myself.
@@hardcorecampinggear Just took one of my dead ones apart today, and I found out that there is no temperature sensor. Lithium batteries cannot handle being charged at or below freezing temperatures. I'm going to have to go online and see if I can find a small temperature switch that I can splice in the wire between the panel and the circuit board in order to shut off charging at low temperatures. Oh yeah, mine does have a replaceable battery, just two screws...
@@hardcorecampinggear Batteries in those LED lights do not last forever. At BEST they may last 1-5 years depending on the battery, charging, etc. Oil lanterns can last lifetimes.
Kerosene lanterns are quite usable, and this video does not show them accurately. If you look at the video at the 4:15 mark you can see the lantern is putting out perfectly usable light. But as soon as he moves the lantern into the frame the camera adjusts the light balance to compensate for the bright flame and it looks like the room goes dark. Any parts of the video where the lantern is in the frame will not accurately show the light levels. My wife and I enjoy kerosene lanterns as a primary light source in the evenings. We use electric light for specific jobs, like washing dishes, but generally speaking the bright electric light is completely unnecessary for basics. We're perfectly able to even read a book by the light from a kerosene lamp. I would also like to recommend a product called "Seal All." It is a fuel proof adhesive that is very useful for sealing seams and pinholes in kerosene lantern tanks. Rinse the fount with acetone, squirt about a third of a tube of Seal All into the fount, add maybe half to one ounce of acetone to thin the Seal All, rotate the lantern until the acetone mixes with the Seal All and the mixture coats the inside thoroughly. The mixture is thick enough that it will not seep through the pinholes/cracks/seams. Then let it dry in a well ventilated place for about 8 hours or so. I generally let a lantern sit in the sun, or just let it dry overnight. The next day it will be leakproof. Clean up any spillage with acetone before it dries. I've used this method for the past 10 years on many leaky antique lanterns. I've never had an issue. It's fast, easy to clean up, and works 100% of the time.
I have good low light vision, so it's more than enough light for me to light a room. I'm always surprised by my wife who doesn't not being able to see.
Useable light: The problem with the inherent design of the old style lanterns is you often times have to look THROUGH the flame (light source) at what you are illuminating. I take a piece of galvanize flashing metal and slide it behind the globe (outside) at a reflector/shade. That way your aren’t ruining your own night vision capability staring in to the flame at what you are illuminating. You can also carry the lantern down low at an angle that the chimney obstructs the flame to accomplish the same thing. Why bother? The LED doesn’t heat your tent/camper/room for you in cold weather.
Good advice. I get why people use them, for the vintage feel. Same reason people wear a rolex. But LED doesn't heat your tent/camper during summer months and also puts out way more light. I use the Mr. Heater Buddy for heat when winter camping.
Well, they don't produce enough light for reading... at least for an extended period. They do work quite well to illuminate a large-ish tent and to find your way to the outhouse. I've used a Deitz Blizzard to find my way back to my tent in a cedar grove at night during a fairly heavy rain. I could see probably twenty feet in front of me, and at considerably further distances, I could see animal eyes glowing in the dark. While they do work as designed, this remains century plus old technology and we certainly have better in 2024. That said, how many times have you found that the batteries in your flashlight are dead... and also your spare batteries? A gallon of kerosene will last for decades on the shelf and a full fount of fuel will last all night in the Blizzard. If you got a Monarch (with a very large fount) or any of several dead-flame lanterns, you can be looking at three days without refilling the fount. If you want to read, you should get yourself a center-draft table lamp like an Aladdin, Magnet or Rayo. They all out-produce any lantern excepting the pressure lanterns with a mantle such as Coleman makes. Aladdins much be watched constantly, but the Rayo and Magnet designs that do not use mantles are much more reliable, if not as bright. All of these bright-burning lamps and lanterns put out more light (and heat) at the cost of increased fuel consumption.
Kirkman sells reflector shades for lanterns - for sure Dietz, probably their own brand, and I think now Feuerhand, too. They help a bit. I have a hook set high in the kitchen for my Dietz D-Lites with the Kirkman simple galvanized shade. Focuses the light downward - which makes a good bit of difference. Can cook by the light, anyway. Added - I use the Dietz D-Lites or Blizzards because they have a 7/8 wick. Also Air Pilot and Jupiter are 7/8 size wick. Don't even bother with the others unless you don't care about useable light.
Does anyone make a hurricane lantern that uses vegetable oil and olive oil? I know olive oil needs a LOT of thermal feedback of the flame is above the oil level for it to draw up cotton.
Every single wick adjuster for table and hurricane lanterns SUCK. Not a dang one of them is tight. I struggle to get wicks to go up and down. I even tried forever wicks. Still the shaft on the toothed wheel that contacts the wick always becomes loose and won't turn very well. Other problem is the wheel you turn with your hand where it connects to the shaft gets loose too. I want those TIGHT! No more looseness, getting loose, or slipping on the wick when trying to adjust. All those lanterns are for getting around in the dark. Note: it takes HOURS for your night vision to occur. That is one reason why pirates wore eye patches - the maintain night vision in one eye. As of today, Kirkland says out of stock for the hurricane lanterns. Other gawd awfully expensive ones seem to always be in stock...
Can you tell me more about the tank sealant you are talking about ? Is there a brand name ? I sure could use some but have never heard of it. What do I ask for at the hardware ?
POR 15 or KBS tank sealer are good. They are basically for automobile fuel tanks. You would pour into your lamp, slosh it around so it coats the inside
Here's the deal: There will always be oxygen. There will always be fuel. There will always be ignition sources. Batteries? Dependent on a factory. Dependent on an electrical grid. Dependent on non-corrosive conditions. Dependent on electrical wiring and other conditional challenges. Dependent on incandescent filaments or light diodes functioning. People may say these are all challenges that are reliable and overcome, but they are never more reliable than oxygen, ignition, and natural fuels. We're spoiled with non-sun, non-flame light in the 21st century. We can stay up 24/7 with light stimulating our brains and stopping melatonin.
Can anyone tell me where I can buy a lamp like this made of stainless steel? I have had a few of these type of lamps and they have all rusted big time.
It's really important when rating lights to not have the light source in frame. The light source steals all the contrast and washes out the background. This is also true of *using* a lantern. You'll just get night blindness if you hold it in front of you. Best to hold it out beside you out of your field of vision. The best demonstration was in the pantry... when the lamp was out of frame you could read the labels quite clearly. While not living up to modern standards I would say the lamp seems to do a fine job of providing a light source in an emergency.
Yup. I use and restore a lot of double-wick, center-draft round wick, also Kosmos Brenner round wick lamps and well...let's just say that modern persons who have always lived with electric light have high expectations that oil lamps just won't serve. They are all better than lanterns, but even my (notoriously putzy) Aladdins have limitations at about a 40 watt equivalent. The beauty of these bloomin' lanterns is that they are totally idiot proof (unless you burn the flame too high!!) , are very mobile, windproof, and inherently stable and safe. The trade-off is that light output is OK, but not the best.
Exactly. If you look at the video at the 4:15 mark you can see the lantern is putting out perfectly usable light. But as soon as he moves the lantern into the frame the room goes dark. Kerosene lanterns are quite usable, and this video does not show them accurately.
I see the problem here:
The wick was trimmed straight across. For best results, it should be trimmed to a low point, like a pyramid. The shape of the flame when trimmed straight across remains flat and short. When properly trimmed to a point, the flame shape is like an arrow head - tall and as wide as the wick. This results in a clean burning flame without having to turn it down to avoid the oily soot.
This is a very large lantern, and should be able to produce around 12-14 candle power when trimmed and adjusted properly. My much smaller Dietz #10's reportedly produce about 7-9 CP. Not much, but get several of them going and your eyes will do the rest. Great for inside my truck topper or tent.
Tip 1: Use parrafin lamp oil not kerosene for less smell and much cleaner results.
Tip 2: Place a small mirror behind the lantern to double the light - or - make a shiny semi-circular snap -in reflector from polished metal to install on one side of the lantern. This makes a reflector to point the light - and a shield so you aren't blinded when using it outside at camp.
I have owned one of these for years. Mine was 100% tight when I first bought it, but after 7 or 8 years it began to leak. I used the KBS Coatings 5200 Gold Standard Tank Sealer and back to good as new. I used the tank sealer on both the inside and outside of the tank.I also bought the hooded reflector and lined the underside with HVAC mirror reflective duct tape and it help throw a lot more light though you have to hang it to get the full effect of the mirrored hood.
The lantern needs to heat at least 10 minutes. To get the full brightness, the reason is the oil is cold. As the flame heats the bottom of the lantern it will heat the oil, which causes it to flow easier up the wick.
Don't turn it up max brightest during the heating, you will smoke the glass.
Cut off all the burnt, carbon on the wick, cut a flat top, kiss cut off, ever so slightly the corners at 45 degrees. I do mean slightly. It will get rid of the devil ears.
Get a reflector that slides over the handle. This makes a huge difference.
I use 2 lanterns with my backyard hammock, they throw enough light.
We have another brand, in addition to these out door barn lantern you can read by them. Very long tall shinny chimney, wide wicks and a frosted ball glass shade goes over the chimney.
They are annoying to look at without the shade.
These things are just fun to use.
Recall camping, night fishing with one.
Where are you buying your reflector from?
Wt kirkman sells reflectors.
Do they work pretty well?@@Cream_of_sum_yung_gai
Yup. Frankly, for practical use - after decades of camping and lots of power outages thanks to my rural co-op electrical supplier - for cooking and reading, nothing beats an LED headlamp. It's simply the best way to focus a lot of light right where you need it. Haha - and this is coming from somebody who LOVES her oil lamps.
How are you cooking on your electric stove when there is no power??
@@crazysquirrel9425 I have a pilot driven propane kitchen range - stove and oven - I use every day, plus my mom's wood burning cookstove in the kitchen. :) No electrical needed.
@@sandirobinson6966 Ahh you must have one of those old brown gas stoves, I used to use one long ago. Then moved into another place....
Only wood burning things I have is a charcoal grill, rocket stove, and firebox stove.
All three need to be used outside unfortunately.
@@crazysquirrel9425 Nope. It's a GE -probably about 20 years old. They still sell a non-electric gas stove, but these days they use a (9V) battery powered sparker to light the burners and oven instead of pilot lights. Only difference. They are bare bone stoves, but mine has been a champ and I wouldn't give it up for anything.
@@sandirobinson6966 Care to give a full model number?
Might be able to find a used one somewhere....
If you want much more usable light from kerosene or that type of oil, the best I know of is an Aladdin mantle lamp. It has a mantle like a Coleman camping lantern except it has no hiss. Although they can only be used indoors they are more aesthetically pleasing which may be more acceptable to your girl.
If you don't care that it's oil powered, or adds heat, and you want the simplest, brightest, cleanest, and very affordable form of off grid lighting, then take a look at those large panel solar yard lights that you can plug into the grass during the day to charge up, then bring inside to light up the place during the night time.
They are also great to bring camping too.
Thanks for your reply. I'd love to try an Aladdin lamp-- they've been on my radar for quite awhile. But they're cost prohibitive for what is mostly a hobby. Truth be told: I've been investing in rechargeable LED lanterns.
I haven't found a solar yard light that lasts. Despite good reviews, they always seem to burn out.
@@hardcorecampinggear Have you tried replacing the battery with a high quality Panasonic or something comparable? I know that they normally come with the cheapest battery they can possibly source. Mine have recently died and I need to change them myself.
Thanks for the tip. I'm not sure if these have replaceable batteries or not. Will have to check.@@johnwyman6126
@@hardcorecampinggear Just took one of my dead ones apart today, and I found out that there is no temperature sensor. Lithium batteries cannot handle being charged at or below freezing temperatures. I'm going to have to go online and see if I can find a small temperature switch that I can splice in the wire between the panel and the circuit board in order to shut off charging at low temperatures.
Oh yeah, mine does have a replaceable battery, just two screws...
@@hardcorecampinggear Batteries in those LED lights do not last forever. At BEST they may last 1-5 years depending on the battery, charging, etc.
Oil lanterns can last lifetimes.
I like the old westerns where they show a ton of light coming out of these type lanterns, Must have been 100 of them in the barn.
They keep you warm in the outhouse! And you will find the paper.
You spend enough time in the outhouse for a lantern to heat it up? Kinda weird...
We have 2 of these with the shades and food cooker plates. Always perform great during power outage’s.
Kerosene lanterns are quite usable, and this video does not show them accurately. If you look at the video at the 4:15 mark you can see the lantern is putting out perfectly usable light. But as soon as he moves the lantern into the frame the camera adjusts the light balance to compensate for the bright flame and it looks like the room goes dark. Any parts of the video where the lantern is in the frame will not accurately show the light levels.
My wife and I enjoy kerosene lanterns as a primary light source in the evenings. We use electric light for specific jobs, like washing dishes, but generally speaking the bright electric light is completely unnecessary for basics. We're perfectly able to even read a book by the light from a kerosene lamp.
I would also like to recommend a product called "Seal All." It is a fuel proof adhesive that is very useful for sealing seams and pinholes in kerosene lantern tanks. Rinse the fount with acetone, squirt about a third of a tube of Seal All into the fount, add maybe half to one ounce of acetone to thin the Seal All, rotate the lantern until the acetone mixes with the Seal All and the mixture coats the inside thoroughly. The mixture is thick enough that it will not seep through the pinholes/cracks/seams. Then let it dry in a well ventilated place for about 8 hours or so. I generally let a lantern sit in the sun, or just let it dry overnight. The next day it will be leakproof. Clean up any spillage with acetone before it dries. I've used this method for the past 10 years on many leaky antique lanterns. I've never had an issue. It's fast, easy to clean up, and works 100% of the time.
For outdoors I love my Coleman gas lantern . Battery powered LED lights never last long at at all be for they dim and the batteries are dead.
Yes, Coleman lanterns are great. A bit putzy, but tons of light.
That's how people lived.😊
I have good low light vision, so it's more than enough light for me to light a room. I'm always surprised by my wife who doesn't not being able to see.
Useable light: The problem with the inherent design of the old style lanterns is you often times have to look THROUGH the flame (light source) at what you are illuminating. I take a piece of galvanize flashing metal and slide it behind the globe (outside) at a reflector/shade. That way your aren’t ruining your own night vision capability staring in to the flame at what you are illuminating. You can also carry the lantern down low at an angle that the chimney obstructs the flame to accomplish the same thing.
Why bother? The LED doesn’t heat your tent/camper/room for you in cold weather.
Good advice. I get why people use them, for the vintage feel. Same reason people wear a rolex. But LED doesn't heat your tent/camper during summer months and also puts out way more light. I use the Mr. Heater Buddy for heat when winter camping.
They make a great night light. Just don't leave it running while you sleep. I store mine with oil in it so the bottom doesn't rust out.
That's a good idea. Thanks.
Well, they don't produce enough light for reading... at least for an extended period. They do work quite well to illuminate a large-ish tent and to find your way to the outhouse. I've used a Deitz Blizzard to find my way back to my tent in a cedar grove at night during a fairly heavy rain. I could see probably twenty feet in front of me, and at considerably further distances, I could see animal eyes glowing in the dark.
While they do work as designed, this remains century plus old technology and we certainly have better in 2024. That said, how many times have you found that the batteries in your flashlight are dead... and also your spare batteries? A gallon of kerosene will last for decades on the shelf and a full fount of fuel will last all night in the Blizzard. If you got a Monarch (with a very large fount) or any of several dead-flame lanterns, you can be looking at three days without refilling the fount.
If you want to read, you should get yourself a center-draft table lamp like an Aladdin, Magnet or Rayo. They all out-produce any lantern excepting the pressure lanterns with a mantle such as Coleman makes. Aladdins much be watched constantly, but the Rayo and Magnet designs that do not use mantles are much more reliable, if not as bright. All of these bright-burning lamps and lanterns put out more light (and heat) at the cost of increased fuel consumption.
Kirkman sells reflector shades for lanterns - for sure Dietz, probably their own brand, and I think now Feuerhand, too. They help a bit. I have a hook set high in the kitchen for my Dietz D-Lites with the Kirkman simple galvanized shade. Focuses the light downward - which makes a good bit of difference. Can cook by the light, anyway. Added - I use the Dietz D-Lites or Blizzards because they have a 7/8 wick. Also Air Pilot and Jupiter are 7/8 size wick. Don't even bother with the others unless you don't care about useable light.
Pro tip, cut the wick to a conical point. Much better flame pattern.
More wick area exposed. Just don't cut at too sharp an angle.😊
Better pattern doesn't equal more LIGHT. Cut it flat with very, very, VERY SLIGHTLY cut corners
Does the LED drawn in bugs? Just finished a weekend using a Dietz and Embury with no bugs.
Does anyone make a hurricane lantern that uses vegetable oil and olive oil?
I know olive oil needs a LOT of thermal feedback of the flame is above the oil level for it to draw up cotton.
Need a reflector.
Good nostalgic🎉🎉❤
Every single wick adjuster for table and hurricane lanterns SUCK.
Not a dang one of them is tight. I struggle to get wicks to go up and down.
I even tried forever wicks. Still the shaft on the toothed wheel that contacts the wick always becomes loose and won't turn very well. Other problem is the wheel you turn with your hand where it connects to the shaft gets loose too.
I want those TIGHT! No more looseness, getting loose, or slipping on the wick when trying to adjust.
All those lanterns are for getting around in the dark.
Note: it takes HOURS for your night vision to occur. That is one reason why pirates wore eye patches - the maintain night vision in one eye.
As of today, Kirkland says out of stock for the hurricane lanterns.
Other gawd awfully expensive ones seem to always be in stock...
Can you tell me more about the tank sealant you are talking about ? Is there a brand name ? I sure could
use some but have never heard of it. What do I ask for at the hardware ?
POR 15 or KBS tank sealer are good. They are basically for automobile fuel tanks. You would pour into your lamp, slosh it around so it coats the inside
@@reg428 Thank you very much for the information 👍
I prefer diesel as fuel ...smell better than paraffin....cheaper too....
❤
Here's the deal:
There will always be oxygen. There will always be fuel. There will always be ignition sources.
Batteries? Dependent on a factory. Dependent on an electrical grid. Dependent on non-corrosive conditions. Dependent on electrical wiring and other conditional challenges. Dependent on incandescent filaments or light diodes functioning. People may say these are all challenges that are reliable and overcome, but they are never more reliable than oxygen, ignition, and natural fuels.
We're spoiled with non-sun, non-flame light in the 21st century. We can stay up 24/7 with light stimulating our brains and stopping melatonin.
Can anyone please direct me to a GOOD, QUALITY, SOLID 7/8" wick and not a FLATTENED HOLLOW TUBE of useless garbage?
Order from Lehmans, Kirkman, Miles Stair.
@sandirobinson6966 Thank you! Someone else recommended Miles Stair, and that's what I went with. HUGE difference in quality! Again: thanks!
Vermont Lanterns
lost me at chinese...
There aren't any domestic lantern manufacturers left, if I'm remembering correctly. Feurhand is made in Germany-- probably with Turkish Muslim labor.
I enjoyed your content. But anyone that begs for likes and subscribes… nah.
I enjoy your liberal interpretation of the word "beg".
@@hardcorecampinggear It’s the underlying motive. And you’re welcome.
YES !( only if you use smockless oils)
Work great for lighting scraggily faces up in movies though! "Arr who goes there?"
The amount of light from a hurricane lamp is better than nothing at all. Too much Chef Boy Are Dee.
Can anyone tell me where I can buy a lamp like this made of stainless steel? I have had a few of these type of lamps and they have all rusted big time.