Hello! I want to add some _nuance_ to the discussion because of course there's plenty. Kerosene isn't the only fuel that these lanterns are capable of burning, and some options that are available now are less unpleasant for indoor use. And as a matter of fact, one of the things these are still useful for is emergency heat since they're putting out quite a lot. However, *not every fuel is safe to use in them* so my official advice is don't use these lanterns indoors at all. The room I film in is quite poorly ventilated without the HVAC system running so it was a pretty non-ideal situation, but the room smelled like an airport and my throat was getting irritated. It's unpleasant and makes me feel terrible for the millions of people who still rely on kerosene for their lighting fuel. (also, to be clear, kerosene by itself isn't the problem - kerosene heaters are widely available, but modern designs can burn the fuel much more completely for a safer and much less unpleasant exhaust. These lanterns literally haven't changed since the 19th century)
You might consider outside filming an option in such cases again in the future, just as you did film some stuff outside in the times back before your studio. Stay safe and ideally please don't suffocate yourself for your videos.
Speech 100, agreed :) And that's before we get into structure, writing, humor and wit! Some people always assert that "the pun is the lowest form of wit". I think that's needlessly reductionist and generally pretentious: These videos are a great example of how puns can really elevate a talk. I love the humor in these videos 🖤
Heya, have really enjoyed this series. I'm a Chemical engineer and specifically work with combustion processes. For heat output, we actually care quite a bit about preheating combustion air with waste heat because it improves fuel efficiency as you're using less of the energy from combustion to get the air to the flame temperature. Realistically, for light output it probably doesn't make a meaningful difference to the fuel consumption. I'd hazard it was more likely that they Dietz was probably trying to look at air preheat for flame stability, as combustion tends to be better behaved & more stable when heat is already present.
I reasoned this and was going to post something about maybe the cold blast design was preheating the combustion air to help the fuel on the wick reach it's flash point and burn it more efficiently.
Combustion engines operate on a volume difference of cold and heated gas. Fuel is used to rapidly heat up gas inside a cilinder, so maybe colder air means more expansion and beter power output of an engine? I'm not a mechanical engeneer, so I'm guessing here so...
Is this kerosene actually that close to the Jet A-1 variant modern jet engines burn? I now jet fuel is actually quite close to Diesel Oil. To add to the confusion, what is used in lamps is called "Lampenöl" (lamp oil) or Petroleum in German. Jet fuel is "Kerosin", "Paraffin" is the waxy stuff candles are made from.
@@alexanderkupke920 Jet A1 is kerosene that has been dewaxed, removing all the longer chain molecules, so that it will not turn to slush at -40C in the aircraft fuel tanks. The wax that is removed is further classified by melting point, so you get soft waxes that melt around 40C or lower, often sold as Vaseline or petroleum jelly, and harder waxes that melt around 70C, which are used to make candles, and as a base for many cosmetics and shoe polish. Higher melting point waxes are also used in industrial applications for various things. Diesel oil is very close to paraffin or kerosene, just has a somewhat less and slightly different range of melting and boiling points and density. To further confuse things you also have Rocket kerosene, which is a very highly refined Jet A1, that is designed not to freeze till around -100C, and which also has even less wax in it. In general you can run the diesel vehicle on kerosene, but it will run poorly, as diesel has additives in it to lubricate the fuel system, which is needed, plus the wax will tend to clog fuel lines and injectors as it flows through and undergoes local cooling. Same for a jet engine, which will run on diesel, though it will smoke heavily, as the fuel is not being fully burnt before it leaves the combustion chamber. Run a modern GDI engine on kerosene and it will very quickly fail, but older mechanical injection engines do not care, and will run on diesel, kerosene, Jet A1 or even vegetable oil, provided you can get it liquid enough to flow through the pump. Lamp oil can be also a blend, with it consisting of a mix of kerosene, diesel and even lighter oils and benzene to make it light easier, and also can have aromatic oils added to it to have an odour other than the distinct one.
Another lantern use: My dad was born in the Mojave Desert in 1916. If someone had to go outside at night, one lamp was sufficient for light, but they would carry two. One near each ankle. Rattle snakes would strike at warm temperatures, so they would strike the lanterns instead of people's legs.
feels to me like that would work about as well as bug zappers.. you're still attracting them to the general area, and giving the snakes way too much credit vis-a-vis aim. Surely it's easier to just armor your ankles.
@@KairuHakubi It's not really so much attracting them though, just directing their strike. It's not like the rattlesnake would notice a person and move towards the heat in order to hunt, but more that IF the person stumbled across the snake, as is likely to happen at times, it provided a better place for them to strike than bare, or near-bare, skin.
@@keithlarsen7557 okay but you will agree that the skills involved in chasing a furry gumball hopping along at a few inches per second are VERY different from the skills involved in striking at what amounts to two moving trees.
@@Marc_Fuchs_1985 Web search for "Deez nuts"... Urban dictionary has an explanation... Also, you are not the first German to be in the dark about "nuts" (admittedly, a different usage)... taskandpurpose.com/history/us-army-nuts-bastogne-surrender/
Experience from living in extremely rural Papua New Guinea in 2017-18. Improvements in batteries, LEDs and solar panels has pretty much eliminated kerosene lamps in the last few decades. People in my village grew up using kerosene lamps but the only one I ever saw was retrofitted with and LED bulb and just used for aesthetics. Everyone that saw it offered to help the owner set it up correctly because the LED was far dimmer than the original kerosene.
I am 76 years old, live on an island 140 kilometres off the north coast of British Columbia and frequently rely on lanterns which, up until now, i have done so in total ignorance. Thank you for this illuminating presentation.
Hey old man, get yourself a solar panel and some LED lamps and do your part, air travel is already too expensive. Or can I interest you in killing some of those pesky whales off your island shores and rendering some of that sweet sweet blubber
These lamps were the only source light even 15 years back in my village when electric supply wasn't available. The first electric lines arrived 15 years ago but electricity supply was rather erratic so these lanterns (called lal-ten in the local dialect) were fairly common for a long time after that (still are common?). These days, electricity supply is more reliable and there are LED bulbs with built in batteries so these lamps are being used less and less.
@Cosmo Genesis Electricity isn't very reliable in india, though it is getting better. Such bulbs are easily available here from reputed manufacturers. Here is one such example. WIPRO 9 W Standard B22 Inverter Bulb dl.flipkart.com/dl/wipro-9-w-standard-b22-inverter-bulb/p/itm6b44753ace7d5?pid=BLBFMUX67YMNHWGV&cmpid=product.share.pp
@@aliceeliot6389 I don't live in the said village. Neither did I live there as a child. My father served in the Indian military and I lived across India in various military campuses. My grandparents lived in the village though and every year, we used to spend about a month in the village during the school summer breaks. I have very fond memories of my time in the village, specially since my parents didn't dare discipline me and my sisters in front of our grandparents. And yes, there is cellular internet in the village now. It's 4G LTE with decent speed but nothing extraordinary. There used to be landline telephone in the village. I don't know if broadband was/is available.
Man I have wanted to go to India my entire life to see what is happening. One of the most influential talks I had with my great grand mother. She saw wagon trains going west on the plains. She did with seeing the internet becoming a thing. The change the entire world is going through. It is mind boggling. The area where I am at in the US we get power outages. So i keep back ups of everything. Going to other places in the world. As a US citizen get irrationally angry at people around me.
I have two of these lanterns. One is intended more for decoration but is still functional, the other is less decorative, more sturdy in construction, and in general more practical. I have them because I have a liking for archaic lighting, among other archaic things.
Speaking of confusing names for hydrocarbons, in my language (Czech), Kerosene is known as "Petrolej", which sounds similar to Petroleum (i.e. crude oil), and Petrol, which in America is called Gasoline, often shortened to Gas, though it isn't actually gas but liquid, and we call that "Benzín", which is pronounced exactly like Benzene, but that's a different chemical substance, which we call just "Benzen". It's not to be confused with Benzine, which is another name for Petroleum Ether, which isn't really an Ether, because actual Ethers are hydrocarbon derivates, whilst Petroleum Ether is a petroleum fraction with a low boiling point, which is the real reason why it's called Ether - it's on a basis of similar physical property, rather than chemical similarity. In German, where Gasoline is called "Benzin", Benzene is known as "Benzol", but in Czech "Benzol" actually means BTX, which is a mixture of Benzene, Toluene and Xylene. Regular Kerosene, like the one used in lamps is called "Petroleum" or "Petrol" in German, but aviation Kerosene, i.e. jet fuel, in German is "Kerosin". In Czech, we also call diesel fuel "Nafta", which sounds like Naphtha, but isn't the same thing, Naphtha is actually a name sometimes used for White Gas, which isn't gas but liquid, isn't white but clear, and can mean three different things (see wikipedia), but most common one is a fluid used in camp stoves, lanterns or lighters or as a solvent. Closest thing to Naphtha we have in our language is "Technický benzín" (literally 'technical gasoline'), but don't confuse it with normal gasoline, because if you put it in a gasoline engine, it's not going to like it. Naphtha, or White gas, also shouldn't be confused with White Spirit, a.k.a mineral turpentine which, surprise surprise, isn't really white or spirit, and is definitely not a turpentine (a distilled tree resin). We call it "Lakový Benzín" (literally 'varnish gasoline'), except it's not really a gasoline either. It's more like a paint thinner. If you want to know what we call paint thinner in Czech, it's "Ředidlo", which literally means "dilutant". Mind you, there are many different types of "Ředidlo" which I'm not going to list here... Interestingly, in Poland (which is right next door from us), Kerosene is called "Nafta", and diesel fuel (remember that is what us Czechs call "Nafta"), is known as "Olej napędowy" (literally "driving oil"), or colloquially "Ropa", which in Czech actually means crude oil, but is sometimes used as a derogatory name for diesel fuel. Crude oil in Polish is "Ropa Naftowa". In case it wasn't confusing enough already... Edit: i've had to make some corrections here and there because the nomenclature across languages is such god awful mess, I got lost in it myself. But at least we can make fun of it :D. Thank you for all the likes and replies.
I truly can't think of anything i wouldn't enjoy learning from you. Thank you for the content and doing your part to bring us all a little closer together. Heavens knows, we need it more than ever.
Speaking as someone who did industrial combustion for many years, pre-heating combustion air is actually something that is done because it increases the efficiency as well and allows for higher temperatures to be achieved. The reason being is that you don't have to heat the incoming air to the temperature you need which actually wastes heat energy. The reason you want a cold air intake into your car engine however is for the higher density that colder air contains which naturally also means more oxygen because your not trying to heat the engine. If your interested in learning more about pre-heating in combustion systems the term your want to look up is "regenerative combustion burner" as they can explain it much better than I can.
I would add that engine analogy doesn't seem to really apply. As far as I can remember combustion engines use, at least in part, gas temperature (and thereby pressure) difference to generate torque. Cool running engine is more efficient. A lamp kept cooler isn't as it doesn't cycle. I have a sneaking suspicion this was just throw away joke made before a real point. The comment is written, so I might just post it anyway.😅
As I long-windedly explain in my public comment, cold air intakes only became popular with multi port EFI engines. Prior to that, carbureted engines needed heated intake air in order to atomize fuel well enough to meet emissions standards.
@@AntiCookieMonster to the best of my knowledge, the pressure change due to temp only matters in regard to how much oxygen is actually in the cylinder, and thus how much fuel can be combusted. Conveniently, EFI engines pump fuel into the cylinders based on the manifold air pressure (or i'm pretty sure they do), which means that the higher pressure of colder air will also result in higher fuel pumped into the cylinders, and since that denser air does have enough oxygen to combust that extra fuel, you get more power.
Lol I just commented theorizing the same thing lol guess I should have scrolled a little further down and seen someone who actually knew confirming my theory
There is still confusion here. I started repairing cars and other vehicles in the 1960s and stopped in 2018 as a professional. After gasoline engines are at operating temperature, many stopped heating the air fuel mixture, This was before and after emission controls were added. Heating was done for fuel economy more than emission concerns. atomization may have improved, but if the air fuel ratio was around 14.7 to 1, the compression cycle added plenty of heat and turbulence to atomize for proper combustion. The factories were pressured to have clean exhaust and get good economy at the same time. They would lean mixtures as far as possible, the engines produce low power and often Hydrocarbons increased if everything wasn't perfect. Warmer intake temps caused higher oxides of nitrogen to be produced, which was a controlled emission gas. They added EGR systems that put exhaust into the fuel air mixture, not to heat it, but to add an inert substance that cooled combustion temps to lower the oxides of nitrogen. things got back on track when computers started controlling nearly everything and actually enriched the fuel air ratio so the catalytic converters could get hot enough to clean the exhaust. Best horsepower occurs with cool air and fuel. Of course if you look into Smokey Yunick's expander cycle engine, than all of the above means nothing. Maybe it's a hoax?
@@WeebsLifeBalance There is also literally a product called Dietz nuts, they are meat nuts, they are nuts but made out of meat, Dietz nuts. They are delicious, they are Dietz nuts.
I, too, was surprised to learn that wicks needed to curl in order for candles to work properly. I always assumed that that's how it always worked. It never occurred to me that the wicks needed to be exposed to oxygen rich air to properly burn away (though, this does make perfect sense).
Regarding pre-heating the incoming air: every coal fired power plant I ever worked in ran intake air through a pre-heat section before adding it to the fuel to improve combustion. In automobiles, using cold intake air is an attempt to add a few more molecules of oxygen to the mix in the combustion chamber before compression begins. A coal fired furnace, like a kerosene lamp, has no compression cycle. and hotter intake air improves the combustion in that case.
The exhaust of hot air is a type of pollution. Cool the exhaust by giving the heat to the fuel so that you pollute less. Also, even if the chemical reactions of kerosene oxidation are not reversible, are not in equilibrium with the reverse chemical reactions, the raise in temperature still grants an increase of the forward reaction rate.
You’ll find the same preheating in your gas furnace to increase combustion efficiency (or oil boiler; but I know the Elmhurst area is almost all natural gas & forced hot air era homes). The closer you can get the incoming air to the auto ignition temperature of the fuel the more efficient the combustion…technically preheating the air above that would be better but inherently more dangerous for run away combustion incidents. A lot of systems also try to add some minor level of compression too push the limits of efficiency but this will never be as critical as a combustion engine because of the open nature of standard furnaces (sealed blast combustion furnaces are another matter).
@@liennen5868 You are not "polluting" less in this scenario. You are simply keeping heat in the system for slightly longer. Additionally someone using a kerosene lantern may not consider its release of heat to be a pollutant at all.
You seem like the type of guy I’d hang out with IRL. Just something about your intense deep dives into technology both old and new is right up my alley. I really like your videos, they’re soothing. I listen to them while at work and sometimes while I’m bunking down for the night. I’ve almost caught up with the entire video library so far. Keep up the great work!
Nothing is dead about it. Just because cringy kids stopped using it after a week of spouting it like maniacs doesn't mean it's dead. As long as it's generally known of, it's not dead.
1. Paraffin is a term in the US used for liquid paraffin (I believe a slightly lighter fraction than candle wax paraffin) which is a type of aliphatic oil lacking in aromatic compounds, thus having less odor. It is often formulated in odorless mineral spirits. It less volatile and has a higher flashpoint than kerosene. Many use it as an odorless alternative to kerosene. This makes it less suitable for larger wicks as the oil won’t evaporate until much of the wick is exposed in the flame, causing the wick to burn off. 2. Dietz wanted to have the hot air to help evaporate the fuel. Kerosene is not very volatile compared to other fuels, and is not even flammable (it is combustible like wood, but far safer than rubbing alcohol). It is a heavier fuel like diesel, I’ve spilled it on concrete and tried to burn it using a lighter but it wouldn’t ignite. It needs to be wicked and heated in order to better vaporize. By pre-heating the air you can increase the amount of fuel that can be burned thus increasing light for a small burner. 3. Many use these lamps not just for the light but for heat. They burn cleaner and cheaper than candles. The standard dead flame lamps put out approx 1600 BTU/hr so it can act as a space heater. The Dietz lanterns are popular because they are much safer and can be easily moved around while lit.
I forgot to mention that there’s Kerosene alternatives like Firefly Fuel which is completely odorless, non-toxic, and eco friendly or Kleen Heat which is odorless but performs just as well as kerosene.
Also his example with the car intake isnt a 1 to 1 since the car intake needs cold air since its basically a heat engine and so benefits in terms of effciency from the greater temperature difference produced from cold air intake. While retaining heat for the lamp is an advantage since useful output is the black body radiation from high temperature so retaining heat is an advantage
The common name varies by country: In the UK, "paraffin" (earlier "paraffin oil"), in the USA, more usually "kerosene". The official name in South Africa is "Illuminating Paraffin". In analytical chemistry, "paraffin" was the generic name for a series of hydrocarbon compounds - now called (I think) "ketones".
Great video. As an engineer I would like to add my two cents. The thought that cold air is used for more power in engines is not relevant here. Cold air is denser so it allows more air (oxygen) to be put into the cylinder for more power output. Hot air in a lantern results in a higher flame temperature and thus more light from the incandescent soot particles. But the air must not be mixed with exhaust gas. That lowers the oxygen content and flame temperature like exhaust gas recirculation ( EGR) in an engine. Another safety feature of hurricane lamps compared to the glass chimney type is lower exhaust temperature. You can light a cigarette over the glass chimney (or curtains or an upper shelf). This allows the hurricane lamp to be carried hanging from a handle, without burning your hand. To light a cigarette with a hurricane lamp you have to lift the glass and use the flame.
I can definitely confirm that the air direcly above a glas chimney type kerosene lamp is hot enough to give a small child in the 80s who has just learned about shadow hand puppets first-degree burns without making any contact with the lamp itself. Also you can cook a marshmallow but it will taste like kerosene.
I somehow have the idea that in cars hot exhaust air is used to preheat the air intake. Also my oven preheats air by passing the air that is taken behind and above the burn chamber, this allows for better and cleaner burning of the wood & gases (oven is surrounding air independant, as we have a controlled ventilation system in the house, the air gets taken in from the chimney at the top of the roof, travels down and around the chamer as explained). So I figured it does make sense to preheat the air for this lantern type aswell.
@@moos5221 cars used to do this in the early 80’s, yes. Carburetor models used this to keep the air volume more consistent and to warm up the air in cold climates. I imagine fuel reacted differently being injected into freezing air drawn into an intake than being injected directly into the chamber. However, fuel injection eliminated all that. Then the focus went into increasing the amount of O2 in the chamber, hence why cold dense air was preferable for a naturally aspirated engines.
when i was a kid (10 years ago), we used these in our home (in india) for lightning as electricity was only available for 4 to 8 hours a day. I was facinated by these and now i know how they work. thank you.
Alec's videos are always enlightening. He's been on a real hot streak recently; all the puns in this video were on fire. No other RUclipsr can hold a candle to Technology Connections.
15:22 BOFA DEEZ LANTERNS. HE KEPT GOING. MAN'S UNSTOPPABLE lmao I love finding fellow quiet types with surprisingly risqué humor. RUclips got it right recommending this channel to me
The writing was fantastic on this episode. I never imagined myself ever caring about topics like this. Your videos about Christmas light videos drew me in and I’m very happy they did.
Here's my take on the cold air intake: The "hot blast" furnace was created 1828, preheating the air increases the combustion temperature and thus the efficiency. So why not in cars? In a car the desired output is not heat but mechanical work. To maximize the work done you need to control your ignition timing very precisely, if your combustion temperature gets over a certain threshold you start losing that control, what follows is knock, preignition and ultimately engine damage, at least in a gasoline engine. (NOX emissions in a diesel) By cooling the intake air you can literally cram in more oxygen molecules into the combustion chamber. In WW2 they played around with water/methanol injection in their aircraft engines to cool the mixture and prevent knock to advance timing, and therefore make more power.
Engines ultimately generate power from the expansion of the air, so the cold air also improves the efficiency of the cycle (better "cold side" of the heat engine). And the steam generated by water injection is also a benefit - there were even some attempts at six-stroke engines that alternate a four-stroke cycle with a steam-powered stroke that generates some power and cools the engine from the inside. Burners want to burn as hot as possible to optimize combustion. I have one of those Biolite wood-burning stoves and you can really tell when the preheating kicks in. There is a good reason blast furnaces also use heat exchangers. So yeah, the preheating in the lamp is a reasonable idea, although I'd probably try a different approach. Also, you can't overdo it as it reduces the chimney effect, which is more important here.
If that's the case, then pre-heating the air probably is helpful for these; as like incandescent lighting, the light they produce is from a physics perspective a byproduct of heat.
I was thinking the hot air should evaporate the kerosine quicker. changing from liquid to vapor is a REALLY big potential energy loss. I bet it burns more efficiently with hot air supply. less fuel per a specific lumen measure.
@@aerosoapbreeze264 Me: Searching for a good malaphor to respond with while feeling like death on hot bricks. Okay, I don't quite feel like death warmed up or a cat on hot bricks, but I'm more than half-way there. Not sure if I made a malaphor there.
I can't say if it's my favorite, since there are many excellent malaphors to choose from, and my mind does not function in a manner that lets me iterate through the list to evaluate them. But it certainly is among the many excellent malaphors I've heard and maybe used.
When I heard that, I thought that was the pinnacle of Dietz jokes possible. I was clean, quick, and a worthy sensible chuckle. ...then he had to throw "Dietz Nuts" in.
@@nickfifteen Yeah and I'm afraid that "Dietz Nuts" got many more giggles from the audience. But we, we appreciate the finer things. By the way I laughed hard at the "pinnacle of Dietz jokes" part 'cause when you say it like that it sounds as if it were a sport category or a recognized qualification or something like that lmao
so my dad used to live on a farm when he was a kid, and he lived in tornado alley, he always talked about a red Dietz lantern that somehow through a tornado that devastated the entire property, survived on its post, but also remained lit throughout. its broken now and doesnt work, but it sits on my grandfather's mantlepiece to this day. mind you, that lantern was old when my dad was a boy, and he was a boy in the early 60s.
How nice. They aren’t that hard to fix. Google a video. Also, can’t have been too old when your dad was a boy. They started painting them in the mid 1950s. Of course, it could’ve been hand painted by somebody.
@@levislanterntime1926 true, but it broke back in the late 70s early 80s if i understand my grandfather's ramblings. though I should have added its been lost as of the last few years, grandfather got a bit old and senile and needed extra care so he went to an assisted living home, and that was 2ish years ago. nobody's seen it since really, so rip.
@@swapertxking These kinds of original farm equipment are quite popular for decoration so if there was any sort of estate sale or someone was paid to clear out the house, it would've been snapped up really quickly. Sorry it went missing.
As an old humanitarian worker I am happy to hear the last part, nobody should use this lamps except for a cozy camping experience or emergency. There are many good alternatives, most based on solar power. ☀️
I’ve remodelled a couple of older homes. To recapture the look of the ceilings, we painted the ceiling with an oil paint, raise the kerosene lamp up to the wet paint and “swirl” the lamp, creating a smoky cloud-like look. It looked beautiful and retained its look. We always did have one person standing by with a hose in case something went amiss.
I’m going to be honest with you, we’ve had Dietz lanterns in my house for as long as I can remember, yet I never actually wondered how they worked. Thank you for this.
I have gotten a lot of those cheap Walmart hurricane lamps I never had any problem with them. My dad used to have a bunch of antique and older lamps for camping. Including these in the video. But the problem is somebody broke into our shed and stole them all. Leaving the Walmart lanterns behind. They even took the old Coleman's.
Reminds me of an old series on BBC called "Connections," hosted by James Burke. He would expertly, and humorously, traverse the intertwined scientific, political, and environmental avenues of history that all came together in peculiar ways to bring us modern commonplace conveniences and systems.
@I care Ah yes, you again. Mine telling us which publishers of the Quran release books suited for use as a flame wicking substitute? Knowing this would also help me source paper to treat the Bible in equal regard, just so you don't think this is a dig at your faith _solely._
It’s after midnight, I’m totally sober, I do not own any lanterns and have honestly never thought of lanterns in any way, yet I sat enthralled watching this entire video. Well done, sir.
I own tons of lanterns and more than a couple of kerosene heaters. I live in a very rural part of Kentucky up on a mountaintop and it's amazing that I even have electricity let alone Internet. The people in my area rely on a co-op for our electricity so it's pretty much a monopoly and electricity is high. Even with energy-efficient heat pumps are electric bills can easily run $250 $300 a month, and that's when the electricity is on! It's not uncommon for us to go without electricity for at least 24 hours and there's been several occasions that it has lasted a week and on a couple of occasions a month. So We rely on kerosene heaters and wood-burning stoves for heat. And kerosene lanterns/hurricane lamps/Aladdin lamps as a backup for lighting and also helps with a little bit of heat. I have probably 10 or 12 kerosene lanterns and just recently installed a kerosene wall lantern next to a reproduction wired wall phone "we also don't get self-service in this area" I recommend everyone should own a couple of kerosene heaters and at least 3 or 4 kerosene lanterns. I have a backup generator countless flashlights and flashlights and generators can fail, and batteries can go bad. But my kerosene fueled equipment is rotated regularly and I've had kerosene and several of my lanterns that is over 10 years old and although it does expire the 10-year-old kerosene lanterns I have hanging to function although not as efficiently when the kerosene was fresh. But in an emergency it would work. I've tried all other types of lighting and heating equipment like propane and gas stoves and they all have their purposes. But for the most part you can't be kerosene for dependable heating and lighting. PS but it doesn't hurt to pick up some LED Christmas lighting after the holidays, that comes in handily as temporary lighting while you're looking for your lighters and matches :-) in conjunction with emergency exit backup lighting that comes on automatically when the electricity goes out it lights my entire home even if I'm not home at the time for 2 and half hours.
You may be thinking, "but grandma used lamp oil, not kerosene". And you are right. Lamp oil is extra pure kerosene, so theres less chemicals going into your air when you use it.
I'm from Namibia, Africa. These lamps are still in daily use by us. It is still the "best" option in many areas compared to the available alternatives. Thanks for a very interesting video.
I am from the UK and I still use them also, especially during the summer months. They give a beautiful light, better than the other guy’s computer screen 😄.
@@nthgth Bic lighters also are pretty cool. A cylinder of compressed flammable gas and a valve controlled burner and ignition system (same ignition system as a Zippo) that can be bought for less than $3 and lasts months is a cool bit of engineering!
@@jamesslick4790 Know what, you're right! I was being judgmental there. They're also pretty cool when you look at how they work. The Bic way is sort of like a miniaturized barbecue, and that's awesome
@@nthgth Yep, LOL. I've been smoking for 41 years (If you don't smoke, don't start, Lighters CAN be used for other uses!.Like Fireworks! LOL.) I am a Zippo collector, (as well as a Pennsylvanian!) But I gotta say "BIC" is really an underrated outfit. How the heck can they make all those pens, lighters and razors SO GOOD, and yet SO cheap ?!? I use Nothing but Bic razors BTW, (Screw Gillette!) But yeah a Bic lighter is a "gas grill" in the same way as a Zippo is an oil lamp! Good analogy! 👍😊👍
I had several of these along with a Coleman lantern (with a mantle that glowed) when I was living in Zaire (now DRC). We couldn't always get mantles. It was certainly hard to grade papers in the light from a storm lantern. Having a science background, it's strange that I used them for so long without really looking at them to see how they worked. Thank you for the video.
Pre-heating has some theoratical advantages.. Thermodynamically, you are using wasted heat in the exhaust to heat up air, so you would need less fuel to heat it up to the intended temperature. This completely constrasts car engines. In a sort-of oversimplification, otto cycle's power output depends on the difference between the heat input from combustion and heat rejection.. By having initial air colder (and denser), you can always put more fuel to a) use all oxygen completely in a stoichoimetric combustion or b) especially in direct injection cars, to reach intended combustion temperature. In either way, heat input will be greater.. So cold air (freezing winter compared to hot summer) makes the car consume noticably more fuel at WOT (wide open throttle) and also provide more power. If we are talking about engines, pre-heating is actually pretty common for large stream engines like ones on ships. There is 1- air preheater, basically a heat exchanger to heat inlet air with flue gases and 2- an economizer, heats up water at a point after condenser (and usually feed pump) but before it reaches the boiler, with flue gases. Reasoning is the same as gas lamp; Superheating steam to a specific temperature is the main goal, this is done by heating up the air in the air/stream heat exchanger to appropirate temperature. Heating up the water and air beforehand with otherwise wasted heat in the chimney will reduce fuel consumption and increase overall efficiency. Would it really matter for a gas lamp? Probably not. Improving combustion efficiency by, say, 5% will never make a noticable difference for any individual user.
One other advantage would be to aid vaporization of the fuel. It would be interesting to see if there is any difference between the 2 operating in at very cold temperatures. Say -20F or lower
I agree that the efficiency increase is probably too incremental to be a design feature of the 1800's. That said, if you are in a cold enough environment, the combustion might not become considerably less clean if you aren't per-heating your air. It would have to be pretty cold though, and it would easily be rectified by increasing the wick height to burn a little more kerosene.
Exhaust heat recuperation is also not uncommon in marine-based and land-based gas turbine engines. Modern gas turbine engines in warships tend to incorporate some form of heat recuperation, and is very common practice in power plants (though large power plants may make use of exhaust heat for other purposes, like using the hot exhaust gas to heat water which then power a separate steam turbine). I agree with you though, probably makes negligible difference when it comes to a kerosene burning lamp.
Actually this doesn't contrast car engines either. Peak fuel efficiency is found with the hottest intake temperature before you run into problems with the combustion event (preignition) The power output is lowered but the efficiency rises. Some cars show a noticeable mpg difference in summer compared to winter even after brought up to operating temp with the same fuel blends. lower density air needs more throttle, less fuel and leads to slightly less pumping losses. Some older cars would draw intake air directly from the outside of the exhaust manifold to get this effect.
The smell of these takes me back to my childhood, my family used to use these when the power went out, which back then happened a lot in the winter. Good times, we would read books and play board games. I have many fond memories of lying around near the woodstove with a lantern and candles burning for light while it snowed outside. Honestly one of my more cozy memories that I cherish. I actually was inspired to bust out my storm lantern and give it a good burn, just to make sure it still works.
My BEST Christmas experience in the last decade was a meal out at a remote inn a couple of years ago where a thunderstorm caused a power-cut. We had candles everywhere and there was a huge open fire going. Eventually we turned out into the snow and drove home over a mountain pass on fresh snow. So reminiscent of my childhood winters in the 70's with lanterns, candles and cosy nights round the fire.
I love the utility of these but find the smell of kerosene nauseating because of past less fond memories. Lol. When my family hit hard times we couldn’t afford a gas bill to keep the house warm. We heated it just enough to keep the pipes from freezing and we had a kerosene heater in the kitchen where we would gather for homework and meals. I don’t miss those days.
@@johnarnold893 We had a Coleman mantle lamp too, but for whatever reason my parents usually reserved that for the kitchen. We used kerosene lamps and candles otherwise. This was back in the late 70s. I've been looking into getting some paraffin oil for my feuerhand lamp. it's supposed to be less stinky.
We used these lanterns when the power went out due to winter storms blowing the lines down. Took the power company a few days to repair. So, for about 3 days, we used these and gas stove for light and warmth. :)
First reaction: "Why is it going to take over 30 minutes to explain this?" Later: Awesome research and a fascinating story. Great production values. Easy to see why you have over a million subscribers.
That's pretty much what I say before every one of his videos, but I've learned by now that I'll be watching the whole thing, and 2 hours later, I feel better about watching and learning about lanterns and switches and laser discs than watching 2 hours of TV.
Exactly my thought too. When I see a cooking video more than 5 minutes long, I will think, I will just skip the onion chopping, garlic crushing, tomato slicing parts. I didn't skip even one second of this video. I was moved when he got to the part saying in some parts of the world this is still their only source of light. Like you said, awesome research.
We used these at boyscouts, no matter where we were they always worked as long as the wick is maintained. And those things last long. But they live up to their name, come rain or wind or more these things would keep going at it. Never appreciated the design that much until this video. We also used them safely in the larger tents (cooking tent and such) we had. Incredible reliable piece of technology.
I remember these lanterns very well because we still use them in the Swedish military to keep light in tents. I would guess the reason is that it produces a quite pleasant light that is bright enough for the fire-watch to be able to see but dim enough for the rest to be able to sleep comfortably. Maybe it's also easier to get a hold of kerosene than to replace flashlight batteries as well.
NATO forces have standardized on JP8 (Jet Fuel/Kerosene) for all air and land based operations, so this fuel would be very common in a military setting
When I was a child, electricity supply in my home town was extremely unstable, and we would often have black outs that lasted for one or two days. We had a hurricane lantern like that at home to use in those situations, and a candle with a ligher in every room so we would be ready for a blackout whenever it happened. This only changed in the early 2000s. We also didn't have a very stable water suply, but that is still true to this day.
We still have one at home for emergency use during cyclones (we live in a coastal area in India and electricity supply gets disrupted for days during cyclones). 20 - 25 years ago, we had to use it almost daily, back then the electricity supply in our region was totally unreliable. A lot of folks of my generation and older have spent their childhoods studying in the light of these lanterns.
We used to have these when i was a kid in W africa. Although I did prefer reading by candle light (3-4 candles minimum) coz the vents of the dietz lamp were right at face level and u ended up breathing the exhaust... And For all the years i recall, it never fell or tipped over. But we didn't have tide pods either.
This was my childhood experience, too but in the US, and around the same time or maybe 5-10 years prior. We'd lose power every year for weeks during hurricane season, and just randomly for a day or two at a time all year due to rains or wind. By the time I was an adult they had both improved the wiring and also cut most of the trees that were close enough to the lines to regularly cause trouble. We had the glass type of lamp and they got really hot.
I spent many years in a cabin in Canada. We used Coleman lanterns, which blew vaporized gas into a mantle that glowed white hot when they were ignited.. We had to pump them periodically to maintain the gas pressure to the mantles. They worked great, but the mantles were fragile and the lanterns hissed with the pressure when they were lit. Our best source of light was an Aladdin lamp that used a circular wick drawing fuel from the reservior below into the combustion chamber. The flame illuminated a mantle, much in the manner of the Coleman lantern. Great light and no noise. You had to keep the wick trimmed completely evenly all around, or you’d get carbon buildup on one side of the chimney. You also had to be careful, because the exhaust from the chimney was hot enough to light a cigar..
Holy crap, you mentioned the mushroom shape of non-auto-trimming candle wicks, and that brought back memories from when I made candles as a kid with cotton string!
I HAD to watch this through to the end to catch him laughing at the 'Dietz Nuts' joke. I freaking knew you couldn't have said it every time with a straight face.
You got straight in with a fascinating fact. I've known how candles work for 50 years but what I didn't know was how recent the curling wick was. I just assumed (without even thinking about it) that it occurred naturally. Jolly interesting.
Hello! I want to add some _nuance_ to the discussion because of course there's plenty. Kerosene isn't the only fuel that these lanterns are capable of burning, and some options that are available now are less unpleasant for indoor use. And as a matter of fact, one of the things these are still useful for is emergency heat since they're putting out quite a lot. However, *not every fuel is safe to use in them* so my official advice is don't use these lanterns indoors at all. The room I film in is quite poorly ventilated without the HVAC system running so it was a pretty non-ideal situation, but the room smelled like an airport and my throat was getting irritated. It's unpleasant and makes me feel terrible for the millions of people who still rely on kerosene for their lighting fuel.
(also, to be clear, kerosene by itself isn't the problem - kerosene heaters are widely available, but modern designs can burn the fuel much more completely for a safer and much less unpleasant exhaust. These lanterns literally haven't changed since the 19th century)
You might consider outside filming an option in such cases again in the future, just as you did film some stuff outside in the times back before your studio. Stay safe and ideally please don't suffocate yourself for your videos.
Your first Dietz lamp also produce carbon monoxide since it burns air with a lowered amount of O2.
Thanks for doing a hurricane lamp video, I always take a few of these with me camping.
You are legitimately a fantastic writer and producer. Your subtle jokes and memes are so great
So what I'm hearing is, buy one of these and get the indoor fuel too so I can have a neat shiny
I've never been so adequately humbled by a high end Deez Nuts joke
It rustled up a hearty guffaw from me, that's for sure.
Snuck a little "bofa dietz" in there too
I wonder how many takes it took to do that with a straight face
@@Techy2493 Judging by the outtakes, a lot! I'm glad to see he was laughing at that one as much as I was.
Oh man I was having such a sad day, now I'm crying laughing feeling much better.
"I will NOT be interested in lamps I will NOT be interested in lamps"
A few moments later:
"Hm wonder how much a hurricane lamp is"
$27 taxed and shipped
@@ohyou_6599 price has been stable the last 30 years.
about $ 7.oo (or less) at walmart or harbor freight.
I have one as decoration in my room and I always loved the look of it... never knew how amazing they were... Thanks, Dietz Nuts!
Honestly they are pretty handy to have around when the power goes out.
His voice, his tone, his tempo, his pauses, his timing, his composure, his usage of physical gestures... The guy's speech skill is near impeccable.
he has talent, and has had a lot of practice!
@@kitsunekaze93 indeed! That kind of execution does not come without a price. 😁
@@kitsunekaze93 And a prompter mirror!
Speech 100, agreed :)
And that's before we get into structure, writing, humor and wit!
Some people always assert that "the pun is the lowest form of wit". I think that's needlessly reductionist and generally pretentious: These videos are a great example of how puns can really elevate a talk.
I love the humor in these videos 🖤
@@black_platypus and i love your comment. 👍🏼
Heya, have really enjoyed this series. I'm a Chemical engineer and specifically work with combustion processes. For heat output, we actually care quite a bit about preheating combustion air with waste heat because it improves fuel efficiency as you're using less of the energy from combustion to get the air to the flame temperature. Realistically, for light output it probably doesn't make a meaningful difference to the fuel consumption. I'd hazard it was more likely that they Dietz was probably trying to look at air preheat for flame stability, as combustion tends to be better behaved & more stable when heat is already present.
I reasoned this and was going to post something about maybe the cold blast design was preheating the combustion air to help the fuel on the wick reach it's flash point and burn it more efficiently.
Thank you! This is a niche thing, but I'm glad you said it. Thermodynamics is a cruel mistress, and one we must all follow.
I’m so glad you told him.
Thanks for posting this, it means I didn't have to lol. Warm air also helps the unburned fuel atomize more completely for more efficient combustion.
Combustion engines operate on a volume difference of cold and heated gas. Fuel is used to rapidly heat up gas inside a cilinder, so maybe colder air means more expansion and beter power output of an engine? I'm not a mechanical engeneer, so I'm guessing here so...
“My lamp runs on jet fuel” sounds a lot cooler than it actually is.
Unfortunately "my jet plane runs on lamp oil" sounds just as lame as it actually is.
I'd imagine it's actually a fair bit warmer
Is this kerosene actually that close to the Jet A-1 variant modern jet engines burn? I now jet fuel is actually quite close to Diesel Oil.
To add to the confusion, what is used in lamps is called "Lampenöl" (lamp oil) or Petroleum in German. Jet fuel is "Kerosin", "Paraffin" is the waxy stuff candles are made from.
Sounds hot tho
@@alexanderkupke920 Jet A1 is kerosene that has been dewaxed, removing all the longer chain molecules, so that it will not turn to slush at -40C in the aircraft fuel tanks. The wax that is removed is further classified by melting point, so you get soft waxes that melt around 40C or lower, often sold as Vaseline or petroleum jelly, and harder waxes that melt around 70C, which are used to make candles, and as a base for many cosmetics and shoe polish. Higher melting point waxes are also used in industrial applications for various things.
Diesel oil is very close to paraffin or kerosene, just has a somewhat less and slightly different range of melting and boiling points and density. To further confuse things you also have Rocket kerosene, which is a very highly refined Jet A1, that is designed not to freeze till around -100C, and which also has even less wax in it.
In general you can run the diesel vehicle on kerosene, but it will run poorly, as diesel has additives in it to lubricate the fuel system, which is needed, plus the wax will tend to clog fuel lines and injectors as it flows through and undergoes local cooling. Same for a jet engine, which will run on diesel, though it will smoke heavily, as the fuel is not being fully burnt before it leaves the combustion chamber.
Run a modern GDI engine on kerosene and it will very quickly fail, but older mechanical injection engines do not care, and will run on diesel, kerosene, Jet A1 or even vegetable oil, provided you can get it liquid enough to flow through the pump.
Lamp oil can be also a blend, with it consisting of a mix of kerosene, diesel and even lighter oils and benzene to make it light easier, and also can have aromatic oils added to it to have an odour other than the distinct one.
"I've always had a fascination for these"
The entire basis of this channel and it's fantastic lol
we share the fascination for everything!
I like how most things on here I don't have a fascination for, but I do once I see the videos.
just great stuff everytime
For these nuts? :D
Alec has a fascination for these, and now you will, too!
The deadpan “Dietz Nuts” joke had me pausing to 😂 😆 🤣
Currently waiting for my eyes to dry to resume.
I thought the same thing too!
I literally spat out some of my drink like I was in some sitcom.
Deitz Nuts are ON FIRE!
Just here to make sure this was acknowledged ✊
15:17 "we call ourselves Dietz nuts."
the bofa deez right after makes it better.
Who the hell is Steve Jobs
Another lantern use: My dad was born in the Mojave Desert in 1916. If someone had to go outside at night, one lamp was sufficient for light, but they would carry two. One near each ankle. Rattle snakes would strike at warm temperatures, so they would strike the lanterns instead of people's legs.
Also I guess bonus points for not having cold feet
feels to me like that would work about as well as bug zappers.. you're still attracting them to the general area, and giving the snakes way too much credit vis-a-vis aim. Surely it's easier to just armor your ankles.
@@KairuHakubi A rattle snake has to hit a running mouse. I think their aim is dead and true.
@@KairuHakubi It's not really so much attracting them though, just directing their strike. It's not like the rattlesnake would notice a person and move towards the heat in order to hunt, but more that IF the person stumbled across the snake, as is likely to happen at times, it provided a better place for them to strike than bare, or near-bare, skin.
@@keithlarsen7557 okay but you will agree that the skills involved in chasing a furry gumball hopping along at a few inches per second are VERY different from the skills involved in striking at what amounts to two moving trees.
"we call ourselves Dietz nuts"
You, sir. Are this decades most important comedian.
I thank you for your continued service.
Since this might be a national US American thing (me being German), I would appreciate if somebody put me into the picture of "Dietz Nuts". =)
@@Marc_Fuchs_1985 It seems that it's because it sounds like "Deez nuts", which is - apparently - an American slang term for testicles.
@@Marc_Fuchs_1985 Web search for "Deez nuts"... Urban dictionary has an explanation...
Also, you are not the first German to be in the dark about "nuts" (admittedly, a different usage)... taskandpurpose.com/history/us-army-nuts-bastogne-surrender/
And right after he says "bofa deez lanterns".
Exactly the type of content I subscribed for.
The video starts out in darkness lit by candle light.
"Gather 'round children. And I'll tell you a horror story of latent heat."
followed by a scary movie about the refrigeration cycle
Alec was right about the Western vibe that these elicit.
@@rik8508 Then it become a full movie franchises about RCA's exciting new video disk technology. Fallowed by 20 sequels all on the same topic.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Loved the reference to peg solitaire.
Experience from living in extremely rural Papua New Guinea in 2017-18. Improvements in batteries, LEDs and solar panels has pretty much eliminated kerosene lamps in the last few decades. People in my village grew up using kerosene lamps but the only one I ever saw was retrofitted with and LED bulb and just used for aesthetics. Everyone that saw it offered to help the owner set it up correctly because the LED was far dimmer than the original kerosene.
It's only a win when it doesn't affect you or the people around you.
I am 76 years old, live on an island 140 kilometres off the north coast of British Columbia and frequently rely on lanterns which, up until now, i have done so in total ignorance. Thank you for this illuminating presentation.
Hey old man, get yourself a solar panel and some LED lamps and do your part, air travel is already too expensive. Or can I interest you in killing some of those pesky whales off your island shores and rendering some of that sweet sweet blubber
I see what you did right there
Me too
This right here is exactly why I love youtube.
What most impressive is that you can get an internet connection in a relatively remote location.
These lamps were the only source light even 15 years back in my village when electric supply wasn't available. The first electric lines arrived 15 years ago but electricity supply was rather erratic so these lanterns (called lal-ten in the local dialect) were fairly common for a long time after that (still are common?). These days, electricity supply is more reliable and there are LED bulbs with built in batteries so these lamps are being used less and less.
@Cosmo Genesis Electricity isn't very reliable in india, though it is getting better. Such bulbs are easily available here from reputed manufacturers. Here is one such example.
WIPRO 9 W Standard B22 Inverter Bulb
dl.flipkart.com/dl/wipro-9-w-standard-b22-inverter-bulb/p/itm6b44753ace7d5?pid=BLBFMUX67YMNHWGV&cmpid=product.share.pp
And you got internet.
@@aliceeliot6389 yes...from laltern in my childhoold to gigabit fibre optic now...
@@aliceeliot6389 I don't live in the said village. Neither did I live there as a child. My father served in the Indian military and I lived across India in various military campuses. My grandparents lived in the village though and every year, we used to spend about a month in the village during the school summer breaks. I have very fond memories of my time in the village, specially since my parents didn't dare discipline me and my sisters in front of our grandparents.
And yes, there is cellular internet in the village now. It's 4G LTE with decent speed but nothing extraordinary. There used to be landline telephone in the village. I don't know if broadband was/is available.
Man I have wanted to go to India my entire life to see what is happening.
One of the most influential talks I had with my great grand mother. She saw wagon trains going west on the plains. She did with seeing the internet becoming a thing. The change the entire world is going through. It is mind boggling.
The area where I am at in the US we get power outages. So i keep back ups of everything. Going to other places in the world. As a US citizen get irrationally angry at people around me.
That “Dietz nuts” joke hit me like a freight train
Listen for the "Bofa Deez" directly after as well XD
Time stamp?
@@GabrielsLogic 15:13
I had to stop the video to laugh it out
I facepalmed at it, but the bofadeez got me to laugh.
I have two of these lanterns. One is intended more for decoration but is still functional, the other is less decorative, more sturdy in construction, and in general more practical. I have them because I have a liking for archaic lighting, among other archaic things.
The puns in this episode are absolutely perfect.
Wait, there were puns? I better watch again.
Agreed. The quality and consistency if puns was a very welcome surprise
He was on fire!
Wait until you see his other videos
Don't you mean absolutely deLIGHTful?
Speaking of confusing names for hydrocarbons, in my language (Czech), Kerosene is known as "Petrolej", which sounds similar to Petroleum (i.e. crude oil), and Petrol, which in America is called Gasoline, often shortened to Gas, though it isn't actually gas but liquid, and we call that "Benzín", which is pronounced exactly like Benzene, but that's a different chemical substance, which we call just "Benzen". It's not to be confused with Benzine, which is another name for Petroleum Ether, which isn't really an Ether, because actual Ethers are hydrocarbon derivates, whilst Petroleum Ether is a petroleum fraction with a low boiling point, which is the real reason why it's called Ether - it's on a basis of similar physical property, rather than chemical similarity.
In German, where Gasoline is called "Benzin", Benzene is known as "Benzol", but in Czech "Benzol" actually means BTX, which is a mixture of Benzene, Toluene and Xylene. Regular Kerosene, like the one used in lamps is called "Petroleum" or "Petrol" in German, but aviation Kerosene, i.e. jet fuel, in German is "Kerosin".
In Czech, we also call diesel fuel "Nafta", which sounds like Naphtha, but isn't the same thing, Naphtha is actually a name sometimes used for White Gas, which isn't gas but liquid, isn't white but clear, and can mean three different things (see wikipedia), but most common one is a fluid used in camp stoves, lanterns or lighters or as a solvent. Closest thing to Naphtha we have in our language is "Technický benzín" (literally 'technical gasoline'), but don't confuse it with normal gasoline, because if you put it in a gasoline engine, it's not going to like it.
Naphtha, or White gas, also shouldn't be confused with White Spirit, a.k.a mineral turpentine which, surprise surprise, isn't really white or spirit, and is definitely not a turpentine (a distilled tree resin). We call it "Lakový Benzín" (literally 'varnish gasoline'), except it's not really a gasoline either. It's more like a paint thinner. If you want to know what we call paint thinner in Czech, it's "Ředidlo", which literally means "dilutant". Mind you, there are many different types of "Ředidlo" which I'm not going to list here...
Interestingly, in Poland (which is right next door from us), Kerosene is called "Nafta", and diesel fuel (remember that is what us Czechs call "Nafta"), is known as "Olej napędowy" (literally "driving oil"), or colloquially "Ropa", which in Czech actually means crude oil, but is sometimes used as a derogatory name for diesel fuel. Crude oil in Polish is "Ropa Naftowa". In case it wasn't confusing enough already...
Edit: i've had to make some corrections here and there because the nomenclature across languages is such god awful mess, I got lost in it myself. But at least we can make fun of it :D. Thank you for all the likes and replies.
This was beautiful and infuriating to read. Thank you.
Great. Now my head hurts in 4 languages!
Alec should use this in a future script. Very fitting for the channel :-D
God dammit Europe!
Just more proof that this channel has RUclips's best commenters!
“Except I kept reading, and I found… typos…”
I fucking love this guy.
IKR!
This episode has everything i love about this channel
Yeah.. Mental note to self: "Should really refrain from drinking liquids while watching TC"
Yeah, he is gold!
There's got to be someone out there who feels the opposite way.
I truly can't think of anything i wouldn't enjoy learning from you. Thank you for the content and doing your part to bring us all a little closer together. Heavens knows, we need it more than ever.
Speaking as someone who did industrial combustion for many years, pre-heating combustion air is actually something that is done because it increases the efficiency as well and allows for higher temperatures to be achieved. The reason being is that you don't have to heat the incoming air to the temperature you need which actually wastes heat energy. The reason you want a cold air intake into your car engine however is for the higher density that colder air contains which naturally also means more oxygen because your not trying to heat the engine. If your interested in learning more about pre-heating in combustion systems the term your want to look up is "regenerative combustion burner" as they can explain it much better than I can.
I would add that engine analogy doesn't seem to really apply. As far as I can remember combustion engines use, at least in part, gas temperature (and thereby pressure) difference to generate torque. Cool running engine is more efficient. A lamp kept cooler isn't as it doesn't cycle.
I have a sneaking suspicion this was just throw away joke made before a real point. The comment is written, so I might just post it anyway.😅
As I long-windedly explain in my public comment, cold air intakes only became popular with multi port EFI engines. Prior to that, carbureted engines needed heated intake air in order to atomize fuel well enough to meet emissions standards.
@@AntiCookieMonster to the best of my knowledge, the pressure change due to temp only matters in regard to how much oxygen is actually in the cylinder, and thus how much fuel can be combusted. Conveniently, EFI engines pump fuel into the cylinders based on the manifold air pressure (or i'm pretty sure they do), which means that the higher pressure of colder air will also result in higher fuel pumped into the cylinders, and since that denser air does have enough oxygen to combust that extra fuel, you get more power.
Lol I just commented theorizing the same thing lol guess I should have scrolled a little further down and seen someone who actually knew confirming my theory
There is still confusion here. I started repairing cars and other vehicles in the 1960s and stopped in 2018 as a professional. After gasoline engines are at operating temperature, many stopped heating the air fuel mixture, This was before and after emission controls were added. Heating was done for fuel economy more than emission concerns. atomization may have improved, but if the air fuel ratio was around 14.7 to 1, the compression cycle added plenty of heat and turbulence to atomize for proper combustion. The factories were pressured to have clean exhaust and get good economy at the same time. They would lean mixtures as far as possible, the engines produce low power and often Hydrocarbons increased if everything wasn't perfect. Warmer intake temps caused higher oxides of nitrogen to be produced, which was a controlled emission gas. They added EGR systems that put exhaust into the fuel air mixture, not to heat it, but to add an inert substance that cooled combustion temps to lower the oxides of nitrogen. things got back on track when computers started controlling nearly everything and actually enriched the fuel air ratio so the catalytic converters could get hot enough to clean the exhaust. Best horsepower occurs with cool air and fuel. Of course if you look into Smokey Yunick's expander cycle engine, than all of the above means nothing. Maybe it's a hoax?
I was wondering how he kept a straight face when delivering the puns about Dietz Nuts, and Bofa Dietz. Turns out he couldn’t!
"We call ourselves Dietz Nuts"
Well played.
Followed by Bofa deez lanterns freaking killed me dude
Who else restarted the video several times because they thought the screen was blank due to an error
goes to show how broken youtube is, now
First he says "Dietz nuts" and then he says "bofa deez lanterns"
I know what you're doing man, i can't handle this lmfao
What is this reference to?
@@WeebsLifeBalance There is also literally a product called Dietz nuts, they are meat nuts, they are nuts but made out of meat, Dietz nuts.
They are delicious, they are Dietz nuts.
So what you are saying is...
You can't handle deez
@@mutsukiaz this is better than school
I liked the video immediately.
"Why in the world would you need 31 minutes to explain this?"
31 minutes later
"I'll be damned"
Because a half hour just aint enough time! 😉👍
@@Stanley.77 anyone ever told u that u look like a know off version of the undertaker?
Or a radioactive Putin
Patrons get shorter versions
Evolution, not Revolution
How am i just now learning i didn’t actually know how a freakin candle worked. Knew about the wax fuel but not the curling part.
I didn't expect to find you of all people here, but yeah I'm in exactly the same situation 😅 .
Too busy on the troll game
just a common thing that we take for granted... i.e, just so common you never thought about it. 🤷♂️
I didn't know the wax was the fuel, myself..
I, too, was surprised to learn that wicks needed to curl in order for candles to work properly. I always assumed that that's how it always worked. It never occurred to me that the wicks needed to be exposed to oxygen rich air to properly burn away (though, this does make perfect sense).
say "whale oil beef hooked..." congrats, now you speak irish
Gotta love watching Alec in the outtakes as he chokes on "Dietz nuts." 😂
A lot of takes to be able to say it correctly.
I need to make dummy accounts so I can give this comment more upvotes.
@@forgiveman I was gonna tell you to watch out for the joke, but you're in the clear. It already passed over your head.
I died laughing as soon as he said it🤣🤣🤣
He was struggling, almost like he had ligma 😥
Regarding pre-heating the incoming air: every coal fired power plant I ever worked in ran intake air through a pre-heat section before adding it to the fuel to improve combustion. In automobiles, using cold intake air is an attempt to add a few more molecules of oxygen to the mix in the combustion chamber before compression begins. A coal fired furnace, like a kerosene lamp, has no compression cycle. and hotter intake air improves the combustion in that case.
The exhaust of hot air is a type of pollution. Cool the exhaust by giving the heat to the fuel so that you pollute less.
Also, even if the chemical reactions of kerosene oxidation are not reversible, are not in equilibrium with the reverse chemical reactions, the raise in temperature still grants an increase of the forward reaction rate.
Yep, in compression engines, you want cold air so when it is heated, it expands more! More horse power!
You’ll find the same preheating in your gas furnace to increase combustion efficiency (or oil boiler; but I know the Elmhurst area is almost all natural gas & forced hot air era homes). The closer you can get the incoming air to the auto ignition temperature of the fuel the more efficient the combustion…technically preheating the air above that would be better but inherently more dangerous for run away combustion incidents. A lot of systems also try to add some minor level of compression too push the limits of efficiency but this will never be as critical as a combustion engine because of the open nature of standard furnaces (sealed blast combustion furnaces are another matter).
@@liennen5868 You are not "polluting" less in this scenario. You are simply keeping heat in the system for slightly longer. Additionally someone using a kerosene lantern may not consider its release of heat to be a pollutant at all.
I would think preheating the air would help in winter and cold climates.
“Connect some technologies” - OMG HE SAID THE THING.
But anime always title drops before a finale....
😁 I hadn't noticed! Neato! :)
Roll credits?
Roll credits, indeed.
So thats why he calls it that
You seem like the type of guy I’d hang out with IRL. Just something about your intense deep dives into technology both old and new is right up my alley. I really like your videos, they’re soothing. I listen to them while at work and sometimes while I’m bunking down for the night. I’ve almost caught up with the entire video library so far. Keep up the great work!
"Allow me to fill you in on the Dietz" - that's the one that got me
Dietz nuts was a GOTEM to everyone watching lol
Thank you! I missed that one!
"We call ourselves Dietz Nuts..."
"Bofa deez lanterns"
I love you, and I love the outstanding work you publish on this channel!
A true gentleman and a scholar
got eem
Thank you for this comment! I would have missed Bofa deez lanterns from laughing too hard.
This killed me
I was going to say something, but you beat me to it!
Love his jokes for sure. 💖
"My fellow lamp aficionados and I, we call ourselves Dietz nuts"
Genius lol
Yass
@@nettils5555 It means they are very easily amused by bad puns.
@@nettils5555 it’s a pun on “deez (these) nuts,” which was a meme/running joke for a while where you would sneak it into conversation.
The more I learn about day to day historical life the more I understand how rich households couldn't exist without servants
"Dietz nuts"
"Bofa deez lanterns"
I knew I subbed for a reason. Subtle usage of dead memes is my shit.
conspiracy for the maximum sentence
Nothing is dead about it. Just because cringy kids stopped using it after a week of spouting it like maniacs doesn't mean it's dead. As long as it's generally known of, it's not dead.
I was laughing too hard to catch the "bofa deez" the first time.
Those are dead memes? I guess I'm a little behind.
Memes never die
You tell your jokes with such a straight face I nearly miss them every time. Dietz nuts caught me off guard
Thats how your supposed to tell jokes , so idiots dont get them , then the intelligent people have the pleasure of laughing at idiots
It took a lot of outtakes for him to do that tho. :P
Whale oil beef hooked!!
I lost it when he later said "bofa" Dietz lanterns.
Check out the goof takes at the end of the video, it took him many tries to achieve the straight face!
"We call ourselves Dietz Nuts"
that hit me like a fucking truck
lmao same
*Dietz
That strangely rhymes,
Following up with bofa Deez lanterns was pure genius goo
For real. I snorted loudly and my kids looked at me funny.
1. Paraffin is a term in the US used for liquid paraffin (I believe a slightly lighter fraction than candle wax paraffin) which is a type of aliphatic oil lacking in aromatic compounds, thus having less odor. It is often formulated in odorless mineral spirits. It less volatile and has a higher flashpoint than kerosene. Many use it as an odorless alternative to kerosene. This makes it less suitable for larger wicks as the oil won’t evaporate until much of the wick is exposed in the flame, causing the wick to burn off.
2. Dietz wanted to have the hot air to help evaporate the fuel. Kerosene is not very volatile compared to other fuels, and is not even flammable (it is combustible like wood, but far safer than rubbing alcohol). It is a heavier fuel like diesel, I’ve spilled it on concrete and tried to burn it using a lighter but it wouldn’t ignite. It needs to be wicked and heated in order to better vaporize. By pre-heating the air you can increase the amount of fuel that can be burned thus increasing light for a small burner.
3. Many use these lamps not just for the light but for heat. They burn cleaner and cheaper than candles. The standard dead flame lamps put out approx 1600 BTU/hr so it can act as a space heater. The Dietz lanterns are popular because they are much safer and can be easily moved around while lit.
I forgot to mention that there’s Kerosene alternatives like Firefly Fuel which is completely odorless, non-toxic, and eco friendly or Kleen Heat which is odorless but performs just as well as kerosene.
Also his example with the car intake isnt a 1 to 1 since the car intake needs cold air since its basically a heat engine and so benefits in terms of effciency from the greater temperature difference produced from cold air intake. While retaining heat for the lamp is an advantage since useful output is the black body radiation from high temperature so retaining heat is an advantage
The common name varies by country: In the UK, "paraffin" (earlier "paraffin oil"), in the USA, more usually "kerosene". The official name in South Africa is "Illuminating Paraffin". In analytical chemistry, "paraffin" was the generic name for a series of hydrocarbon compounds - now called (I think) "ketones".
"we call ourselves Dietz nuts"
"Bofa deez lanterns"
perfect
*goes to click like on video - already liked*
Completely deadpan as well
@@timrb happened to me too lol
goteeeeem
*Dietz lanterns
Great video. As an engineer I would like to add my two cents. The thought that cold air is used for more power in engines is not relevant here. Cold air is denser so it allows more air (oxygen) to be put into the cylinder for more power output. Hot air in a lantern results in a higher flame temperature and thus more light from the incandescent soot particles. But the air must not be mixed with exhaust gas. That lowers the oxygen content and flame temperature like exhaust gas recirculation ( EGR) in an engine.
Another safety feature of hurricane lamps compared to the glass chimney type is lower exhaust temperature. You can light a cigarette over the glass chimney (or curtains or an upper shelf). This allows the hurricane lamp to be carried hanging from a handle, without burning your hand. To light a cigarette with a hurricane lamp you have to lift the glass and use the flame.
I can definitely confirm that the air direcly above a glas chimney type kerosene lamp is hot enough to give a small child in the 80s who has just learned about shadow hand puppets first-degree burns without making any contact with the lamp itself.
Also you can cook a marshmallow but it will taste like kerosene.
I somehow have the idea that in cars hot exhaust air is used to preheat the air intake. Also my oven preheats air by passing the air that is taken behind and above the burn chamber, this allows for better and cleaner burning of the wood & gases (oven is surrounding air independant, as we have a controlled ventilation system in the house, the air gets taken in from the chimney at the top of the roof, travels down and around the chamer as explained). So I figured it does make sense to preheat the air for this lantern type aswell.
@@moos5221 cars used to do this in the early 80’s, yes. Carburetor models used this to keep the air volume more consistent and to warm up the air in cold climates. I imagine fuel reacted differently being injected into freezing air drawn into an intake than being injected directly into the chamber. However, fuel injection eliminated all that. Then the focus went into increasing the amount of O2 in the chamber, hence why cold dense air was preferable for a naturally aspirated engines.
@@adamrouse16 ah, i see. thanks =)
No chit on lifting the glass...omg. Please! Stop ingesting fluoride. Hahahahahaha...omg. People are becoming dumber as time goes on.
when i was a kid (10 years ago), we used these in our home (in india) for lightning as electricity was only available for 4 to 8 hours a day. I was facinated by these and now i know how they work. thank you.
लालटेन।
@@nishchaypallav Beta zara kirana ki dukan se lalten ka tel le aana
Nostalgic
@@shayan-gg hame free me milta tha ration me har month kerosine , from village in jharkhand 😄
Love your humor & presentation
This was a particularly excellent video.
Agreed.
@@Error_404-F.cks_Not_Found Agree. Feeling strong urge to buy petroleum lamp.
A particularly excellent youtuber you both are
I actually learned alot.
whats up checkmark
Alec's videos are always enlightening. He's been on a real hot streak recently; all the puns in this video were on fire. No other RUclipsr can hold a candle to Technology Connections.
I love how old patents read like drunkenly-written letters to the editors.
They don't have to be perfectly written; they just have to get the rights sealed.
Thought you mistyped parents
That's because they probably were drunk
Lmao nice one
Probably because they are.
15:22 BOFA DEEZ LANTERNS. HE KEPT GOING. MAN'S UNSTOPPABLE lmao I love finding fellow quiet types with surprisingly risqué humor. RUclips got it right recommending this channel to me
Finally someone else noticed that lol
The writing was fantastic on this episode. I never imagined myself ever caring about topics like this. Your videos about Christmas light videos drew me in and I’m very happy they did.
Here's my take on the cold air intake:
The "hot blast" furnace was created 1828, preheating the air increases the combustion temperature and thus the efficiency.
So why not in cars? In a car the desired output is not heat but mechanical work.
To maximize the work done you need to control your ignition timing very precisely, if your combustion temperature gets over a certain threshold you start losing that control, what follows is knock, preignition and ultimately engine damage, at least in a gasoline engine. (NOX emissions in a diesel)
By cooling the intake air you can literally cram in more oxygen molecules into the combustion chamber.
In WW2 they played around with water/methanol injection in their aircraft engines to cool the mixture and prevent knock to advance timing, and therefore make more power.
Engines ultimately generate power from the expansion of the air, so the cold air also improves the efficiency of the cycle (better "cold side" of the heat engine). And the steam generated by water injection is also a benefit - there were even some attempts at six-stroke engines that alternate a four-stroke cycle with a steam-powered stroke that generates some power and cools the engine from the inside.
Burners want to burn as hot as possible to optimize combustion. I have one of those Biolite wood-burning stoves and you can really tell when the preheating kicks in. There is a good reason blast furnaces also use heat exchangers. So yeah, the preheating in the lamp is a reasonable idea, although I'd probably try a different approach. Also, you can't overdo it as it reduces the chimney effect, which is more important here.
My thought exactly
If that's the case, then pre-heating the air probably is helpful for these; as like incandescent lighting, the light they produce is from a physics perspective a byproduct of heat.
I was thinking the hot air should evaporate the kerosine quicker.
changing from liquid to vapor is a REALLY big potential energy loss.
I bet it burns more efficiently with hot air supply. less fuel per a specific lumen measure.
Water injection is still a thing in some modern high- end engines. BMW for example uses a Bosch developed water injection system in the M4 GTS.
"Dietz nuts" "Bofa dese lanterns"
You're on fire!
So are the lanterns.
“Dietz nuts” was a good joke, but “bofa dese” was the cherry on top
I heard "bofa Dietz"?
The next generation of teachers will be these youtube videos.
STOP DROP AND ROLL!!!
We still own one and usually comes in handy during power cuts. The science behind the air intakes is amazing, I thought they were just handles 😂
I'm still wondering if the pun about the wales beeing "de-lighted" was intended.
oceans over was definitely a play, do you think he was going for a double in a single breath.
"Dietz nuts" and didn't even crack a smile. Perfectly deadpan. That's quality!
I bet you didn’t watch the ending
30:09
Ok, I watched the WHOLE video except the last couple minutes of outtakes. :)
Norm Abram of New Yankee Workshop once said that when wood is free and you get as many takes as you need, every cut is perfect.
15:13
Appreciate the t shirt, grew up in the 70's over in the UK and reminds me of being poorly and off school watching kids TV on BBC 1 😀
That is some creepy ass shit there. From the land of Monty Python and Thomas the tank engine then, weird
@@THEscatterbrainedberserker 100% correct. And a Yorkshire man too 👍
Look for BBC test card on RUclips the you will see the significance of the Tshirt
"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it" is my favorite malaphor, and hearing it made my day.
"Malaphor" is now my favourite new word. 👍
@@eekee6034 There's more than one way to beat a dead horse
@@aerosoapbreeze264 Me: Searching for a good malaphor to respond with while feeling like death on hot bricks. Okay, I don't quite feel like death warmed up or a cat on hot bricks, but I'm more than half-way there. Not sure if I made a malaphor there.
I'm rather fond of telling people if they poke the bear they'll get the horns.
I hope that counts.
I can't say if it's my favorite, since there are many excellent malaphors to choose from, and my mind does not function in a manner that lets me iterate through the list to evaluate them. But it certainly is among the many excellent malaphors I've heard and maybe used.
"We'll burn that bridge when we get there" One of my favorite phrases ever.
Ted Kennedy would say. "We'll drive off that bridge when we get to it."
Or if people die by our hands and our stupidity we don’t care after all our last name is Kennedy
@@howieduin915 I drink, and I drive, I'm the only one in my car who gets out alive, Ted Kennedy, uh-oh!
Oh! Mission impossible used that in fallout. I didn’t catch it until I saw your comment. Which one of these was first?
I prefer to loosen the bolts a little each day.
When you cover incandescent lamps, don’t forget about the Coleman lamp.
My friends call my Coleman lantern "portable sun"
Ah yes, the (completely unrelatedly) radioactive lamp.
And petromax lanterns they burn kerosene and are brighter than a Coleman but a bit trickier to light.
@@AJ-qn6gd the rapid starter helps with that!
But isn't it candescent?
Thanks!
"Phlogestically smooth jazz" in the subtitles made me lol.
"Allow me to fill you in on the Dietz" that's absolutely brilliant, well played.
When I heard that, I thought that was the pinnacle of Dietz jokes possible. I was clean, quick, and a worthy sensible chuckle.
...then he had to throw "Dietz Nuts" in.
@@nickfifteen Yeah and I'm afraid that "Dietz Nuts" got many more giggles from the audience. But we, we appreciate the finer things.
By the way I laughed hard at the "pinnacle of Dietz jokes" part 'cause when you say it like that it sounds as if it were a sport category or a recognized qualification or something like that lmao
so my dad used to live on a farm when he was a kid, and he lived in tornado alley, he always talked about a red Dietz lantern that somehow through a tornado that devastated the entire property, survived on its post, but also remained lit throughout. its broken now and doesnt work, but it sits on my grandfather's mantlepiece to this day. mind you, that lantern was old when my dad was a boy, and he was a boy in the early 60s.
How nice. They aren’t that hard to fix. Google a video. Also, can’t have been too old when your dad was a boy. They started painting them in the mid 1950s. Of course, it could’ve been hand painted by somebody.
Ive got one.
@@levislanterntime1926 true, but it broke back in the late 70s early 80s if i understand my grandfather's ramblings. though I should have added its been lost as of the last few years, grandfather got a bit old and senile and needed extra care so he went to an assisted living home, and that was 2ish years ago. nobody's seen it since really, so rip.
@@swapertxking These kinds of original farm equipment are quite popular for decoration so if there was any sort of estate sale or someone was paid to clear out the house, it would've been snapped up really quickly. Sorry it went missing.
@@ecoKady there wasn't, as far as im knowledgeable. maybe thats how it dissapeared.
As an old humanitarian worker I am happy to hear the last part, nobody should use this lamps except for a cozy camping experience or emergency. There are many good alternatives, most based on solar power. ☀️
I’ve remodelled a couple of older homes. To recapture the look of the ceilings, we painted the ceiling with an oil paint, raise the kerosene lamp up to the wet paint and “swirl” the lamp, creating a smoky cloud-like look. It looked beautiful and retained its look. We always did have one person standing by with a hose in case something went amiss.
Luckily the place didn’t catch fire!
thats really cool! is there a name for that? it soumds like a cool way to keep the atmosphere inna home while still maintaining it.
Wouldn't that be an oil fire? In which case water would make it worse?
@@Deniz3n Probably "in case the lamp's heat caught some wood on fire"
"Boffa Dietz nuts"
Love how you can make the joke with straight face.
dietz nuts! boom
Many many takes later
diz nutz on you chin
Until you see the end
Scrolled down when he did that to see comments pointing that out cause I couldn't stop laughing.
I’m going to be honest with you, we’ve had Dietz lanterns in my house for as long as I can remember, yet I never actually wondered how they worked. Thank you for this.
I have gotten a lot of those cheap Walmart hurricane lamps I never had any problem with them. My dad used to have a bunch of antique and older lamps for camping. Including these in the video. But the problem is somebody broke into our shed and stole them all. Leaving the Walmart lanterns behind. They even took the old Coleman's.
incredible last name
Used them camping my whole life, great aunts and uncles had them too.
My dad explained it to me when I was a kid.
Ya know I wonder why you had them… dietz
@@chuck-echeese6706 dooont say it.. DOOOONT SAY IT!
Reminds me of an old series on BBC called "Connections," hosted by James Burke. He would expertly, and humorously, traverse the intertwined scientific, political, and environmental avenues of history that all came together in peculiar ways to bring us modern commonplace conveniences and systems.
That was a great series
I'm feeling very phlogisticated now.
@I care Ah yes, you again. Mine telling us which publishers of the Quran release books suited for use as a flame wicking substitute? Knowing this would also help me source paper to treat the Bible in equal regard, just so you don't think this is a dig at your faith _solely._
*Hello there, little boy.*
*I am the pyroman.*
*Do you like Phlogistinators?*
In that case you should see a phlogicist.
It’s after midnight, I’m totally sober, I do not own any lanterns and have honestly never thought of lanterns in any way, yet I sat enthralled watching this entire video. Well done, sir.
SAME! I *almost* want to go out and buy a couple lol.
I own tons of lanterns and more than a couple of kerosene heaters. I live in a very rural part of Kentucky up on a mountaintop and it's amazing that I even have electricity let alone Internet. The people in my area rely on a co-op for our electricity so it's pretty much a monopoly and electricity is high. Even with energy-efficient heat pumps are electric bills can easily run $250 $300 a month, and that's when the electricity is on! It's not uncommon for us to go without electricity for at least 24 hours and there's been several occasions that it has lasted a week and on a couple of occasions a month. So We rely on kerosene heaters and wood-burning stoves for heat. And kerosene lanterns/hurricane lamps/Aladdin lamps as a backup for lighting and also helps with a little bit of heat. I have probably 10 or 12 kerosene lanterns and just recently installed a kerosene wall lantern next to a reproduction wired wall phone "we also don't get self-service in this area" I recommend everyone should own a couple of kerosene heaters and at least 3 or 4 kerosene lanterns. I have a backup generator countless flashlights and flashlights and generators can fail, and batteries can go bad. But my kerosene fueled equipment is rotated regularly and I've had kerosene and several of my lanterns that is over 10 years old and although it does expire the 10-year-old kerosene lanterns I have hanging to function although not as efficiently when the kerosene was fresh. But in an emergency it would work. I've tried all other types of lighting and heating equipment like propane and gas stoves and they all have their purposes. But for the most part you can't be kerosene for dependable heating and lighting. PS but it doesn't hurt to pick up some LED Christmas lighting after the holidays, that comes in handily as temporary lighting while you're looking for your lighters and matches :-) in conjunction with emergency exit backup lighting that comes on automatically when the electricity goes out it lights my entire home even if I'm not home at the time for 2 and half hours.
Same. The algorithm is helping us prepare for the apocalypse, apparently. Lol
I’ve had a few...what’s all this about lanterns?
Agreed 100%
"And we'll maybe explore it in a future video, but you know me. Probably not."
*STILL WAITING FOR THE TELETEX EPISODE*
Just type 888 for more information.
@@bazanime 888 just turned on the subtitles.
@@bazanime 888
I was looking at his t-shirt and wondering when I missed the BBC test card episode
You may be thinking, "but grandma used lamp oil, not kerosene". And you are right. Lamp oil is extra pure kerosene, so theres less chemicals going into your air when you use it.
It's interesting to see that technical writing hasn't changed in 120 years.
I'm from Namibia, Africa. These lamps are still in daily use by us. It is still the "best" option in many areas compared to the available alternatives.
Thanks for a very interesting video.
Can't you light the room using the light coming from your computer screen?
What about the oil lamp, can you make the oil out of waste, food waste, animal fat?
@@erikwillems3016 They didn't say that they lived there now.
@@cindyledbetter2228 No he was typing.
I am from the UK and I still use them also, especially during the summer months. They give a beautiful light, better than the other guy’s computer screen 😄.
Technically, a Zippo lighter is an "oil lamp" that you can carry in your pocket.
Ah technology, miniaturizing even the gas lamp.
I spent like the first 30 years of my life thinking they worked like Bic lighters 😆 No, they're much, much cooler.
@@nthgth Bic lighters also are pretty cool. A cylinder of compressed flammable gas and a valve controlled burner and ignition system (same ignition system as a Zippo) that can be bought for less than $3 and lasts months is a cool bit of engineering!
@@jamesslick4790 Know what, you're right! I was being judgmental there. They're also pretty cool when you look at how they work. The Bic way is sort of like a miniaturized barbecue, and that's awesome
@@nthgth Yep, LOL. I've been smoking for 41 years (If you don't smoke, don't start, Lighters CAN be used for other uses!.Like Fireworks! LOL.) I am a Zippo collector, (as well as a Pennsylvanian!) But I gotta say "BIC" is really an underrated outfit. How the heck can they make all those pens, lighters and razors SO GOOD, and yet SO cheap ?!? I use Nothing but Bic razors BTW, (Screw Gillette!) But yeah a Bic lighter is a "gas grill" in the same way as a Zippo is an oil lamp! Good analogy! 👍😊👍
He could be talking about his empty table and it would beat Netflix. I'm jealous of his ability to make seemingly boring things super interesting.
I had several of these along with a Coleman lantern (with a mantle that glowed) when I was living in Zaire (now DRC). We couldn't always get mantles. It was certainly hard to grade papers in the light from a storm lantern. Having a science background, it's strange that I used them for so long without really looking at them to see how they worked. Thank you for the video.
5:45 is literally the best François-Pierre-Amédée Argand impression I've ever seen.
@I care wtf ?
@@m_ouz4211 he's a spammer
@@m_ouz4211 right?
Ah, good ol' Francois-Pierre-Amedee Argand.
The last thing I expected to learn from this video is why Pyro's most hated flamethrower is called "The Phlogistinator."
:0
Wow, now I learned about lamps, and also why one of the flamethrowers in Team Fortress 2 is called the "Phlogistinator"
Aaaah! Yeah Nice noting that :)
"Dietz Nuts". We're gonna need that on a T-shirt.
I'll take one!
It's an image that used to be broadcast on the BBC when they were were breaks in programming.
Pre-heating has some theoratical advantages.. Thermodynamically, you are using wasted heat in the exhaust to heat up air, so you would need less fuel to heat it up to the intended temperature. This completely constrasts car engines. In a sort-of oversimplification, otto cycle's power output depends on the difference between the heat input from combustion and heat rejection.. By having initial air colder (and denser), you can always put more fuel to a) use all oxygen completely in a stoichoimetric combustion or b) especially in direct injection cars, to reach intended combustion temperature. In either way, heat input will be greater.. So cold air (freezing winter compared to hot summer) makes the car consume noticably more fuel at WOT (wide open throttle) and also provide more power.
If we are talking about engines, pre-heating is actually pretty common for large stream engines like ones on ships. There is 1- air preheater, basically a heat exchanger to heat inlet air with flue gases and 2- an economizer, heats up water at a point after condenser (and usually feed pump) but before it reaches the boiler, with flue gases. Reasoning is the same as gas lamp; Superheating steam to a specific temperature is the main goal, this is done by heating up the air in the air/stream heat exchanger to appropirate temperature. Heating up the water and air beforehand with otherwise wasted heat in the chimney will reduce fuel consumption and increase overall efficiency.
Would it really matter for a gas lamp? Probably not. Improving combustion efficiency by, say, 5% will never make a noticable difference for any individual user.
One other advantage would be to aid vaporization of the fuel. It would be interesting to see if there is any difference between the 2 operating in at very cold temperatures. Say -20F or lower
I agree that the efficiency increase is probably too incremental to be a design feature of the 1800's. That said, if you are in a cold enough environment, the combustion might not become considerably less clean if you aren't per-heating your air. It would have to be pretty cold though, and it would easily be rectified by increasing the wick height to burn a little more kerosene.
Exhaust heat recuperation is also not uncommon in marine-based and land-based gas turbine engines. Modern gas turbine engines in warships tend to incorporate some form of heat recuperation, and is very common practice in power plants (though large power plants may make use of exhaust heat for other purposes, like using the hot exhaust gas to heat water which then power a separate steam turbine).
I agree with you though, probably makes negligible difference when it comes to a kerosene burning lamp.
Actually this doesn't contrast car engines either. Peak fuel efficiency is found with the hottest intake temperature before you run into problems with the combustion event (preignition) The power output is lowered but the efficiency rises. Some cars show a noticeable mpg difference in summer compared to winter even after brought up to operating temp with the same fuel blends. lower density air needs more throttle, less fuel and leads to slightly less pumping losses. Some older cars would draw intake air directly from the outside of the exhaust manifold to get this effect.
Black body radiation is given by Stefan-Boltzmann law and that's a fourth power of T. So 10% hotter is 50% more light
I personally appreciated the understated joke about whales, Wales, and Welsh.
"(...) which de-lighted whales the oceans over."
Man, you are KILLING ME!
The smell of these takes me back to my childhood, my family used to use these when the power went out, which back then happened a lot in the winter. Good times, we would read books and play board games. I have many fond memories of lying around near the woodstove with a lantern and candles burning for light while it snowed outside. Honestly one of my more cozy memories that I cherish. I actually was inspired to bust out my storm lantern and give it a good burn, just to make sure it still works.
Same here
My BEST Christmas experience in the last decade was a meal out at a remote inn a couple of years ago where a thunderstorm caused a power-cut. We had candles everywhere and there was a huge open fire going. Eventually we turned out into the snow and drove home over a mountain pass on fresh snow. So reminiscent of my childhood winters in the 70's with lanterns, candles and cosy nights round the fire.
I love the utility of these but find the smell of kerosene nauseating because of past less fond memories. Lol. When my family hit hard times we couldn’t afford a gas bill to keep the house warm. We heated it just enough to keep the pipes from freezing and we had a kerosene heater in the kitchen where we would gather for homework and meals. I don’t miss those days.
Bright .....I'm 76 and we never used kerosene lamps, we used gas mantle lamps, much brighter and cleaner.
@@johnarnold893 We had a Coleman mantle lamp too, but for whatever reason my parents usually reserved that for the kitchen. We used kerosene lamps and candles otherwise. This was back in the late 70s. I've been looking into getting some paraffin oil for my feuerhand lamp. it's supposed to be less stinky.
"Delighted whales the ocean over." I love your script writing.
We used these lanterns when the power went out due to winter storms blowing the lines down. Took the power company a few days to repair. So, for about 3 days, we used these and gas stove for light and warmth. :)
Me: "Oh! A new Tech Connect vid! I'ma watch that and learn some stuff, sweet!"
Also me: "Deitz Nuts, Lol"
Same.
First reaction: "Why is it going to take over 30 minutes to explain this?" Later: Awesome research and a fascinating story. Great production values. Easy to see why you have over a million subscribers.
That's pretty much what I say before every one of his videos, but I've learned by now that I'll be watching the whole thing, and 2 hours later, I feel better about watching and learning about lanterns and switches and laser discs than watching 2 hours of TV.
Welcome to the tribe. They're addictive
Exactly my thought too. When I see a cooking video more than 5 minutes long, I will think, I will just skip the onion chopping, garlic crushing, tomato slicing parts.
I didn't skip even one second of this video. I was moved when he got to the part saying in some parts of the world this is still their only source of light.
Like you said, awesome research.
"My fellow lantern aficionados and I--we call ourselves Dietz nuts." *Head slams on desk repeatedly* The dad jokes are intensifying.
Might need to turn down the wick
He then proceeded to say "boffa Dietz" right after.
i had to pause the video until i could stop laughing
We used these at boyscouts, no matter where we were they always worked as long as the wick is maintained. And those things last long. But they live up to their name, come rain or wind or more these things would keep going at it. Never appreciated the design that much until this video. We also used them safely in the larger tents (cooking tent and such) we had. Incredible reliable piece of technology.
I remember these lanterns very well because we still use them in the Swedish military to keep light in tents. I would guess the reason is that it produces a quite pleasant light that is bright enough for the fire-watch to be able to see but dim enough for the rest to be able to sleep comfortably. Maybe it's also easier to get a hold of kerosene than to replace flashlight batteries as well.
Well, batteries perform less per cold degree. They do not provide any heat.. And they need individual effort to fill their role.
NATO forces have standardized on JP8 (Jet Fuel/Kerosene) for all air and land based operations, so this fuel would be very common in a military setting
@@MrDymiumNatoma standardized double a batteries too
When I was a child, electricity supply in my home town was extremely unstable, and we would often have black outs that lasted for one or two days. We had a hurricane lantern like that at home to use in those situations, and a candle with a ligher in every room so we would be ready for a blackout whenever it happened. This only changed in the early 2000s. We also didn't have a very stable water suply, but that is still true to this day.
We still have one at home for emergency use during cyclones (we live in a coastal area in India and electricity supply gets disrupted for days during cyclones). 20 - 25 years ago, we had to use it almost daily, back then the electricity supply in our region was totally unreliable. A lot of folks of my generation and older have spent their childhoods studying in the light of these lanterns.
We used to have these when i was a kid in W africa. Although I did prefer reading by candle light (3-4 candles minimum) coz the vents of the dietz lamp were right at face level and u ended up breathing the exhaust...
And For all the years i recall, it never fell or tipped over. But we didn't have tide pods either.
This was my childhood experience, too but in the US, and around the same time or maybe 5-10 years prior. We'd lose power every year for weeks during hurricane season, and just randomly for a day or two at a time all year due to rains or wind. By the time I was an adult they had both improved the wiring and also cut most of the trees that were close enough to the lines to regularly cause trouble. We had the glass type of lamp and they got really hot.
We used to use them on the farm.
I spent many years in a cabin in Canada. We used Coleman lanterns, which blew vaporized gas into a mantle that glowed white hot when they were ignited.. We had to pump them periodically to maintain the gas pressure to the mantles. They worked great, but the mantles were fragile and the lanterns hissed with the pressure when they were lit.
Our best source of light was an Aladdin lamp that used a circular wick drawing fuel from the reservior below into the combustion chamber. The flame illuminated a mantle, much in the manner of the Coleman lantern. Great light and no noise.
You had to keep the wick trimmed completely evenly all around, or you’d get carbon buildup on one side of the chimney. You also had to be careful, because the exhaust from the chimney was hot enough to light a cigar..
Holy crap, you mentioned the mushroom shape of non-auto-trimming candle wicks, and that brought back memories from when I made candles as a kid with cotton string!
Same.
no wonder my candles always burned so badly, always thought i made the wick too big or something
oh shit, I did too..... llitters of molten wax....
I think that mushroom comes from the stiffening wire inside the wick?
I HAD to watch this through to the end to catch him laughing at the 'Dietz Nuts' joke. I freaking knew you couldn't have said it every time with a straight face.
Right I just knew he didn't get it the first time lol
I laughed so hard when he said "Allow me to fill you in on the Dietz" with a straight face.
I said "oh you son of a b....." audibly
"We call ourselves Dietz nuts"
15:15 This is just for me.
Diets nuts
Bofa deez lanterns
Took me three years, there is power in watching quality repeatsI finally got it.
You got straight in with a fascinating fact. I've known how candles work for 50 years but what I didn't know was how recent the curling wick was. I just assumed (without even thinking about it) that it occurred naturally. Jolly interesting.