Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisC
Just out of curiosity, how much kerosene do you go through with the aladdin lamp? I have one that was my grandmother's, but it needs a new mantle. I also have a couple of old "standard" oil lamps that work just fine. I haven't used an aladdin, though, and I'm told they're quite a bit brighter. But how much extra kerosene does it use?
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Chris, the fonts on my Model B's hold 1 qt of K-1, and run about 12 hours on that much. The Model 12 holds less than a qt, but i don't know exactly what amount.
The mantels are what make the lamp. These are still easy to get as are wicks. Little costly maybe, but to me well worth the costs.
You also need a tool called "wick trimmer" which is easy to get made in plastic, but if you hunt long and hard you can still find them in brass.
The first one I came by was used with no mantle for years, because i had no idea what I had. I was hunting deer when I found it, and there was this lamp burned on the ground. I went to pick it up and it refused to move. So I dug and i dug some more, then I got serious and dug more and more and turned up with a white 1930's vintage Lincoln Drape Model B.
It needed a new chimney glass, but not knowing what I had I used a local store bought glass, and ran it that way for years.
That was pre computer for a long long time, and some how I came to find out what I had some other way.
The next one, and by then I knew what these were cost me 15 bucks in a yard sale. It was a model B in another white glass font, but short, more common font style.
Then the next 2 came for free from a guy I helped move. He put the Model 12 and the modle B he had in the trash pile, and I asked if i could buy them. He told me if i wanted them to put em in my truck and so I did.
I use these every day in winter firing up 3 of the 4 generally, and if the room is real cold I fire up all 4 till the chill is off.
The room is a bed room, pc and art studio for us, at 14x25. The bed is offset a little from center, there is a dresser actting as a head board and all 4 lamps rest on that. With the lamps lit, it's like a camp fire almost, and they feed heat to one another and throw heat thruput the room this way better, than if weach were on it's own table spread out.
It takes me about (6) 5 gallon jugs a winter to heat this room, which has no other heat, other than a propane wall heaters which hasn't had the pilot lit in the past 3 years once.
I keep (2) 5 gallon jugs on hand, and from then with a cheap syphon pump fill (5) 2 liter pepsi bottles. Each day my wife or I top off the 3 main lamps, and it takes about 1 pepsi bottle to do that, at our rate of use, for 3 lamps per day.
The last time the pepsi bottles are filled draining the jug, we plan to go get more K-1, and have the other jug as back up.
K-1 should be cheaper than dirt, but isn't, and I run the red powder dyed K-1 too. These wicks do gag up on that dye and I wash them out once in a great while for it. (once each 3 years)
It just figures the Goobermint has to ruin anything.... in the name of taxes. You can buy more costly clear K-1 at Home Depot or Lowes in metal 5 gallon cans. I have when the pumps cost more.
I'ld like a cheaper fuel.
These lamps are a bit different from all the rest.. They are carburaters, and need to be warmed up. They self warm up.
With a new wick, you install that in a well cleaned out burner. With the burner off the font you can fill it this way once.
Next raise the wick, and dip it the lighting part in the font with the burner upside down. Place the burner somewhere dead calm and set up on blocks or a cup and light the wick. As the flames comes on strong, turn the wick down so about 1/4 inch shows, and let the wick burn out.
Next trim the wick, and after that screw the burner on the font and leave it there 10 to 12 hours to soak up fuel.
The next time you want light and heat you will remove the glass holder and light the wick in 3 places apx 120 degrees apart. Let the flame get warming the flame spreader (thimble like center brass) and install the glass.
TURN the flame down, let the water condenstaion clear from the glass, turn the flame up so the mantle glows just dim and let the lamp warm another 15 minutes. Then only turn it up mid way and no more.
Look for long yellow flame licks, and don't let them touch the mantel.
Of course they wil someday and that mantel might turn lamp black and crud up big time bad, spitting bits of lamp black all over the room and make the place stink
THE Mantel is NOT Ruined!
Turn the lamp off... Let it cool off. Wash the glass clean.
Re light the wick and install the glass, and turn the wick till the mantel covered in lamp black just glows red. Little by little the lamp black carbon will burn away untill the mantel is as it was... white again.
The worst thing you can do is think the mantle is dead and ruin it by touching it, or throw it away. I have some that have burned off the wire supports and they still work fine.
The next worse thing you can do is turn up the light to early and lamp black the wick.
The hotter these lamps get the more bright they burn.
Then the least problem is putting in real cold K-1 in the font and bring the lamp in a warm room. K-1 expands, and so if you fill th font to be full, not leaving say 1/2" of air, as the K-1 expands it will dump out and run right down the lamp.
I have never had that happen, but I still keep these lamps in metal trays with edges high enough to contain a slight spill.
Filling thru that little filler hole I always manage to smear a tiny spill each time i fill any of them. I just wipe that up with a paper towel I use over and over again, which is stored in a bucket away from the room, with the 5 pepsi bottles. The paper towel is always dry the next time I need it.
Lemans has all the parts on line.
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