clearcraft oil lamp, oil/fuel. IS the smoke toxic from it like the raw fluid?

UK-WOOZY

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i bought a new nauticalia oil lamp for my boat. i bought this fuel for the lamp but am concerned about the health warnings on the bottle. it says the fluid if ingested is damaging to the lungs as well as potentially life changing for the worse. when i blow the wick out theres smoke from the lamp or if i put the flame on high that too has smoke and i am breathing some of the smoke in. i know smoke isnt the best thing for our lungs but is the smoke from the lamp as deadly as the fuel? It says its for indoor use as is the lamp and on a boat especially mine is a confined space, the boat originally had an older corroded lamp the same design but unsure the fuel used. but this modern fuel looks scary. Also i can still smell an odor from the lamp so the fuel isnt completely odourless

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Momac

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The warnings for paraffin are just the same........
My Child Swallowed Lamp Oil.
.
If oil lamps were inherently dangerous I doubt they would be sold today. However the will be some CO from burning any oil so I trust you have a CO detector on board .

Why not use LED lighting? I changed to led a couple or three years ago - there must be some energy consumed but the ammeter suggest it is negligible.
 

neil_s

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When finished with your oil lamp, don't blow it out, try turning the wick down very slowly. The flame will shrink to a tiny blue glow and then go out without making a lot of smoke and smell.
 

sarabande

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The smoke is unburnt and incompletely burned particles of hydrocarbons (the oil).

When you breathe them in, it is a one way journey for them into your lungs, as they can't escape.

Try a little experiment.

1 Cut off the filter of a cigarette

2 Inhale the smoke through the filter

3 Inspect the filter.

4 Resolve never to use an oil lamp on board again.
 

DownWest

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The smoke is unburnt and incompletely burned particles of hydrocarbons (the oil).

When you breathe them in, it is a one way journey for them into your lungs, as they can't escape.

Try a little experiment.

1 Cut off the filter of a cigarette

2 Inhale the smoke through the filter

3 Inspect the filter.

4 Resolve never to use an oil lamp on board again.
I wonder a bit how many of our sailing heros might have shortened their lives by the simple lighting they used? A few other normal ideas, at the time, could have helped them on?
 

James_Calvert

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We've been using an oil lamp in our saloon for 35 years. We supplement it with candles. That's the type of lighting we like for an evening meal on a cool night. LEDs are great for reading, and very economical of course, but don't have the same cosiness.

We used to use just ordinary paraffin, but have found it's got a bit smokier over the years, also the "safety" caps on the standard paraffin containers are anything but, they will flip off with a bit of sideways pressure on them.

So now we use indoor lamp oil. Important not to use the outdoor variety because that smells, also it has health warnings not to.
 

UK-WOOZY

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We've been using an oil lamp in our saloon for 35 years. We supplement it with candles. That's the type of lighting we like for an evening meal on a cool night. LEDs are great for reading, and very economical of course, but don't have the same cosiness.

We used to use just ordinary paraffin, but have found it's got a bit smokier over the years, also the "safety" caps on the standard paraffin containers are anything but, they will flip off with a bit of sideways pressure on them.

So now we use indoor lamp oil. Important not to use the outdoor variety because that smells, also it has health warnings not to.


which oil do you use?
 

UK-WOOZY

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The warnings for paraffin are just the same........
My Child Swallowed Lamp Oil.
.
If oil lamps were inherently dangerous I doubt they would be sold today. However the will be some CO from burning any oil so I trust you have a CO detector on board .

Why not use LED lighting? I changed to led a couple or three years ago - there must be some energy consumed but the ammeter suggest it is negligible.


my boat has plenty of LED lighting, i got another lamp for some warmth mainly
 

Sea-Fever

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The smoke is unburnt and incompletely burned particles of hydrocarbons (the oil).

When you breathe them in, it is a one way journey for them into your lungs, as they can't escape.

Try a little experiment.

1 Cut off the filter of a cigarette

2 Inhale the smoke through the filter

3 Inspect the filter.

4 Resolve never to use an oil lamp on board again.
I suppose you avoid pubs with open fires as well. All those particulates!
 

AntarcticPilot

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I've read a few safety data sheets for outdoor lamp oil, and the vapour can be dangerous if inhaled. They all say the same - dangerous if the vapour is inhaled and even more dangerous if taken by mouth. Several have wording like "EVEN A SIP CAN BE FATAL". Presumably the danger of using it indoors is that unburnt oil vapour could accumulate in the atmosphere, leading to lung damage. Outdoors, the vapours can be diluted rapidly, and the heat of the flame will carry them up anyway, while inddors the vapours can accumulate.

Oil meant for indoor use is presumably formulated differently.
 

jiris

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The smoke is, as any smoke, no good for you as explained in previous comments. The warning against inhaling the liquid is standard for all hydrocarbon oily fluids. Any of these (diesel, engine oil etc) will form an impenetrable film on the walls of your lung cells preventing blood from absorbing oxygen. That's why you are always specifically warned not to induce vomiting after swallowing these liquids. While they may cause no serious problem in your digestive system, inhaling just a small quantity can be fatal.
 

sarabande

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I suppose you avoid pubs with open fires as well. All those particulates!



Clearly you have failed to understand the difference between open fire smoke that goes up a chimney, and lamp nano-particles of carbon that circulate in the cabin and enter your lungs.
 

andygc

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UK-WOOZY, the fuel you have there is designed for oil candles, as it says on the bottle. The Nauticalia oil lamps have burners that are designed to burn paraffin. You need a low sulphur premium paraffin, like the one sold here by a company that specialises in oil lamps
Paraffin Extra
 

Sea-Fever

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Clearly you have failed to understand the difference between open fire smoke that goes up a chimney, and lamp nano-particles of carbon that circulate in the cabin and enter your lungs.
I think the evidence of respiratory illness caused by open fires as opposed to other forms of heating is well established. The point is that for short periods of time, given adequate ventilation, use of a lamp or open fire is acceptable and is pleasant IMHO. Most boaters would utilise a lamp only whilst visiting the boat and only in the evening and I'm pretty sure most people understand that you should have a fresh air supply when burning something in an enclosed space. Consumption of lamp fuel is probably quite rare, but there's always someone who will try it, hence the warning. But that's like saying don't jump off cliffs. Kind of self explanatory.
 

Bru

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UK-WOOZY, the fuel you have there is designed for oil candles, as it says on the bottle. The Nauticalia oil lamps have burners that are designed to burn paraffin. You need a low sulphur premium paraffin, like the one sold here by a company that specialises in oil lamps
Paraffin Extra

????

What he has is clear lamp oil designed for wick lamps. Like the somewhat crappy ones Nauticalia sell (which aren't a patch quality wise on the originals they're mimicking)

I've been using clear lamp oil in paraffin wick lamps for many many users as i used to collect them. It's superior to paraffin in every conceivable way
 

AntarcticPilot

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????

What he has is clear lamp oil designed for wick lamps. Like the somewhat crappy ones Nauticalia sell (which aren't a patch quality wise on the originals they're mimicking)

I've been using clear lamp oil in paraffin wick lamps for many many users as i used to collect them. It's superior to paraffin in every conceivable way
The point is that there's a distinction between lamp oil for use outside and that for use inside. Outside lamp oil has VOC's that are harmful; presumably lamp oil for interior use doesn't. Outside it doesn't matter, as the fumes will be diluted rapidly, but inside they won't. As they are emitted whether or not the lamp is burning if there's a wet wick (we're not talking about particulates or other combustion products) , it probably does matter.
 

andygc

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????

What he has is clear lamp oil designed for wick lamps. Like the somewhat crappy ones Nauticalia sell (which aren't a patch quality wise on the originals they're mimicking)

I've been using clear lamp oil in paraffin wick lamps for many many users as i used to collect them. It's superior to paraffin in every conceivable way
I've been collecting, repairing and using oil lamps for over 50 years. He has lamp oil designed for a specific type of burner, which uses a particular type of round wick. Flat wick burners are designed to burn paraffin, not lamp oil. You can pay £31 for 16 litres of the fuel they are designed to burn, or anything between £3 and £12 a litre for an oil they aren't designed to burn. It's his and your choice.
 

sarabande

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I think the evidence of respiratory illness caused by open fires as opposed to other forms of heating is well established. The point is that for short periods of time, given adequate ventilation, use of a lamp or open fire is acceptable and is pleasant IMHO. Most boaters would utilise a lamp only whilst visiting the boat and only in the evening and I'm pretty sure most people understand that you should have a fresh air supply when burning something in an enclosed space. Consumption of lamp fuel is probably quite rare, but there's always someone who will try it, hence the warning. But that's like saying don't jump off cliffs. Kind of self explanatory.


Open fires are unlikely to affect people in the room where the fire is located, but the smoke ejected outside is the killer. I was in London in the 1950s with smogs.

I'd like evidence that open fires cause respiratory illness inside the house. And what do you mean by "acceptable" - only giving 50% of oil lamp users damage to their lungs ? The use of oil lamps in a confined space is foolish beyond belief, and you are using the excuse of "pleasant" as a justification for a high risk activity with high consequences. Your explanations are not consistent or credible.
 
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