Oil Cabin Lamps

Tomsk

Tomsk

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Since there seems to be a lot of discussion today about non-electric lighting - does anyone use or have opinions on oil run gimballed cabin lights?

My boat has a dark mahogany coloured interior and would suit more traditional lighting - which I also feels has a warmer glow than most electrickery based lights...
 
Yup, we have two that provide enough light for most things - reading, washing up and SWMBO doing her contact lenses excepted. We resort to electricity for that, but for sitting in out of the rain with a glass of rum it's more than adequate. The interior is painted white, which probably adds to the lumens.
The usual (e.g. nauticalia) ones have a small hinge with a steel pin, and this seizes rapidly and falls off. The one from Classic marine, and a very old one that came with the boat are of a superior hinge design.
 
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any problems with the glass shields being broken / thrown loose by a rough sea?

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The short answer is yes, despite them being held in place by a retaining screw, but it's a long time since I had to replace a chimney (touch wood) so inexperience may be a factor. The usual ways to break a chimney, in my experience, are:
1) Falling off a wave with sufficient force to dislodge the masthead tricolour.
2) Turning up a badly trimmed wick so that the flame touches the glass while its still cold.
3) trying to get undressed while slightly inebriated. OK, more than slightly.
4) Innate clumsiness.

That's about all I can think of for now, fortunately the chimneys seem to come in a standard base diameter and most chandlers have at least one spare of some description in stock.

Despite any problems, I wouldn't be without them. And we only use cooking paraffin, not odourless lamp oil btw. For our boat any smell is not noticable, even by SWMBO.
 
I have one of these gypsy moth lamps but I've found it quite difficult to live with. The flame seems to die down after about a minute and the wick needs turning up. I end up having to adjust it so often I give up and turn the leccy back on. I'm using lamp oil - any suggestions?
 
I have a brass and copper one that swings from a hook under a hatch in the deckhead. Came from EBay. It works very well and what I really like is that there is a small brass plate on the base saying 'Empire Made'.
 
I would definitely say yes to oil lamps. We have one in the galley a couple in the saoon and a big one over the table. Pros-saves power when cruisingand at anchor, takes the chill off in the winter, kind to aging complexions!
Cons-heats the cabin in the summer, can smoke if bad quality paraffin used.
In the last 4 years we have broken 3 glasses, not bad as we have crossed the Atlantic, weathered the edge of a hurricane and cruised over 7000 miles. Mostly they have been broken when one of us has undressed too quickly....!
Den Haan make very good quality lamps, just make sure the gimbals run smoothly enough and in all directions!
 
We use one ALL the time. As said before it's warm and glows nicely.

Ours is not wall mounted but put away for sea time.

Also, this allows us to use a purpose-made table-top holder that incorporates a mirror behind the lamp, to boost the output of light - works just like the physics teacher said it would!
 
On the topic of lamps, we have a Tilley Lamp (pressurised paraffin) which we use in the cockpit. Nice and warm and a very good light output for the amount of paraffin it uses. Web site here.

Hangs up in the cockpit locker when not in use, and hangs from the boom when in use.

We use a paraffin riding/anchor light which saves electricity as well!
 
Re: Gypsy Moth lamp

I've not got that particular model but its difficult to believe that there isn't a simple explanation. They are all basically the same and the fuel is unimportant, lamp oil is just expensive paraffin. It sounds like the wick is burning away rather than wicking up the fuel:
As far as I'm aware you don't need any air vents. Either its not dipping in the liquid, or its made of the wrong material (which is "lampwick", of course), or you have it turned up so high that it can't wick it up fast enough, or there's something wrong with the fuel - you're not burning white spirit by mistake?
 
Hi John

SWMBO remembers very well you lighting your tilley light too last year off Houat and her subsequent question to me if 300m was enough to avoid the flames reaching us. Just joking, but there are some nice little gas cooker/BBQ lighters around that have to be better than a folded paper! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Really enjoyed that evening too, next time is our turn, we use a Camping Gaz folding light for special cockpit occasions. We bought it in France for about £12 and it dismantles to fit in it's own small case, the cannister is a special removable (has auto shut off) but still disposable one. Otherwise we have the simple brass hurricane lamp or a Davis ultra low power electric one with a flashing feature (red/yellow/white) that can also do it's own son et lumiere, but sans son.

Robin
 
Like the Wise Virgin, it does pay to trim your wick, I have the same lamp as you and do not have your problem, but the guy before me had fitted a wick the wrong size and thickness, so now to adjust the wick takes more effort as the winding bits seem to have been stretched!

It is nice of a night, rosy glow, some little heat etc., and it doesn't take too much load off the battery.
 
Whats wrong with "white spirt"??? I was useing that in Sweden as i couldent aford their poor quality parrafin! And my lamp did not work as it should have done??

Whats wrong with white spirt?In France i used it once or twice when i ran out of parrafin but i saw no difference?

Is it something to do with the place of manufacture???

Ill be going back to oil lamps and am looking for a tilly glass replacement i can aford! as ive had to put over board two batteries that suddenly "died" both were old car batteries im saveing my deep cycle for the cold north!

Tilly is very good if anyones goeing for a pressure lamp dont by an optimist!They are dreadful buy Tilly
 
On the mooring I use two oil cabin lamps, a bulkhead mounted gypsy and a restored hanging job, make unknown.
Neither are much use for reading so in the bunk or cockpit I use an LED headlamp, not necessarily strapped to my bonce.
I very rarely use the 'leccy lights and even then it will be the home-mod LED festoons I built into the 12v incandescent globes.
 
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