Which oil lamps for the cabin?

Ubergeekian

Ubergeekian

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Me: Castle Douglas, SW Scotland. Boats: Kirkcudbri
www.drmegaphone.com
Another request for recommendations - oh, isn't refitting a boat to one's own requirements fun?

This time, it's the cabin lighting. I want to put in paraffin lights as I am a great believer in not using electricity. As far as I can see, there are only two commonly available lamps, both from Nauticalia and both forty quid or so each - the Gipsy Moth (left) and the Fastnet (right)

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On the whole I prefer the look of the Fastnet, the gimballed heatshield looks like a good idea for use under way, and it looks as if it has a slightly bigger reservoir .. any other reasons to prefer one over the other? Or are there any other makes I should be considering? I'm planning three in the main cabin and one in the forecabin, and would like all four the same for commonality of spares.
 
There seem to be plenty of alternatives available in the UK, and hugely many more in the US.

One example website is
http://www.base-camp.co.uk/Wick pictures/DHR/8807 Wall lamp.JPG
I particularly like #8807 Wall lamp and #P241 Ultklippan wall lamp

Though nostaligia says I'd probably go for an old fashioned pressurised tilley lamp style, as I love the noise - so comforting in a house, a tent, a boat, or a snowhole, when it's howling outside.
 
Nine years ago we installed three of the Nauticalia Fastnet lamps. Despite misgivings that they seemed a bit lightweight all three are still in regular use aboard. One has a replacement burner and we've had the odd broken glass but no other problems. They've been with us across oceans, through storms and never leaked, dripped or flown across the cabin!

We also have a trawler lamp,same as the ones sold by classic marine and that gives an excellent light over the saloon table.

Yes we also have electric lights, and use only those near our berths but the oil lamps are indispensable, IMHO, they are cosy, cheap to run and even warm the cabin on a cold night. Not that we need much of that in the Caribbean!

Having said that we just had a cold front through, closed the hatches and lit the lamps and were as cosy as could be.

NB We also use an oil anchor light if the batteries are a bit low...

www.gerryantics.blogspot.com
 
Fastnet

I fitted a Fastnet oil lamp in Mariposa.
Something which makes a huge difference is to fit a mirror behind the lamp. I used one of those slightly concave shaving mirrors (stripped of it's frame) and was amazed at the difference it made.
 
Another Fastnet user. Bought mine for our first boat & was so pleased with it I moved it to the new one. It is now about 20 years old & never even needed a new glass - just be careful where you mount them. I'll admit it doesn't get a huge amount of use, but the extra warmth & soft light is very pleasant. A single one isn't really enough to read with any more, but that's my eyesight these days rather than the lamp.

The varnished brass has a few black spots on it now, but I have never made much effort to clean it & it gives it a nice patina. I often leave it on - on a low light, when I spend Autumn or Winter evenings in the club. Returning to its warm welcoming glow may be more a psychological than an actual benefit, but it is nice.

I also have flourescent, incandescent & LED lighting in different places for different purposes. I don't like the idea of only having oil lighting - sometimes you do need really bright light & only flourescent will do. Don't try untangling fishing line, electronic soldering or sewing for example in poor light conditions.
 
We had a tilly lamp on a twenty three foot boat at one time. The warmth is fantastic and the light superb. It lasted for hours and hours on a frugal fill of fuel. The down side is the soot, but that it was easy to clean. I worried about the fire risk too.

Some of the brass oil lanps that have come my way have looked really good and made from heavy material. Until you look inside and find a lump of iron weighting the bottom to make the lamp sit upright in the gimbals.

Happy days

73s de
Johnth
 
An afterthought

Why I would not use all oil lamp lighting:

1/ it is totally unsuitable for the heads - you need an easy "switch on/off" light in there. Can you imagine dying for the loo & having to deal with lighting an oil lamp when soaking wet before you can even start on the oilies & multi-layer thermals while, all the time, the boat is bouncing up & down? :confused:

2/ I wouldn't use it in the aft cabin as grandkids are often in there on their own & I wouldn't trust them with matches, oil & glass. Plus, there is not a lot of room in there & the likelyhood of it getting knocked is quite high. LCD in there in case it gets left on all night.
:mad:

3/ I wouldn't use it in the foc'sle as, again, it is relatively small (compared to main saloon) for a double berth & there is no place it could be safely mounted out of the way of the occasional knock. :rolleyes:

Your boat & its useage may well be different from mine, but I hope the above will help your decision making.
 
I have the Gipsy Moth. It is useful to have a known brand when it comes to spares, I could not get a suitable glass for my last lamp and had to pass it on.
The GM has a good broad wick and gives out lots of light. Sadly it also gives out lots of heat, too much for the heat shield to disperse, and I have to use it on the cabin table. I would go for the Fastnet, purely because it seems less likely to conduct dodgy levels of heat through the shield.
 
If you can find Perko gimballed bulkhead oil lamps they are really good; I've had them on two boats.
With all oil lamps you need to learn to trim the wick properly (follow the contour of the wick holder), and clean out the bowls occasionally to get rid of any water in the oil caused by condensation.
 
I'm obviously more of a clutz than the other respondents. I have had both the models you show and chucked them both overboard in a fit of rage. A key feature is the length/robustness of the thread which connects the burner to the tank. Refilling in the dark you get the threads crossed and eventually damaged.

I'm another vote for Classic Marine. I have ended up with the the small one (CB-0210) off this page after working my way through cheaper ones and junking them. I'm now happy.
 
Searush said:
I also have flourescent, incandescent & LED lighting in different places for different purposes. I don't like the idea of only having oil lighting - sometimes you do need really bright light & only flourescent will do. Don't try untangling fishing line, electronic soldering or sewing for example in poor light conditions.
Click to expand...

Agreed. There's plenty of electric lighting on board, and I'm going to augment that with, for example, a much better galley lamp. But for just lounging round of an evening, nothing beats oil.
 
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