Which oil lamps for the cabin?

E. Thomas & Williams Cambrian Lampworks

Well you got me Tidewaiter, I can't find the website for miner's lamps - can you help?

Apologies, Bach
Yere tis, d'ye see- me mind mis remembered the sequence.

http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk/heritagetrail/cynon/aberdare/aberdare_lampworks.htm

They are a bit old fashioned- do cheques not cards, last time we bought- presents for our relatives in Sweden- they loved them to bits- well it's dark this time of year there, see?

and here's a bit more background
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Mining+safety+lamps&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

TTFN
DickT
 
Warning - thread drift - Colza oil

A friend of mine who used to work for the Coal Board had a miner's lamp and he said the best oil to use in them was Colza oil.

When I did my Lifeboat Certificate course in the MN I was told that Colza oil was carried in ship's lifeboats for the riding light because it was the best lamp oil.

I have never found anywhere that sold it. Anyone here heard of it, and used it?

Apparently you can also cook with it so it might be handy stuff to have in a lifeboat in case it becomes necessary to resort to cannibalism :eek:
 
Colza to Newcastle?

A friend of mine who used to work for the Coal Board had a miner's lamp and he said the best oil to use in them was Colza oil.

When I did my Lifeboat Certificate course in the MN I was told that Colza oil was carried in ship's lifeboats for the riding light because it was the best lamp oil.

I have never found anywhere that sold it. Anyone here heard of it, and used it?

Apparently you can also cook with it so it might be handy stuff to have in a lifeboat in case it becomes necessary to resort to cannibalism :eek:

Is this pouring oil on troubled waters rather than thread drift?
 
We also take it outside in the cockpit when at anchor to eat/read/play cards by. Allthough one word of warning; in London St Kats, it started raining and a single drop of water fell on the glass. It simply cracked.

That's one reason I cherish my now-apparently-unobtainable Feuerhand brass hurricane lamps - pyrex glass!
 
A friend of mine who used to work for the Coal Board had a miner's lamp and he said the best oil to use in them was Colza oil.

When I did my Lifeboat Certificate course in the MN I was told that Colza oil was carried in ship's lifeboats for the riding light because it was the best lamp oil.

I have never found anywhere that sold it. Anyone here heard of it, and used it?

Apparently you can also cook with it so it might be handy stuff to have in a lifeboat in case it becomes necessary to resort to cannibalism :eek:

....and don't forget
bathbrick and colza oil - forerunner of brasso.
 
I just run hurricane lamps. I've considered gimballed lamps but I think the ones I have found have all been too big for my little boat. The hurricane lamps hang against the bulkhead and there are a couple of pieces of sacrificial wood to stop the bulkhead varnish from charring. These came from a chair in a skip and are glued on with a bit of old silicon from a tube another forumite found underfoot in a boat yard.
 
citronella oil mixed in to paraffin when in reach of mozzies

came up in this thread :-

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226237

If you buy lamp oil (it's cleaner & not malodorous) you can get it with citronella added already. Not as cheap as parafin, but how much will you use? A 1/2 litre of lamp oil does me about 1.5 seasons with occasional winter use plus spring & autumn - just never needed in the summer.
 
If you buy lamp oil (it's cleaner & not malodorous) you can get it with citronella added already. Not as cheap as parafin, but how much will you use? A 1/2 litre of lamp oil does me about 1.5 seasons with occasional winter use plus spring & autumn - just never needed in the summer.

well I bought a gall of paraffin 4/5 years ago still got a pint and a half! When I bought it i couldnt see any lamp oil and Im from yorkshire so ive got to use what i got before I get anything else !Im resisting the urge to stretch it out by keeping the wicks down low (although I have thought about it !:)

The citronella mix might not be paraffin based there's no ingredients on the bottles It does look a bit purer (if you know what I mean )than the paraffin I use for anchor/hurricane lamps.
 
We had two Perko gimballed lamps on the bulkheads, you could read by them, a Weems & Plath miners lamp which looked good, was very heavy but didn't give out much light and a magnificent Ideal Brenner trawler lamp which hung in the centre of the saloon.
We fed them all on lamp oil.
We had 12v lighting as well but there's nothing quite like the glow of oil lamps in a cosy cabin.
 
QUOTE
Ubergeekian,
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.
END QUOTE

I can only assume you don't mind the lingering smell and cleaning off the smoke stains.

LED's work fine, but don't look as smart on a traditional boat, however I have seen them installed but not used, relying on LED's or globes instead.

Good luck.
 
I can only assume you don't mind the lingering smell and cleaning off the smoke stains.

Good point I've never minded the smell before - mind you that was with hurricane lamps, which I kept in the stern locker. I will be looking at some sort of cap for the Fastnets, and will store them in the cockpit locker when I'm not on the boat. I'm hoping the built-in heat shields will catch most of the soot, but am certainly prepared to wipe down the deckhead regularly.

LED's work fine, but don't look as smart on a traditional boat, however I have seen them installed but not used, relying on LED's or globes instead.

She's got a nice set of electric lights, but I'm an electrical minimalist (mainly because I'm a motoring minimalist) and would therefore like to be as independent as possible of electrical systems.
 
oil lamps

Consider one of the ex- rail lanterns that might be around or barn lanterns. They are often considerably less expensive and have the same or better illumination. However, you need to be careful as they are often made from steel rather than brass and might rust in a salt rich air. A quality paint is required for protection. Use should be limited to the cabin interior. However, if the price is right...

~~~/L:)) ~~~
 
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