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Home made oil lamp. I wonder how olive oil it burns.:-?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-oil-burning-candle/
Home made oil lamp. I wonder how olive oil it burns.:-?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-an-oil-burning-candle/
How MUCH olive oil it burns. I really have to preview my posts.
It burns well .I mean the Greeks were using it in lamps 3000 years ago but it just seems like a really expensive way to get light on the subject.
If for whatever reason you do decide use it use the cheap stuff that's labeled "Pure "or "Pomace.
Bulldawg
10-23-2008, 21:51
Cool, I will probably make one. I wonder if you can use a couple of cans so you could put a lid on it?
I carry olive oil anyway. So a little bit of wire and cotton string could resurrect a used tea candle.
1 tea light candle tin of oil will burn about 4 hours
for a wick I use a twist of toilet paper held upright with a loop of steel wire
Canola oil burns really well also, same as extra virgin olive oil, and is cheaper. The 'extra virgin' has to do with acids, and canola oil is also low in acid. But I would also go with extra virgin olive oil for backpacking trip. Better tasting, better smelling, and more natural and traditional. Some thing lamp oil needs to be refined, but in fact what makes extra virgin olive oil a great lamp oil as well as a great food oil is that it doesn't need to be refined. It's the cheap stuff from more pressing that needs to be refined. Lighter coloured extra virgin might be better than darker coloured extra virgin, as a cooking oil and lamp oil. The darker coloured stuff is better for salads though, depending on your taste.
For light, and a little heat, bees wax candles and oil lamps are simple and excellent. About 50% more BTU per pound versus alcohol fuels, and a longer light of course. For bringing water to a boil you need more wicks though, and things start to get very difficult the more heat you need, and very sooty. Still, for light and for simmering tea when reading at night, excellent. I haven't yet devoped the perfect stove lamp for doing both at the same time though. Maybe two separate, reading lamp and simmering lamp. Another advantage of an open shelter like a bivy and poncho/tarp is that it is safe to do such things.
Best to wear some wool though. When oil or wax heats up it can get very very hot, as in deep flesh burning hot. Keep the amount in play very small, like no more than a tealight at a time, and be very mindful of spillage. It would eat right through your bivy and sleeping bag, but if you have a wool sweater on and the quantity is limited you won't risk major burns. Open tarp should be safe enough as long as its not too close. Carbon monoxide poisoning is not a serious concern with just a few wicks, even if they smoke a little. The biggest risk would be in spilling hot flamable liquids. So minimize amount of fuel in play, minimize risk of contact with flamable materials, and wear some wool when playing with fire.
A fun thing to do is to improvise a small oil lamp using a small ceramic container, or a sea shell, or small rock with a depression. For a wick you can use cotton, or wool, or some dry moss, or something like that. Birch bark and oil is very smokey. Cedar bark might work. Once its soaked the oil burns and not the bark, but it helps if its dry to start with. Something about birch bark doesn't work with oil even when its dry. It burns very well on its own, but is smokey, so really only great for tinder, not for fuel. I've used a ceramic shot glass as an oil lamp. Something smaller and lower, like a ceramic tea lamp would be better. You could make one of clay and use a self-cleaning oven as your kiln. You could experiment with different shapes. If you get a lip just right the wick works better.
Any more than 3 wicks and the wicks start to interfere with one another, and you get even more soot if you are heating a cold pot. A small lamp globe can help, giving more heat and more light and a cleaner burn, but you have to find a way to carry the glass globe without burning it. The mesh globes are worth a shot, but don't work as well as glass.
Lots of fun. Be mindful of the hot liquid though. Boiling point is like 500F or something rediculous like that. Stuffs even more dangerous than kerosene. Not so volatile, but wicked wicked hot, so keep the burned really small, and keep the fuel container separate, just as you would with an alcohol stove.
Alcohol is way safer, because of the temperature of the liquid. Just so you know.
Be mindful of the hot liquid though. Boiling point is like 500F or something rediculous like that. Stuffs even more dangerous than kerosene. Not so volatile, but wicked wicked hot, so keep the burned really small, and keep the fuel container separate, just as you would with an alcohol stove.
Alcohol is way safer, because of the temperature of the liquid. Just so you know.
I should be able to make the UnCandle of my childhood recollections. Floating the oil on water should keep the oil cool. I plan to use the alcohol stove for cooking anyway.
Years ago I used an uncandle which was somewhat similar to this design though ours had a small glass glob to protect against wind. My memory is that 3oz of fuel gave around 14 hours of light. I eventually switched to an LED light which gives more light, runs longer, for less weight, and is safer, but doesn't warm up the shelter which was nice in the winter.