I just finished telling R U Really on Saturday that I had oil lamps but still in the box and no idea how to put them together or make them "glow" !! Etc and his sage advice? " dolly - learning about your lamps in the dark and in a stressful situation is not good"
Oh wise one- you don't have to say I told you so. The lights went out last night with our first storm of the season. The 9year old was wailing, the 13 year old having a panic attack, the DH and I struggling to find a flashlight that hadn't had its batteries drained by the kids and then....
We locate, assemble and light the lamps - no need for instructions says He. Obviously, reading about wick length may have saved us from the black nasal cavities that we awoke with this morning. Amazing how interesting a 9 year old boy finds black snot!
Lesson received and understood. Loud and clear.
Dolly out.
So ... now I'm interested. Since I have oil lamps, with lots of spare oil and wicks.
Just how high out of the wick retainer should the wick be, e.g. to avoid all the black soot during the lamp burn?
Edit 1:
Ignore question. Found answer through Google.
One location says 1/16 inch above burner: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-wick-oil-lamp-using-recycled-materials-79166.html
While another states 3/8 inch above burner: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/safely-use-oil-lamp-house-84155.html
Edit 2:
From the horse's mouth, i.e. Columbia Lighting Company, is a guide to operation and safety:
http://columbialightingcompany.com/Lamp_Safety_Guidelines.php
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Is what you say worth at least a Canadian nickel now?
Cause two cents ain't worth squat anymore !
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Self-sufficient is good. Co-efficient is better.
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Dolly don't feel to bad. 🙂 At least you had them!
I was doing some renos in here and moved things around. Of course I moved the lanterns, where they usually are, to a safe place. Can't have them getting knocked over.
A couple days later it's oh oh...hydro is out..go to grab lanterns...ummm not there..So where did they get moved to? Now keep in mind I moved a lot of stuff outta here to do this. 😉
Turns out they were behind a pile of other things, tucked up safe and sound on a high shelf...outta reach!
So had to rely on candles, that I keep in my drawer with matches and lighters.
At least I had light but I was kickin myself after. Yup I am ready....suurrrre...not completely.
Well at least my plug in flashlights went on as the power went off so I could see what I was trippin on. lol
A sense of humor is absolutely essential to survival.
Knowledge all starts from the same place....zero! It can only increase...and now your a step ahead of a lot of people. I enjoy the flicker of a lantern during an outage. Super relaxing.
GM1
Chance favours the prepared mind
We've started watching evening tv by candle light. DH says it's romantic - I'm looking at the hydro bill! Lol
Several years ago, I picked up an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for computer use on sale. The first thing I did was remove the internal battery and wired it to a deep cycle RV battery which provides much longer usage when the power is out.
If you're frugal on usage, it can provide emergency power for several days. I've used mine to run fluorescent lights, a single-cup coffee maker, even a small 120v water pump to pump water from the well. My radio's and police scanners all operate on 12 volts so they run directly off the battery. If you use 12 volt led light strips, they'll run for weeks off the battery.
I went to an energy efficient refrigerator some time back that draws only 0.5 amp while running, and it can run for over a week if I'm careful about power usage.
I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming in terror like his passengers.
At the cabin I'll use one of those car booster packs. Easy to carry around, air compressor, 115v inverter. Good for a single 115v LED or CFL bulb at around 10w draw all night.
Another good option is to get a large inverter for your vehicle. You'll have to idle the engine for large draw items but in a power down you can plug the fridge or freezer in for a few hours to cool it down and at the same time charge your booster pack and anything else you can.
Hi Dolly,
It 's pitch black out here where we are, even in broad daylight!(lol)
I was reading an article online when everything went poof. Instantly blind! It was awesome. Found some flashlights and then I wasn't scared anymore.
Brought in a deep cycle from outside and hooked my two-way to it.
I have a small inverter, two gennys, one big one small, and several deep cycles, and wood heat.
We woulda been comfy for awhile had it lasted.
Hmmmmm....well as long as the fuel lasted...
RU