How To Make An Olive Oil Lantern

Yeah, if you are generating electricity with Bacardi 151 or Wild Turkey...

With virgin olive oil going for $41.00 a gallon, I'll stick to kerosene, it's only $3.31 a gallon.

Oh, wait, sorry - you said Extra-virgin... that goes for $63.00 a gallon...

Thanks anyway

- Basey

Hmmm... maybe he's rich

 

Why do I have to make something?? Why can't I use the 3 oil lanterns I have with my supplies??

 

Let's all strive to go green while Al and Nancy fly in their jumbo jets twice a week???

 

I think it's an interesting idea. Two thousand years ago it was commonly used as lamp fuel. I think I'll try it just for the novelty of it. You can get 1.3 gal.(5L) at Sam's Club for $22.

I think it is a wise thing to go green. Petrochemical products will only get more expensive as the years go by. I believe that Peak Oil is a real issue and I see my children dealing with a world with dwindling oil supplies.

 

it's a nice thought, Irritated, there are plenty of food & non-food oil producing plants with better fuel-oil yields for your purposes tho... it is unfortunate that most of the well-meaning people involved in many 'greenovations' have had their efforts misdirected by corrupt (I believe Algore was mentioned) sociopolitical puppetmasters and channeled into the least efficient/effective avenues of study, while better, less mainstream processes are scoffed at until 'proven'.

List of vegetable oils - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

has good list to start any research with, it is by no means exhaustive or to be considered research in & of itself

 

Man, rough crow around here. There's no need to buy the oil or use any special type of oil. For this purpose veggie is veggie. I made two last month with my son after someone here posted a link when I asked about making candle wax. All of the parts were already laying around in the basement, so you could say they are free lanterns. You can burn used or waste cooking oil making the fuel free.
Why not just use your 3 lamps you already have? Maybe you need to light more rooms, maybe your neighbor or family needs light, maybe you want to cook ramen noodles or instant coffee, maybe you dropped one of your lamps and broke it. It's always nice to have more options.
A very fast simple way to make one is to use a 1/4 or 5/16 nut as the wick holder. Just put a couple short pieces of string into the nut and pull them about 1/4 through. The long ends get fanned out on the bottom of the mason jar. Add oil and keep it just below the top of the nut.

 

It's just the same as you described, but here's the link:

Quote:
Originally Posted by nj_m715
That's what I was thinking Sue, but I just can't find anything ( I'm normally pretty good w/ google key words). If veg oil can burn in a wick lantern and soap is just veg oil with a little lye... who knows? I'm half tempted to stick a wick in some home made soap to see what happens. 200 yrs ago everyone had candles. I don't think it all came from bees. That's a lot of hives to tend.

Bunny, I found a good book at Sam's about preserving food from your garden. Covers freezing, dehydrating, root cellars etc. Tons of info for only $6.
With a heat proof jar some wire and wicking you can make a nice veggy oil lamp.
Homemade Vegetable Oil Lamp
I've done it with olive oil and a bit of cotton from a cotton ball.
Olive oil doesn't seem to wick up too far so I did have to adjust the hight of the wick in the oil but it burns clean and doesn't smell funny.
__________________

 

Not ta hijack the thread er nothin, but Blob, will used, filtered veggie oil work to? I've heard some folks use it in there oil lamps so I would think it would work in this application to wouldn't it?

I got gallons a used veggie oil, would be another use fer it.

Never hurts ta have alternatives.

 

Oil is oil, some will thicken at 40 degrees and some will still pour at 30 but it all burns.

 

I agree. Infact I just watched a few vids on youtube where there are olive oil lanterns from 'Lehmans' that can also use other oils. This means that people that make their own oils at home from corn or soy or whatever it may be would be a good self sufficiency oil to have because they could then power their own light. Thanks for this link, infact it could even be made a sticky. This is good info to have.

 

You could probably put that same veg oil into a standard hurricane-style oil lamp and it should work fine. If SHTF, you might be making a lamp out of whatever you can find.

To keep the cost down, and since olive oil is reusable, I should think this lamp would work with used olive oil, correct? No need to use new oil necessarily.

 

Check out Lehman's website for olive oil lamps. I purchased one to see how the coil was made to hold the wick. Lamps/Lights*|*Olive Oil Lamps - Lehmans.com

And, I'd like to make my own oil and found this website: PITEBA oil press oil expeller oliepers oilpress : universal oil press for nuts and seed They are in the Netherlands and you'd have to go to your bank to figure out the EU value and US values.

I want to grow sunflowers and expell the oil from the seeds; but if you look at the website, you can use nuts and other items as well.

Or just do some research on the Internet for "oil expellers.'

Look, here is another website: http://www.oekotec.ibg-monforts.de/en/oil-presses/oil-press-ca59-1h.html


It's really a fun challenge to see how you can be more self-sufficent.

 

$140 plus shipping and duties.

And here's an article to get you started on pressing your own oil from sunflower seeds.

 

Been there, tried that... NOPE...

Hurricane lamps and lanterns don't do well with veggie oils... and you will probably wreck an expensive Alladin-type kerosene lamp.

When you find that out for yourself, you can then remove the wick, wash it out in gas (or solvent), dry it, put it back, and then fill the lamp with kerosene like it was intended.

Veggie oils just don't saturate long wicks as well as petroleum, so the wick "starves" for fuel (due to lack of capillary action) at the flame level and goes out after a few minutes.

That is why ancient lamps made for olive oil were made low and shallow, so the wicks wouldn't have to stick up more than 1/4" or so...

Check it out ==> WWF: Oil Lamps

I have one of these ancient types made of brass, -but I'll keep my expensive olive oil for the salad

- Basey

"It was the responsibility of the woman of the house to keep the lamp burning day and night.
Between trimming the wick and filling the lamp, it seems reasonable to assume that these duties
would be done several times per night." (link above) :congrat: :kiss:

 

Irritated, thanks for the post. I prolly won't be making the lamp anytime soon, but info is info. Never know when it might come in handy. After all, we are preppers.

Frankly, I am a little irritated that some members on our "friendly" forum pounced on you simply for sharing some info.

 

No problem... very interesting! I have experimented with olive oil myself.

I'm always concerned with the economics of things.

If I had an olive grove, it would be practical.

If I had an oil well, that would be practical.

I have grown canola oil here on the farm and used it as biodiesel in a tractor and a generator.
But canola won't burn in a regular lamp... only my ancient style brass "genie" lamp works with olive/veggie oils.
http://www.worldwideflood.com/ark/technology/oil_lamps.htm

Sorry if I was the one who came across as "pouncing"

- Basey

 

Thanks UncleJoe for the article on sunflowers and expelling the oil. I'm too lazy and DH is not skilled in those matters, I continue to search for an affordable oil expeller...