I'm not really familiar with either and couldn't find a thread on the subject. I have a couple of oil lamps and just picked up a couple more (50 cents each! :2thumb: ) but what I really need is fuel for them. We've got a little lamp oil, but I don't know the pros and cons and what the going price is. Got any tips or experiences to share?
Lamp oil vs Kerosene?
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Kerosene goes for about $10 a gallon and about $40 for 5 gallons. Lamp oil is much more expensive.
Candle & Lamp Oil for Oil Lamps & Oil Candles
Candle & Lamp Oil for Oil Lamps & Oil Candles
For some reason its in my mind that "lamp oil" is distilled from coal, aka, coal oil. Could that be correct?
I use K1 kerosene. In fact, I just topped of my 5 gal can a little while ago. It took about 2.5 gal and cost me $9.25. The K1 is a bit less smelly.
I also filled two empty gasoline cans. That cost me $27.51. I'm glad I didn't wait until all of them were empty!
I use K1 kerosene. In fact, I just topped of my 5 gal can a little while ago. It took about 2.5 gal and cost me $9.25. The K1 is a bit less smelly.
I also filled two empty gasoline cans. That cost me $27.51. I'm glad I didn't wait until all of them were empty!
$10 a Gallon in WI and $5 a Gallon in LA? I paid $3.85 the other day for K-1 and thought that was outragous. Last year I was paying in the high 2's or low 3's. I remember it being 99 Cents really not that long ago.
As mentioned, Kerosene will last a pretty long time, but recycling it once in a while would be better. I use it for some Heat as well as in Lanterns.
Also some Lamp Oils are scented and they will smell purty.
Bill
As mentioned, Kerosene will last a pretty long time, but recycling it once in a while would be better. I use it for some Heat as well as in Lanterns.
Also some Lamp Oils are scented and they will smell purty.
Bill
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Down here in FL we don't have Kerosene pumps but many of the fuel oil and large propane companies sell it but they don't deliver unless you have a large tank like a fuel oil tank, and most don't deliver at all. As far as lamp oil versus kerosene goes kerosene is cheaper but you can also use any cooking oil, fryer oil etc... in an oil lamp and they each smell different. But keep them separate.
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Diesel Fuel Lamp?
Diesel isn't nearly as volatile or combustible as gasoline. I wonder if it's possible to safely burn diesel fuel in a lamp?
Diesel isn't nearly as volatile or combustible as gasoline. I wonder if it's possible to safely burn diesel fuel in a lamp?
I've never tried it in a Lamp or Lantern, but my guess is that it would smoke. In a Kerosene Stove, even if the K-1 fuel is contaminated with diesel (#1 or #2), it will not burn clean and will give off an odor. Every once in a while, I will get a bad batch of Kerosene. It most likely gets contaminated when a fuel tanker switches from diesel to K-1. The way I understand it is a tanker (or compartment) used for K-1, should always be used just for K-1. They say just a gallon or two of diesel can contaminate a whole tank.
Just for a little extra info, I believe K-1 is the purist form of diesel. I've seen people run it in their diesel trucks, although it is illegal to run without a road tax on it. Some Kerosene has Red Dye in it, but I refuse to burn Red Dye fuel in the house. Luckily enough places sell the "K-1 Clear" around here. My friend's store started selling Red Dye Kerosene and I quit buying it from him. I would use it in an emergency, but not as a routine.
Bill
As a teenager we lived in eastern kansas and had some pretty hard winters while we were there. We had a shop/garage and heated and light it with oil lamps and heaters, we used diesel in both when the kerosine ran out. If you kept the wicks well trimmed and the soot cleaned out the smoke could be kept down to a minimum, it did still have a diesel smell though.
Outside(shop-garage-toolshed...), you could get by with using diesel in heaters and lamps, unless you are sensitive to it like Emerald is to kerosine. We did have to clean them more often than with kerosine or lamp oil.
Outside(shop-garage-toolshed...), you could get by with using diesel in heaters and lamps, unless you are sensitive to it like Emerald is to kerosine. We did have to clean them more often than with kerosine or lamp oil.
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We often hear the old style 'hurricane lamps' referred to as 'kerosene lamps'. Can kero be burned int he standard metal hurricane lamp, after changing the wick of course....?
Here in Tallahassee, Florida, we do have a few stations that sell kerosene, as well as propane - the "Wayside Farms" store is less than a mile from me and sells both, as well as non-E10 gas for my small engine gear. It ain't cheap, but it's available! :beercheer:
Here in Tallahassee, Florida, we do have a few stations that sell kerosene, as well as propane - the "Wayside Farms" store is less than a mile from me and sells both, as well as non-E10 gas for my small engine gear. It ain't cheap, but it's available! :beercheer:
Diesel and fuel oil are the same. You just pay road taxes on "on road" diesel.
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many states have the kero dyed now so if it is used in an on road diesel truck, it will let the DOT know that the road tax wasn't paid as the fuel in their tank will be pink or lt red. All trucks now have to have clear fuel in their tanks unless it's registered for a farm or off road.
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I've been buying the regular lamp oil for a long time for prep storage. I buy it at WW in 1/2 gallon jugs. About $4 and change. I have a LOT of it stored. I tested some last winter that I bought in 2000. Burned just fine. No smelly good added to it and it has a very low odor.
In my bug-in plan, oil lamps would be used in the winter, as in a small area they will put off heat. Summer time hoping my solar powered LEDs will take on the lighting load.
Jimmy
In my bug-in plan, oil lamps would be used in the winter, as in a small area they will put off heat. Summer time hoping my solar powered LEDs will take on the lighting load.
Jimmy
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Go to the nearest airport that sells "JETA" fuel.
NOT AvGas, JET A.
It is kerosene. Ask for the stuff they drain from their filters
Might have to run it through a coffee filter, but hey....
NOT AvGas, JET A.
It is kerosene. Ask for the stuff they drain from their filters
Might have to run it through a coffee filter, but hey....The best alternative, by far - even in winter. I would use wood for heat - and lamp oil ONLY if it's the only source of fuel left.
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