This post is to answer a few questions. This one is about oil lamps. I do have a post on oil lamps somewhere on my blog but I will do a refresher here.
I was asked if I like the new oil lamps or the old ones. We have both.
This is a newer old oil lamp. You can tell by the screw on cap. It screws on the outside.
This is a very old oil lamp and it screws on to the inside. In other words the screw part is on the inside of the glass. Go back up and look at the photo above this one and you will see the difference.
Often the quality is better on the older ones but that depends on the condition.
I use smokeless oil. It is normally clear oil. Here are two different types of oil that we use.
I find that the oil lamp with the white globe makes it feel more like an electric light. It seems to have a wider coverage of light. That is if the wick is cut properly.
Wicks should be trimmed every so often after they have burned a few times. I round ours off. I have seen people cut the wicks straight across and I do not understand doing this because if you cut it straight across it will burn uneven and it will get bright then dim. When rounding off the wick such as above the burn will remain steady.
Take some sharp scissors and trim to a curve leaving no points at the edges. This one could have burned several more times but I am doing this to show you how to do it.
Here it is rounded, I need to get that small little edge on the left trimmed off for a smooth burn.
To light the lamp do not turn the wick up high, leave it below the opening there. This will prevent smoking and smell and as it starts to burn you will want to lower it even more until you get the globe put on.
Make sure your glass globe is inside these prongs. Always handle the oil lamps carefully and a child should never handle a glass oil lamp.
Sorry for the fuzzy photo but some things are just difficult to take a picture of. When extinguishing a flame in a oil lamp. Slowly turn the knob to lower the wick. Watch the flame get smaller until it extinguishes. Then leave the wick down so it will not relight. Always keep a check to make sure it is out and never leave an oil lamp burning unwatched. Some people cup their hand and blow across the top of the glass but this causes a smoke and smell when it goes out.
Treat it like an electric light, turn it off when you leave the room.
One more thing I would like to mention. If you have a disaster and you are using candles, oil lamps gas stoves, make sure there are no gas leaks before striking a match or lighter, candle, stove, oil lamp etc. One very good thing to have for a disaster is a elastic head lamp that goes around your forehead. We have two of them and this allows you to walk around to check for damage.
Our power goes out easily during storms and we are very comfortable using our oil lamps because we understand how to use them and respect that this is a flame. These have been used by many generations before us.
I hope this post helps. Take Care, Grandma Donna
