Lantern Advice

JBP-PA · Oct 23, 2023

I have both the #700 and the #600 (no longer made). Both get quite toasty and give off a bit of heat, enough to take the edge off but not really enough to heat my 23 ft boat. They both give off a warm glow you could read by, but it's not optimal. The same as any other oil lamp. They are beautiful and fun to have, I'd never give them up, but it's only aesthetic not practical.

dlochner · Oct 23, 2023

How long do you want to read? And how small is the print?

These lamps are more for use as general lighting than as a reading lamp. The light is pretty diffuse and very yellow. They do provide minimal heat, we were desperate on this morning with the cabin in the low 50s.

Timm R Oday25 · Oct 23, 2023

Ambience ..that's why I bought ours . I love the look ,the feel and the weight of a well made oil lamp . Ours is mounted on a bulkhead and is gimballed .
Even turned all the way up ,I'm not sure I would want to read small print for very long . I most certainly would peruse a map with one .

rgranger · Oct 23, 2023

@dlochner is in NY. You are on the border of NC and SC... (much warmer) and your boat is smaller. You may find that it will make your cabin warm enough... you could alway get two...

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dlochner · Oct 23, 2023

rgranger said:
@dlochner is in NY. You are on the border of NC and SC...

Uh, that photo was taken just out side Elizabeth City, NC.

rgranger · Oct 23, 2023

dlochner said:
Uh, that photo was taken just out side Elizabeth City, NC.

Nice...

The Albemarle/Pamlico and Neuse are my FAVORITE cruising grounds.

dlochner · Oct 23, 2023

We were just trying to get the heck out of NC, it was too cold. A few days later we woke up to 46° in the cabin in Oriental.

Terry Cox · Oct 23, 2023

Skipper J said:
Can anyone tell me if the Weems and Plath yacht lanterns (link below) give off enough light to read by? Do they give off enough heat to warm the cabin of an 18-foot boat?

No and no. We've had one for years. They look nice with a comfortable ambient light. If you want a lantern that will give off lots of heat and brightness to read by, get one of these. They work great, but do need some ventilation. Aladdin Oil Lamp, Model 12 Brass Oil Lamp Burner / Model 12 Lox-On Chimney | eBay

Also here. Aladdin Wall Lamps

dLj · Oct 23, 2023

OK, I don't know the models being discussed, but having grown up with kerosene lamps, it doesn't look to me like any of these lamps would be good for reading. We had a kerosene reading lamp that had a reflector behind the flame and a lens in front that really aided in giving directed light specifically for reading. I can't imagine any kerosene lamp without at least a condenser (the lens in front) could be used for any length of time reading without a lot of eye strain...

dj

Art12050 · Oct 23, 2023

We have two on our boat, the large and small model. Both are bulkhead mounted on gimbals. As mentioned they give off a warm glow. It’s possible to read by them once your eyes adjust and you’re fairly close.
Make sure you use smokeless fuel or you’ll have soot all over your cabin.

Rick D · Oct 23, 2023

I have one in the main cabin of our Hunter 40.5. The best use over the years was offshore races when I had it on all night. It produced as soft glow and took the edge off the cold. Otherwise, it's sort of having a little fireplace at home.

Jim Legere · Oct 24, 2023

I second what Terry Cox says above. In order to get decent light for reading (and the consequent increase in heat output) the lamp must have a round wick like the Aladdin lamp in his link. I have always favoured lamps by Den Hann and have a Trawler Jr. on my current boat.

And use only pure lamp oil (paraffin) not kerosene!

Terry Cox · Oct 24, 2023

dLj said:
OK, I don't know the models being discussed, but having grown up with kerosene lamps, it doesn't look to me like any of these lamps would be good for reading.

If you've ever experienced the light and heat from a Coleman lantern, you'll know the difference. That separates the Aladdin mantle lamp from a standard wick lamp.

dLj · Oct 24, 2023

Terry Cox said:
If you've ever experienced the light and heat from a Coleman lantern, you'll know the difference. That separates the Aladdin mantle lamp from a standard wick lamp.

I've not seen mantle lamps run kerosene. But running a search, it appears that they will run with kerosene. Mantle lamps do provide enough light to read by.

Traditional wick lamps are hard pressed to produce sufficient light to read by, even the large ( including circular) wick types although those are certainly better.

I also ran a search on the type of lamp we used to have running a traditional wick and used for reading, but did not find a reference to one. I imagine I'd have to go into museums to research them. The one we had was from the early 1900's as were many of the original kerosene lamps we had in our farmhouse.

I have used the pressurized mantel lamps, but all the ones I've used ran off gasoline. They are very bright!

dj

Jim Legere · Oct 24, 2023

Mantle lamps - Aladdin, Coleman or Tilley - are too bright for a small boat cabin IMHO. If you like reading by a 200 - 400 Watt (incandescent) bulb, you might want one. They do give off a lot of heat, if that's a priority. Round wick lamps are a happy medium for me.

dLj · Oct 24, 2023

Jim Legere said:
Mantle lamps - Aladdin, Coleman or Tilley - are too bright for a small boat cabin IMHO. If you like reading by a 200 - 400 Watt (incandescent) bulb, you might want one. They do give off a lot of heat, if that's a priority. Round wick lamps are a happy medium for me.

They also go through fuel much faster than wick based lamps - at least the gasoline ones do. I've never used a kero pressurized mantel lamp.

dj

Terry Cox · Oct 24, 2023

Unlike Coleman gas mantle lanterns, Aladdin lamps are not pressurized. It is a highly refined white kerosene that burns exceptionally clean with very low consumption. I purchase ours from Home Depot. While the light is quite bright, it is more localized and does not spread out like a high wattage incandescent bulb. It will also heat up a small boat cabin nicely during those cooler outside temps.

dLj · Oct 24, 2023

Terry Cox said:
Unlike Coleman gas mantle lanterns, Aladdin lamps are not pressurized. It is a highly refined white kerosene that burns exceptionally clean with very low consumption. I purchase ours from Home Depot. While the light is quite bright, it is more localized and does not spread out like a high wattage incandescent bulb. It will also heat up a small boat cabin nicely during those cooler outside temps.

Do you buy the lamps at home Depot or the fuel? Or both?

dj