On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 15:25:23 -0600, wrote:

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 16:28:35 GMT, "Thomas D. Horne, FF EMT"
wrote:

HeyBub wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
Good grief. How did anyone ever manage to light his home before
Edison and Westinghouse?

They used whale-oil lamps. Really. Rockefeller, who brought the cost of a
gallon of Kerosene down from $3.00/gallon to less than five cents,
effectively brought an end to the whaling business. If John D. were to try
that today, the government would be all over his butt claiming "unfair
competition" etc.

Wait... Never mind.

Tell your buddy to buy a few oil lamps.

Excellent suggestion. I've got five for emergencies. They burn about 1 cup
of Kerosene in two hours. Five gallons of Kerosene (which NEVER goes bad)
should last for a month.

If he wants to be modern, high-tech, and money is no object, get Coleman
camp lanterns. They put out more light than a piddly 60-watt (or florescent
equivalent) bulb anyway.



If you are talking about gasoline or white gas burning lanterns then I
must disagree. Gasoline lanterns such as the Coleman type are
unsuitable for use indoors. The fuel is flammable as opposed to
combustible.

Flammable liquids give of ignitable vapors at normal ambient temperature
and pressure. Those vapors are heavier than air and will flow along the
floor like water and accumulate in low spots until and ignition source
is encountered. One cup of gasoline can, under the worst circumstances,
generate the explosive power of an entire stick of dynamite.
Combustible liquids must be preheated, wicked, or atomized to make them
readily ignitable.

That difference makes white gas and gasoline a much poorer choice for a
fuel source for emergency use. If you want a brighter liquid fueled
light then consider an Aladdin mantle lantern. Those burn as bright as
a sixty watt incandescent electric light bulb but they are silent in
operation and the kerosene that they burn for fuel is safer to store and
handle. For a pressurized mantle lantern the Britelyt Petromax lanterns
would be the way to go. There are cooking and heating adapters made for
the Britelyt lanterns which adds to there versatility in emergency
situations. There biggest advantage over the gas fueled lanterns is
that they will burn a wide variety of flammable and combustible liquids.
For indoor use Kerosene should be the liquid fuel of choice because
it's lower flash point makes it safer to use and store.

I agree on the gas or coleman fuel. I wont use that indoors. I got
one that I have used outside for both camping and at home when the car
is broke, or a sick animal or building stuff after dark.

I have used kerosene lamps indoors and feel pretty safe with them as
long as there are no cats in the house that could knock it over.

I have heard of those aladdin lamps, in fact I think I saw one once
when camping. But where do you get them. I assume they use kerosene.



Or you could cut a few strands off a cotton mop, shove them into
a can of vegetable shortening, set said can on a platter,
and set them on fire.