Do oil lamps put out a lot of soot? I was toying with the idea of mounting one in a cabin. Would this one put out enough light for vacationer? Would I slowly find my white overhead and bulkheads slowly turning gray? Would I need more than one? Are there better prices out there?
http://www.vermontlanterns.com/content/m...wgimbal-85
Thanks
Brian
Oil Lamps are romantic, but they do put out smoke. Using very clean fuel helps, but more importantly, keeping the wick in good shape (yep, you have to maintain the wick too). The cabin of a Vacationer would have a warm glow with one lamp, but most would struggle to read by it.
In use, you'd have a personal lamp for reading, which would reside next to you on a shelf or table. This would be carried around with you as you needed it, much like the candles used prior to oil lamps.
They can add to the aroma of a boat. They can be messy and the smoke will get all over everything eventually. You can mount shields that help somewhat, but smoke has a mind of it's own and isn't usually deterred by a little old soot guard. They also have a nasty habit of catching things on fire, like wooden boats.
I've used them, like them and keep them in reserve, but man a battery powered something or other is so much easier to live with.
Brian Here is my 2cents worth. I have bought a couple of small LED lanterns at wallie world. They put out a good amount of light, will last two or three nights without new batteries about six inches tall with a bail to hang them with. Cost (saw them today) $5.00 plus tax. Not as romantic but a hell of a lot better. I have used one for an anchor light. Yes they will burn all night. They will be in the camping section (maybe) Bud :o
I have one on my boat and I really enjoy it, it has a smoke bell to keep some of the soot down, more importantly it keeps the heat off my ceiling. Those things can get really hot! I use liquid paraffin instead of oil. It's a lot cleaner and better smelling. The paraffin does use more wick than oil though. If you can find fiberglass wicks you'll be even better. It will do a pretty good job of lighting up the vacationers cabin and it adds to the warmth on a cool night. There's also the bonus of lighting it up with a lady onboard, somehow it shuts them up and puts them in that rare mood that us guys are always in. Now you know why they cost so much!
Keith
Keith, does that work? This is an area of discussion that has been avoided till now, maybe should be included in any discussion of Weekender vs Vacationer.
Greetings,
The LED lanters are great. I bought one at Cabelas for $25. They had 12 and 24 LED models with key fobs - yes remote control for turning on the LED lantern. At first I thought that the FOB was a little excessive, but it paid for itself in yucks the first time we went camping with the boy scouts. As it was getting dark, one of the other parents was looking at all of the similar looking tents all lined up and wondering how anybody was going to find their tent in the dark when they all looked the same. I said that would be easy and reached into my pocket, pulled out my FOB, and clicked on the lantern by remote control. Pointing to my glowing tent, I said ... "That one is mine ..."Â
Cheers,
Tom
i chose to make a lantern that operates on my boats battery. i used a dissasembled liscense plate light for the gutts and built it out of wood. i used a coleman lantern globe thingey and it worked great. i let it burn for two days in the driveway to see how much of a draw it would take and it only used .5 volts from my battery. i do have a honken battery but that was nothin. i never have to worry about power and it does a good job. the bulb is the same kind you put in most turn signal fixtures. i have a picture of it here.
http://boxelderbugs.net/images/0125071358-00.jpg
i hang it from my boom when i am in the cockpit and from the cabin when i am in doors. i keep a long cord on it so it will reach power with out trouble.