olive oil lamp

[mrscoyote]

Hi, I wanted to share this and ask if anyone has ever done it? opinions please.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/Make-Olive-Oil-Lamp.aspx

 

[Toulle]

I've used olive oil in lamps before. It is okay, but tends to burn a bit smokier than other stuff.

If you're buying the oil, citronella oil for tiki lamps is much cheaper than olive oil. You can make a little oil lamp that burns that stuff out of any small glass bottle and something for a wick like a strip of scrap wool.

 

[Lady Henevere]

I did! I talked about it here: http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9286&p=3 (post 28) I really liked it.

 

[Boogity]

When my son was in the Boyscouts we taught them how to make this lamp. It works very well and is excellent in emergency situations. Due to the olive oil wanting to smoke you will have to keep the active end of the wick very short and therefore the light output is very low. But in an emergency they are wonderful and takes only a minute or two to build.

 

[TanksHill]

Using olive oil as a fuel seems like a very expensive choice.

 

[mrscoyote]

I just found the simplicity of it fascinating and that it is less of a fire hazard than kerosene. I think it would be a fun project for my son.
Nancy

 

[Britesea]

the nice thing about an olive oil lamp is that if it gets knocked over (dog tails, rambunctious children, people that talk with their hands) the fire tends to just go out rather than spread. I don't know if that is true of citronella and other oils?

We have a couple of those mugs that became popular in "country" restaurants-- the ones that look like a mason jar with a handle- that I think will make a good lamp for carrying into a darkened room (like going to the bedroom at night)

 

[Toulle]

the nice thing about an olive oil lamp is that if it gets knocked over (dog tails, rambunctious children, people that talk with their hands) the fire tends to just go out rather than spread. I don't know if that is true of citronella and other oils?

We have a couple of those mugs that became popular in "country" restaurants-- the ones that look like a mason jar with a handle- that I think will make a good lamp for carrying into a darkened room (like going to the bedroom at night)

I don't know if citronella or such would catch up in that situation. Wish I wasn't about to go work the night shift - I would certainly be out on the patio with a jar and citronella oil just to see.

If that is true, then I see two reasons for an olive oil lamp. One is that it is a bit safer than a citronella, the other is it can be a method for an emergency light if you have olive oil for cooking and no citronella on hand.

Still cheaper than whale oil I bet. That's what lamps in the 19th C were fueled with.

When the colonists settled Georgia in the 1730's, they were given provisions at the Trust's expense. One of these was lamp oil. I always wondered if it was olive oil, whale oil, or what.
I use olive oil on my knife sharpening stone, and to oil my flintlock guns

 

[mrscoyote]

I was thinking today maybe it would be a good way to recycle used oil.