Yesterday I got my first order from Lehman’s, an online Amish store (I know, that seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it?); they have all the manual/non electric stuff you could imagine and a lot more. In it were the supplies I need for oil lamps. (Why would I want that, you wonder? :)) I thought it would be practical to have some back up lighting other than candles and flashlights for power outages, and the idea of a lamp was appealing. It’s much more secure than a candle, and provides a lot more light. And it’s so atmospheric!
I did some research on oil lamps, but I wasn’t interested in breaking the bank, especially since it’s not something that I was intending to use for every day, and most of those I saw recommended were just too expensive. When I heard about the possibility of using canning jars as the base for an oil lamp, and buying a converter so it could effectively be used as one, that very much appealed to me. I don’t like having things around taking up space if it’s not necessary, and since I already have canning jars around, I appreciated being able to use them for more than one purpose.
It took me ages to find what I was looking for on their website – they have loads of stuff and I didn’t have a catalog number to search for it with, and if I hadn’t known they had it, I would have given up. But I finally found it. (Here’s the link in case you’re interested: http://www.lehmans.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=978&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=1310 ) I bought three adapters, chimneys, and burners, which would give me three lamps – it was about $8 per lamp. And I got three extra packages of wicks. I’ve read that you can make your own, but until I know enough to know what to do, I’ll stick with these. So these supplies will provide lighting for three lamps, which means that if necessary, three rooms will have some light in it – carrying a lamp or even a flashlight from room to room isn’t so efficient when it means leaving 9 other people sitting in the dark! (About six years ago, there was a hurricane here that knocked our power out for a week, and it was really spooky for my kids at night, even with flashlights and tea lights. I think this would have helped a lot.)
But why wait for a power outage to enjoy dinner by lamplight? Last night we (well, I already told you I went out at dinner time, but everyone else) ate dinner by the light of our oil lamp. I waited around to leave until it was lit to see how well it worked. It was really nice and I think we’ll use it more often just for the special feeling it adds to a family dinner.
For fuel, we used the citronella torch fuel that is made for outdoor torch lamps, that I got for 50% off last week. I can’t yet estimate how cost efficient this is in comparison to using electric lights (and I’m not likely to do all the necessary calculations, either!), but a jar of fuel is 55 oz, enough to fill the one quart canning jar we’re using as a base 1.5 times. The amount of fuel we used was negligible, but I’d have to burn it all down, keeping track of exactly how many hours it lasted in order to really give you an accurate idea of the cost. In any case, it’s a lot cheaper than the lamp oil they were selling at Lehman’s for 6.95 for 32 oz! So maybe I really should go buy some more of that lamp fuel before they sell out.
Now I need to pull out those cheapy hurricane lanterns that I bought last week (the day after placing my order for these) for $2 each, and see how they compare. Those will definitely be better for camping because I can hang them up.
Avivah
