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We gotta sticky the kerosene thread. This stuff comes up too often.

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Batman and TJ have posted the most and should pull all the relevant pieces together and make one thread of it.

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Your wick was too high.

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Winner!

Shortened the wick and the problem went away.



Anyone know what Florasense is made from?  Is it mostly kerosene, paraffin, recycled chinese fryer oil?

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"Liquid paraffin" *is* kerosene. The british call kerosene "paraffin", and they all belong to the same family - petroleum distillates. It's simply a matter of the length of the molecular chains. Yes, there are varying grades, purity levels, and additives, but a lot of the differentiation is simply marketing.

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This site disagrees with you.  I'm not calling you a liar, just pointing out some different info.  You mention different grades and purity levels - I think that may be important for indoor use where minimizing odor and soot is important.    

I think the reason we have so many of these threads is that there is so much conflicting information out there.  Regional differences in terminology further muddy the topic.

Paraffin, Lamp Oil or Mineral Oil are names for a liquid by-product of the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline and other petroleum based products from crude oil.

1.  CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

TRADE NAME:    ULTRA PURE LAMP OIL
SYNONYMS:      LINPAR 1416-V NORMAL PARAFFIN, Mixture of Tetradecane, Pentadecane, and Hexadecane. EINECS # 265-233-4

MANUFACTURER:   Lamplight Farms
ADDRESS:    4900 North Lilly Road, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051 (800) 645-5267   262-781-9590 (8:00 AM- 4:30 PM CST) M-F

EMERGENCY NUMBER:  1-800-308-7141 (Prosar)
For non-emergency and all other information call: 1-800-645-5267  


2.  COMPOSITION / INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
Components                     CAS Number   Weight %

C14-C16 Paraffins           90622-46-1        100

In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the liquid phase past approximately 37 °C (99 °F).[1]

The simplest paraffin molecule is that of methane, CH4, a gas at room temperature. Heavier members of the series, such as octane, C8H18, and mineral oil appear as liquids at room temperature. The solid forms of paraffin, called paraffin wax, are from the heaviest molecules from C20H42 to C40H82. Paraffin wax was identified by Carl Reichenbach in 1830.[2]

Paraffin, or paraffin hydrocarbon, is also the technical name for an alkane in general, but in most cases it refers specifically to a linear, or normal alkane — whereas branched, or isoalkanes are also called isoparaffins. It is distinct from the fuel known in the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa as paraffin oil or just paraffin, which is called kerosene in most of the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Alkanes (also known as paraffins or saturated hydrocarbons) are chemical compounds that consist only of hydrogen and carbon atoms and are bonded exclusively by single bonds (i.e., they are saturated compounds) without any cycles (or loops; i.e., cyclic structure). With the general chemical formula CnH2n+2, alkanes belong to a homologous series of organic compounds in which the members differ by a constant relative molecular mass of 14. They have two main commercial sources: crude oil and natural gas.

Applications

The applications of a certain alkane can be determined quite well according to the number of carbon atoms. The first four alkanes are used mainly for heating and cooking purposes, and in some countries for electricity generation. Methane and ethane are the main components of natural gas; they are normally stored as gases under pressure. It is, however, easier to transport them as liquids: This requires both compression and cooling of the gas.

Propane and butane can be liquefied at fairly low pressures, and are well known as liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Propane, for example, is used in the propane gas burner and as a fuel for cars,[20] butane in disposable cigarette lighters. The two alkanes are used as propellants in aerosol sprays.

From pentane to octane the alkanes are reasonably volatile liquids. They are used as fuels in internal combustion engines, as they vaporise easily on entry into the combustion chamber without forming droplets, which would impair the uniformity of the combustion. Branched-chain alkanes are preferred as they are much less prone to premature ignition, which causes knocking, than their straight-chain homologues. This propensity to premature ignition is measured by the octane rating of the fuel, where 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (isooctane) has an arbitrary value of 100, and heptane has a value of zero. Apart from their use as fuels, the middle alkanes are also good solvents for nonpolar substances.

Alkanes from nonane to, for instance, hexadecane (an alkane with sixteen carbon atoms) are liquids of higher viscosity, less and less suitable for use in gasoline. They form instead the major part of diesel and aviation fuel. Diesel fuels are characterized by their cetane number, cetane being an old name for hexadecane. However, the higher melting points of these alkanes can cause problems at low temperatures and in polar regions, where the fuel becomes too thick to flow correctly.

Alkanes from hexadecane upwards form the most important components of fuel oil and lubricating oil. In the latter function, they work at the same time as anti-corrosive agents, as their hydrophobic nature means that water cannot reach the metal surface. Many solid alkanes find use as paraffin wax, for example, in candles. This should not be confused however with true wax, which consists primarily of esters.

Alkanes with a chain length of approximately 35 or more carbon atoms are found in bitumen, used, for example, in road surfacing. However, the higher alkanes have little value and are usually split into lower alkanes by cracking.

Some synthetic polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene are alkanes with chains containing hundreds of thousands of carbon atoms. These materials are used in innumerable applications, and billions of kilograms of these materials are made and used each year.

Properties

Kerosene, a thin, clear liquid formed from hydrocarbons, with a density of 0.78–0.81 g/cm3, is obtained from the fractional distillation of petroleum between 150 °C and 275 °C, resulting in a mixture of carbon chains that typically contain between six and 16 carbon atoms per molecule.[6] Major constituents of Kerosene include n-dodecane, alkyl benzenes, and naphthalene and its derivatives.

The flash point of kerosene is between 37 and 65 °C (100 and 150 °F), and its autoignition temperature is 220 °C (428 °F).[7]

2.  COMPOSITION / INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
Components                               CAS Number    Weight %

Hydrotreated Light Distillate        64742-47-8        100
Hazardous in Blend:      Yes

I cede that liquid paraffin, despite what Miles Stair said, is not *quite* kerosene. HOWEVER, that product is NOT suitable for burning in oil lamps, which were designed for kerosene. It's flash point is much higher, and it's capillary action is not the same, due to the slightly longer chain molecules.

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*snip*
I cede that liquid paraffin, despite what Miles Stair said, is not *quite* kerosene.  HOWEVER, that product is NOT suitable for burning in oil lamps, which were designed for kerosene.  It's flash point is much higher, and it's capillary action is not the same, due to the slightly longer chain molecules.

 If you wish to burn expensive "Liquid Paraffin" and ruin the capillary action of the wick, or burn 1K kerosene and have rapid charring of the wick and therefore short wick life, that is fine with me - I will  happily sell you new wicks.  But I like long wick life, a bright light, as little charring of the wick top as possible, with a safe and inexpensive fuel.  You may do as you wish as it is your lamp, your wick and your responsibility.  Peace be with you.  Go with God.  Whatever happens it ain't my fault.  The best fuel for metal font center draft lamps in my opinion is Low Odor Mineral Spirits...

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I'm a newbie to this sort of thing, but my wife found an affinity for hurricane lamps, so I won't discourage her.  She bought "lamp oil" for them, and it works fine, but if there's a cheaper, longer lasting fuel, I'm all for it.  Will mineral spirits work in these things?  They seem to be all the same, even if they're 150 yrs old, or new off the shelf.

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No. Mineral spirits has too low a flash point. It can run away burn under the right circumstances. Stick with fuel that has a 150 degree flash point like k1, lamp oil, or Klean heat from home depot.

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I would love to have a thread on this

A couple of years ago I seem to remember someone (TJ perhaps?) posted a very in-depth primer on wick lanterns, but for the life of me I can't find it.

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Wow, thank you for the well-researched post.  

On the Miles Stair article you cited, he more or less says that liquid paraffin is not quite kerosene.  




It really seems to highlight the fact that heaters, lamps, lanterns, and oil candles are similar, but are different enough that they may run their best with specific types of fuels.  In that regard, it's similar to an internal combustion engine that may be designed to run on gasoline, ethanol, methanol, or a combination thereof.  Similarly, ethanol and methanol are chemically very similar, but one of them makes a rather terrible martini.  

For many of us, oil-fired appliances (for heat or light) are unfamiliar territory and we would be well served to research what type of device we have and what is the proper fuel for it.  At the least, we may end up with clogged wicks.  At the worst, we may have a significant fire hazard.

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Please bear in mind that he is referring *Specifically * to center draft lamps when he recommends mineral spirits - Rayo, Aladdin, and Kosmos mainly.

So, we have center draft lamps designed to burn coal oil, are called "oil lamps," and now were burning Standard Oil's "kerosene."  Note the very careful wording - "center draft lamps."  Low Odor Mineral Spirits should not be used in lanterns or flat wick lamps - just larger metal fount center draft lamps designed in the 1880's.  The Aladdin mantle lamp was not designed until 1907 and was intended for use with kerosene.  See more on Low Odor Mineral Spirits below.

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Thanks, I guess we'll stick to lamp oil.  I don't need to molotov cocktail these things.  Can I run pump kerosene in a hurricane lamp?  Like these:
http://in.all.biz/img/in/catalog/122099.jpeg

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Ummm...

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Aladdin lamps have a glass fount and do not dissipate heat well. I think that is the main issue with fuel for them. I'm not sure it would make that much difference since any round wick is going to guzzle fuel.

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Aladdin made plenty of lamps with metal fonts.  I have one.  But they may not make them any more.

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Since I've already stuck my foot in it a couple of times I'm wondering about ULSD.  Since sulfur is the stankiest part of burning oil lamps, and they have removed most of the sulfur from pump diesel, AND winter blend diesel has a significant portion of D1/K1 in it, I think I'm going to experiment a bit.  I just bought a bunch of wick lamps, and a couple are pretty modern, so I don't mind sacrificing them.  I can set up outside and see what they do, and test some different fuels - I also just bought some K1 substitute at Home Despot ($10.99/gal - yikes), and I have some older pump kerosene around somewhere.

I also scored some Petromax lanterns yesterday, and after rebuilding they might be good test beds as well.   Not to mention instructions on converting a Coleman gas lantern to Kerosene.  I would *really* like to be able to converge on one fuel, and diesel is the best candidate for me.