Posted: 10/12/2011 1:05:13 PM EDT
|
I am just starting to use oil lamps - on the first day my lamps burnt just fine. Ever since, the wick burns brightly for about 30 seconds, then the flame almost goes out, and provides hardly any light.
I didn't change anything about the lamps, and am not doing anything differently than I did the first day, other than trimming the wicks - but that was after the problem manifested. It's the same two lamps & same wicks & same ultra pure lamp oil. The wick is barely showing, and barely burns. If I raise the wick, it burns bright for a minute then barely burns. The oil in the container is about half full. These are 7/8" wicks in an old glass lamp with globe, and a newer $6 walmart glass oil lamp with globe (using the wick it came with). One other issue: the replacement burner assembly & wick that walmart sells *appears* to be the right size for my old Lamp Light Farms glass oil lamp, but when I try to screw it on the threading is slightly different and wont fit. Any suggestions on a replacement part? Any help appreciated! |
|
Quoted:
Silly questions time. 1) do you have enough lamp oil in there 2) Is the wick totally submerged at the bottom 3) Is there enough air space around the lamp to get sufficent oxygen to burn The base is about 3/5 full, which is to say about 3 inches of oil in the base, and 2 inches of air. The bottom 2" of the wick is submerged. There is plenty of air. Quoted:
fill the well to the top. the wick may be lifting too far to burn well. This may be true - if so, doesn't that mean that you could have 3 inches of oil in a lamp and not be able to make use of it if you don't have extra oil to refill it with? It seems wasteful, or like a poor design if that's the case. |
|
Yeah, that's a common problem with modern designed oil lamps. Look at a real antique lamp, and you'll see that often the reservoirs are often VERY wide and pretty shallow. The capillary action of the wick can only lift fuel so far.
I've seen some folks get around this by putting decorative glass beads or marbles in the oil reservoir, to raise the oil level and the wick. |
|
Quoted: Re: the capillary action of the wick,Yeah, that's a common problem with modern designed oil lamps. Look at a real antique lamp, and you'll see that often the reservoirs are often VERY wide and pretty shallow. The capillary action of the wick can only lift fuel so far. I've seen some folks get around this by putting decorative glass beads or marbles in the oil reservoir, to raise the oil level and the wick. It's been a while since I played with them, I guess my power grid is too trusty.... But I recall that I had to go through a few brands 'til I found one that flowed better. It's not just 'cotton', but the type of cotton, or the fluff/loft of the material was important too. It's not like it made worlds of difference, but it was noticeable. You might want to play with brands of fuel, too. The stuff you have now may be less cooperative when it gets colder. I remember playing with adding a small % of light/winter kerosene to flow a little better. I was shopping for oil a few months ago, it was ~ $6/pint at the only local place I could find it - a craft store. I need to put that on my 'research again' list. Thanks for the reminder. Good luck |
|
Quoted:
Yeah, that's a common problem with modern designed oil lamps. Look at a real antique lamp, and you'll see that often the reservoirs are often VERY wide and pretty shallow. The capillary action of the wick can only lift fuel so far. I've seen some folks get around this by putting decorative glass beads or marbles in the oil reservoir, to raise the oil level and the wick. this is the correct answer. |
|
Good info, thanks!
Last point - the burner assembly (part that screws onto the base, along with the part that holds the wick & dial that raises/lowers) on the old Lamp Light Farms lamp stopped working. I replaced it with one from Wal-Mart that appears identical, but unfortunately the threading is slightly off and it wont screw down properly. Any ideas where replacements can be found? |
|
For a lamp light burner (if it's the same size) you can try Lamp Light or if not I usually turn to Kirkman's for parts.
Good luck. -Jeff |