What a cool obvious way to do this that many do not think of. You can increase the heat output by cutting out a square piece of metal window screen at least one foot square and then folding it into a cylinder that can be inserted into the can . After that another can of the same size can be used as a cap for the top of screen . You should wind up with some good space between the lower can and upper can . The screen will begin to glow red hot and start throwing out heat in a more efficient way . The oil lamp fixture with wick included is a very cool idea. :O) ( vegetable oil does not produce the smoke factor of regular lamp oil and is much cheaper )
Another great idea to try. Get a piece of stainless steel mesh.2 times as tall the size of the can you used.Roll it up to the diameter size of your can.Secure it with light wire so it stays the shape of a can. Basically it becomes a see through screen can.Put something metal over the top so heat doesn't leave from the top. If you have nothing else,cut the bottom 3rd off the can,use the part that has the lid still on.File those edges down as it will be very sharp. Just secure that on top of the stainless steel mesh so it fits snugly over the top of the rolled mesh.This simple tactic will turn your oil lamp into a radiant heater. You need a half circle of something metal behind it,I use a large can crackers come in, cut in half with tin snips but you can use several layers of foil as tall as the unit, shaped into a half circle,behind the lamp. This directs all the heat to the front and sides. It's shocking how much heat this puts out. My oil lamp with 1 inch wick had the stainless steel mesh glowing red.
Thanks for mentioning the btus that one of these lamps could produce, it’s a question often left unanswered and fairly important for deciding not just wether going this route or not but also how to go this route if deciding to.
I use the oil lamps for heat and hot water.I obtained by bartering, 3 older, 12 inch diameter metal plant stands,I put a large pot,half full of water on the top of the plant stand.It has a 3 inch ring around the top, perfect so the pot can't slide off.I cut a few inches off the legs with a hacksaw so that when you put the oil lamp under the stand,(no chimney on the lamp), there's 3-4 inches between the flame and the bottom of the pot.You would be surprised how hot the water gets.Great for heating up soups,canned pasta,etc.
Wow, I have several oil lamps I keep as decoration/emergency lights for when storms knock out our power.... never thought of it as a heat source during winter. THANK YOU!
Great! I just found out you can mix oils also. A little lamp oil with vegetable or olive oil will thin it out.also for the wick you can take a cotton mop and use the string. You'll have to use a small piece of wire to pull the mop string through. When the wick goes down just pull up with tweezers. I had to take the little cap on top off. I'm burning now 2hrs.in a regular hurrican lamp. I like the can for the garage..Thank you. Many Blessings
Great video, thank you for taking the time to make it! I live in Ohio and have had the power go out a few times during harsh winters. I sure didn't want to be caught in a pinch again this year if it gets bad.
Old guy here, don’t claim to be a prepper. Old seafarer told me he would put a teaspoon of stove fuel alcohol into his lamp before filling with coal oil and it wouldn’t smell. Also, (fear of cold dark winter has me doing this) I was inspired by another video, guy in UK used two soup cans. Smaller diameter and taller slides inside the larger diameter and shorter of the two. Put small hole in middle bottom of smaller taller one (vent/fill hole?) and wrap/roll some wicking type material/cloth around it, needs to start at the opened end but only high enough That when you slide smaller taller with the opened end into shorter larger open end (mouth to mouth) that about 5 millimeters is exposed. Doesn’t need to be very thick either. I put a little lamp oil in from the vent hole that is now on top waited for it to wick the oil and lighted it outside. Burned for an hour at least and it smoked at first. Be careful if you try this, do it outside, fire extinguisher at the ready, don’t get any oil on you, and you do this at your own peril and risk.
Something I learned is to put an upside down 6"-8" terra cotta flower pot over the flame (over the can in this case) and then the flower pot base upside down over upside down flower pot. Then you get the omitting heat coming from the ceramic mass releasing outwards too and not just straight up. Works fantastic. Thanks for the post!
I read about using multiple terracotta pots (different sizes) with a piece of all-thread rod and threaded nuts, and that the rod had a BIG part to do with distributing the heat.
@@J_Trask those all do next to nothing except trap the flame heat to be cooled off several minutes after the flame goes out. Differ heat by 15 minutes. For a dead air lamp or candle all you really want to do is arrest the heat going straight up and heating the ceiling or scorching your tent top. This lamp with a can is fine....however leave the bottom on the can, turn upside, punch holes all around the bottom and top edges. Poke a few holes in the can bottom (on top) to avoid overheating the lamp. There you have a small kerosene heater with the same design as a Perfection. Or you can buy a hot blast or Dietz style ubiquitous kerosene lamp for 8 to 15 dollars and you have the same rig, with a handle, steel construction and better stable base
@@MrFrance97the main difference with the Terra cotta, I think is it will offer a tiny bit of thermal storage. But in this setting with a quart jar, you would need to be very careful with the weight of the pot creating instability, especially as the oil is consumed and the jar progressively becomes lighter in weight.
Thanks very much. I picked up an extra mechanism like this at Home Hardware just a few weeks ago, and haven’t gotten around to trying it. I think it would be just good to have a back up in case something goes wrong with one of the set ups I have. You’ve inspired me to dig it out and set it up just to be sure. I did expect to see you put a terra-cotta pot on top of it, after establishing a little gap, however. Lol. Thanks again.
Neat idea, but I would find a black iron pipe with the right diameter, matching the tin can you were using. Black iron, or maybe even cast iron pipe cut to the right size would hold heat better and longer than that soup can method.
Did you use a regular size soup can or a larger soup can? Bought the mason jar oil lamp burner, just need to get the can. Thank you for making this video. It is very helpful!
Was watching Robert Murray Smith who also designs and redesigns lamp oil lanterns. He mentioned es using olive oil as an alternative fuel source. Your thoughts. Thanks.
I wonder if you couldn't make an earthenware chimney for that instead of the soup can. Might retain and radiate the heat better. Kinda like the old candle/flower pot method
Dave this looks like a great idea. Do you think if a person drilled holes around the top of the can that you could place a small pan on top of the can and bring water to a boil?
It did boil water! Took 12 minutes for 1 cup of water to begin to boil. Maybe shorter can and more holes. But anyway nothing exploded and no one was hurt, lol. Worst thing that happened was I cut my finger drying the inside of the tin can. Hope I can find some of those mason jar type burners because that looks more stable than a regular oil lamp like I used! Thanks for the video - Sherry
I'd use something else for boiling water or cooking....Try some tea candles in a container ,height just above the candles and you can sit a pot on it. And put a lid on the pot.OR the little alcohol in tin can burners.
Definitely! My friends house got hit by a tornado (not badly) and we didn't have power for 2 weeks. We made a campfire in the backyard, and used his grill, but also used this set up to heat smaller portions for coffee, hot cocoa, tea, etc. Just took the grate out of his toaster oven and laid it on the can. It worked. I think air holes would keep the flame burning hotter to boil the water faster, but in our situation, we were just using what we had.
This is interesting if it's true that it uses 1/2 oz every hour. If that's the case if you spend 5 hours cooking on a single stove setup every day for 26 days, it would only take one 64 oz bottle.
I'm thinking that if you cut out one side of the can and use that as an Infrared reflector, that it will provide Radiant heat as well as convective heat. What do you think?
Why dont you put a stainless sieve on top. It will act just like an old kerosine heater element and radiate more heat and the bright red glow is more interesting to watch
Haha that it does .That's what I use for my diesel car and I use it for the lamps because I have it and it's free also if you filter it god it doesn't smell that much.thank you again for the video just wanted to add that comment to your video just in case people can't get lamp oil or kerosene they could use vegetable oil instead in this cold winter's we're getting. .
My future bugout space is going to be 8'x12' x14" and this looks like magic to me. How about a cut glass bottle/jar instead of a can? I would like to use them for interior light as well as heat. With a ventilated can I'd also use it to heat soup, etc. Seems to be very flexible. Your thoughts in return would be greatly appreciated. Great project!
@@laurawhite4118 Love second hand/thrift stores! Will keep an eye open I've seen regular globes many times and other items that could be repurposed. Thanks for the ideas.
@@MrAmisto The surface area of any material merely dissipates heat either effectively or ineffectively - hence the design, for example, of a finned heatsink on a PC processor. However, the heat output generated by any appliance cannot be 'forced' to provide more heat than it already does. You can't get 'something for nothing' in this world - it's dictated by physics.
Other than being unbreakable, what is the advantage of using a tin can instead of the normal glass chimney usually found on oil lamps? I have bought wicks and burners like you show here to use with mason jars, and also have several oil lamps. Those glass chimneys get plenty hot (untouchable) while the lamp is burning.
I have not been able to find the standard size glass chimney in my area. I use the kerosene lamps for heat, and the can is an excellent alternative to a glass chimney.
@@genttn8451 I have several glass chimneys wrapped in newspaper,in a box.Wish I could send them to you. Are you near North NJ? if so you can have all of them.
2:16 1300 to 1500 BTUs? Wow. Did you actually measure it with a tool? I have an electric heater (a Patton mill house heater) that puts out 1300 to 1500 BTU and I’ve used it to EASILY heat a 200+ sq ft room and had to turn it down before it ran me out of there. Granted, the milk house heater has a built-in fan too. If this improvised oil lamp heater can do the same, that’s very impressive.
How many BTUs without the can? How does the heat output of the can compare to a glass chimney or a terra cotta pot? Thanks for informing us about the mason jar lamp!
Hi Mark, The can is for the "chimney" effect to provide a good draft for the burner. Without it the flame burns rich and its is hard to control. With the can you dial in a sweet spot for the flame, burns cleaner. Tried terra cotta a couple times, I didn't care for it.
@@PulpVideo59 You've gotten me interested in oil lamps through this video! I made a soup can chimney for an old lamp, got the old burner cleaned and started using it. I don't know if the can chimney gets more heated than a glass one, but I like that the can is unbreakable. From my brief experience with my lamp, I think that the flame might be easier to maintain properly with the taller glass chimney, but both gt really hot. I wish I had a really tall soup can 🙂 The mason jar lid would give variety for the size of the oil fount, and what with the ubiquity of the jars your idea would certain be a cheap way to make some lamp/heaters. Thanks again for posting your viddy!
Neat idea. But I wouldn't want to depend on that for very long. Unvented heat sources can have bad effects from breathing fumes. I believe that breathing vapors can possibly cause Good Pasture Syndrome. A life threatening auto immune disorder.
Erick Borling: If you’ve got your wig trimmed just before loading your week, and keep it at the proper height, there’s not usually soot generated; That being said, there’s a product made for children nowadays called Play-Doh. It wasn’t always made for children. Just before electricity came into widespread use for home heating, lighting, and cooking, Using candles, kerosene, Marine oils, coal, and Wood, generated quite a bit of sort, and most especially before the stove begin to draw properly in the morning. I don’t remember what the name of the product was before it was called Play-Doh, but it was produced especially for housekeepers and housewives for picking up the salt deposits off the walls and ceilings. It’s more colourful product now, and marketed to children, but I see no reason for which couldn’t be used for its original purpose. And of course you could always do a little homemade Play-Doh And see if you can use it for that purpose.
Love this video. Been looking for something like this for tent camping. Amazon doesn't have this in stock anymore, though. Can't seem to find it anywhere else. Any advice?
Amazon has them now starting at $8.46. www.amazon.com/Brite-Century-L25P-Standard-Burner/dp/B000I1A5JC/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=oil+lamp+burner&qid=1603545940&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&rnid=2470954011&rps=1&s=furniture&sr=1-13
will this be consider a safe effective burn with less co2 then those other open flame alchohol stoves people make on here what's your thoughts on all this safty wise ??
The Mason jar lantern burner is the same mechanism that you may see on a typical oil hurricane lamp, only larger. I use the soup can as a chimney for positive air flow and because I didn't want the glass cover on the top. Too easy to break and too tall. I'm looking for heat in a small insulated area. Lethal co2 dose begins at 70,000 ppm. That is only capable from a poorly ventilated whole house furnace. In my view these little Mason jar burners produce little to no co2. I've been using this burner for over 3 years and I'm still walking and breathing. Great question, be safe. Please like and subscribe.
@@justinc9911 Interesting question, any vegetable oil will burn when it reaches its ignition temperature which is around 425F (canola oil 380F). Lamp oil is a highly refined petroleum product and pours like water. Vegetable oil is more viscous which would slow the rate it is absorbed into the lamp wick. I think this may result in a much smaller flame, which would not be suitable for this type of lamp. Then again its fun to experiment, give it a try, but don't burn the house down. Thanx...Please like & subscribe.
Wait I found similar for $25... There may be others but I saw this and came back right away lol You have to drill your jar lid to use these on a jar though Oil LAMP Burner/Chimney Holders Lamplight Farms Style (M999) LOT of 5 New!
I wouldn't advise using it in a tent. Flammable liquids & canvas do not mix well. As long as the heating area is well ventilated CO2 risk is low. Use a CO2 monitor.
