How to Assemble and Light an Aladdin Oil Lamp

[SH1974]

The old mantles are a bit radioactive, that's true.

But You don't have to eat them or crumble them in Your hand to breath the dust... ;)

The new (since about 10 or 15 years!) mantles are not radioactive anymore,

but they still contains thin glass fibres like asbestos did too (so don't sniff or breathe them!) that could damage Your lung.

But if You handle this mantles with care, You'll NOT get sick - promised!

[SoakedKarma]

True!! New mantles contain no radiation.. I have no Aladdin lamp newer than a Model 11 and use NOS (new old stock) Kone-Kap mantles when I can get them, they burn brighter... Otherwise I use modified new mantles for daily burning...

search wikipedia for Thorium_mantle

See "Safety of thorium" near bottom of page to see how little radioactivity your Grandma gives off..

[courtfarm1]

as i am a collector of oil lamps, i'm surprised that you didn't mention that mantles are "RADIO ACTIVE" It is recommended that you wash your hands thoroughly after handling a mantle!!!!

[MydogTobes]

@courtfarm1 OH hell, radio-active my butt...It is a thorium based mantle...Basically your Grandma sitting right next to you puts out more radio-activity than that pissy mantle...

[keukamoon]

@courtfarm1 NOT THE NEW MANTLES!

[courtfarm1]

i am a collecter of aladdin lamps & have quite a collection. i found an aladdin lamp once in a skip. On close observation of the lamp i found nothing wrong with it at all. confused as to why it was in a skip??? i found by smelling the font filler "PETROL" had been used!!! good grief no wonder it was in a skip can you imagine lighting a lamp with petrol in it. NOT RECOMMENDED.

[living0ffthegrid]

I just bought a Aladdin Genie 3 from Lehman's. The woman working in the "Oil Lamp" department Black Friday was VERY helpful. I had many questions before I picked out my lamp. I LOVE my Aladdin Genie 3, worth every penny.

[southernguy35]

I've never been a big fan of this type of galary as every chimney I used with it cracked. It could be that at the time, the Aladdin Lamp company was importing many of these things from China. These lamps produce heat and need a special type of glass. I notice the logo on the lamp is similar to others Ive seen and have at home, so the prior defect of cracking due to the quality of the glass may have been corrected.

[taoisilent]

For goodness sake do NOT use baby oil, corn oil, olive oil, or ANY vegetable oil in your Aladdin! These oils will clog up and destroy your wick and will not cause your mantle to work properly. Wicks are expensive. Use ONLY kerosene or Aladdin Lamp oil. Once the lamp is lit and burning it will not smell, even when using kerosene because of the efficiency of the burner.

[southernguy35]

@taoisilent If an other type of oil is used, it will only clog up the wick and likely NOT present a fire hazard. The fire hazard comes from people half reading the warnings about not using a certain type of fuel, just see the word *** and then fill the lamp with it.

Use Aladdin lamp fuel or K1 Kerosine only. The Aladdin Lamp Fuel will be far more expensive than K1 kerosine but you'll know what you're getting. Buying K1 these days, you don't know how long it's been in the storage tank.

[IgnazZangenfeind]

I have an Aladdin Lamp now. At the beginning, I had some difficulties finding the right lamp oil. I used the common lamp oil from the home improvement store and the result was a wick that burned down within 5 Minutes.

I then looked for another oil - pure kerosene, which was difficult to find. Then everything worked out, the wick soaked and did not burn down any more. You recognise real kerosene by its smell like petrol instead of cheap lamp oil smelling like a candle. This is very important.

[LehmansHardware]

Aladdin recommends using only kerosene or Aladdin lamp oil in these lamps. Oils like olive or sunflower are too thick to travel up the wick.

[southernguy35]

@LehmansHardware Exactly. 50 or 75 years ago when common oil lamps were used, people wouldn't think of using faster burning fluids as they would have been accustomed to using coal oil or kerosine lamps. While she is removing the shade for demonstration purposes, it's not necessary to always remove the shade when lighting a lamp. In fact, unscrewing and raising the gallery for a few seconds while lighting the lamp is enough to get it going without completely removing the chimney/flu.

[southernguy35]

@LehmansHardware The comment of the mantle being fragile is because it is after all mere ashes. They're basically cotton or other fibres spun into a shape and impregnated with radioactive material to help them glow. Some manufacturers do not use these materials anymore, but I've never seen any evidence of the amount of radiation emitted from these mantels as being harmful.

[jan19213]

Can you please make a video on how to change the wick? I've been trying for 2 days to change mine, but can't get it figured out. Thanks!

[marxwell64]

Magnificent!

[LKN4WAR]

Thanks for the video very helpful.

[smky143]

Fantastic I want one!

[dadawg911]

lamp oil rope bombs

[globalwarming93]

Nice video. I bought an oil lamp but it looks like the your matle makes the light brighter.What is a mantle? What dose it do? Where can I buy one and for how much?

[SanguineScales]

@dafranx - brighter (and steadier) light per quantity of fuel burned than other lamp types.

[ArmaHighVoltage]

That mantle looks like a Thorium mantle :O

[northerbrewer]

You tell that by looking it lol ?

[dafranx]

What are the advantages of an Aladdin Oil Lamp, over a conventional oil lamp?

[Berkana]

Conventional oil lamps don't use mantles; the light from conventional oil lamps comes from the flame, making the light yellowish; the flame also produces sooty smoke, even if it is not visible. The Aladdin style lamp tunes the wick so it burns with a blue flame, and the heat then causes the thorium-oxide coated mantle to glow from incandescence. This is the same way those Coleman propane lamps with mantles work. The light is brighter, whiter, and it produces no smoke.

[wormkilla]

Aladdin lamp's burn very..very bright..Regular oillamp's are very dim..in a side by side..With the aladdin.

[catoni]

You acheive a greater light output by using a mantle.

[canamm]

A conventional oil lamp doesn't put out anywhere near the light that an Aladdin does. These things are super bright.

[Tailback]

@dafranx Because it has a mantle, it is much brighter than just an oil lamp with a wick only. The aladdin is equivalent to a 60w incandescent light bulb. It is not a pressurized (coleman lantern) so it is safe to use indoors.

[definca]

You might want to do some reading about these lamps. However, the main difference is that the Aladdin lamps use the mantle to create a very high temperature secondary combustion to the oil. This is not only more efficient but it offers a lot more light output. They also produce more heat and use more fuel than a standard wick lantern. They have a very tall flue glass as well to create a lot of draft for the flame. High out put lamps. Approx 2500 btus too!

[Pupdawg9724]

@definca

that and the mantle allows it to glow brighter than just having a bare flame.

[IgnazZangenfeind]

So interesting, I want to buy one this year.

[MinaICCS]

I like the video, but no clue what she's saying. Could you please caption it?

[Nu13th]

thanks! very informative!

[cacaclaute]

what kind of fuel only kerosene?

[Axbent]

oil, like in rapeseed oil or such. Sunflower oil should work too! Used to be very common, untill we got animal based fuels or petrol.

[jonathanharris2007]

Yes, they only use kerosene. My mother still uses these lamps.

[forrestry]

I believe so. They put out terrific light. They are so bright it is advisable to purchase the shade also. The light is equivalent to a 60 watt light bulb.

[D33Lux]

@cacaclaute someone mentioned you can use baby oil, its less expensive than kerosene, corn oil or olive oil.

[Odood19]

@cacaclaute kerosene, coleman stove fluid, veg oil, olive oil, whale oil, tiki torch fluid, diesel and used motor oil(2:1), and wd-40 work fine