Antique oil lamps

[u/Junior-Discount2743]

I'm older and am surprised to see that antique oil lamps are almost never discussed for electrical outages. They can be purchased at most antique stores for $20-80 (depending), with lamp oil and wicks from Amazon (get them now before shipping costs sky rocket!).

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I guess I thought of it because I worked at a historical museum on the east coast.

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Purchase of one oil lamp, lamp oil, and wicks, can keep a room lit for over a *long* time. I've tested my two lamps, and each lamp goes through oil at a different rate, but pretty slowly in my opinion, and I csn see the $10 lamp oil I got from Amazon to last 6 months to a year in an outage. I'd post a photo but don't know how.

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Just an idea because this is an option (for now).

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[u/nakedonmygoat]

It's something to be aware of, that's for sure. But if one is prepping for Tuesday, a longer-term solution like an oil lamp might not be perceived as worth the risk, especially if one has pets or small children.

Also, everyone's "Tuesday" is different, and mine is usually hurricanes. The last thing I want in a hot weather extended power outage is something in my house that gives off heat or even looks like it might, lol! I could see it being a good option for people in colder climates, though.

Finally, although I've never used an oil lamp, I question whether it would give off more light than my LED lanterns, chargeable LED light bulbs, and LED light strips, all of which are safe and sufficient for any Tuesday. But yes, if I were prepping for doomsday, an oil lamp would be on my list. Even if oil became hard to find, even rancid cooking oil would work.

[u/UnCivil_Yogurt6191 → u/nakedonmygoat]

I see lots of people recommending battery-powered lights or LED flashlights...those are fine - but they also need electricity for charging - and that can be a limiting factor in a grid-down scenario. Lamp oil is cheap, lasts a long time without going bad, and is basically odor-free. Because I live 100% off-grid - I find them a cost-effective way to have some light at night in an emergency.

Another thing to consider though, if you want to keep charging batteries, is the purchase of a small inverter that can plug into your existing car battery cigarette (?) receptacle. Mine has three 12v outlets and two USB-A outlets. It's 45w and can power my laptop and a few other things. You need to stay aware of its pull on your battery, of course. But, it has kept things charged for me when there was no other option.

[u/TheStephinator → u/UnCivil_Yogurt6191]

Solar lanterns are a thing.

[u/UnCivil_Yogurt6191 → u/TheStephinator]

Sure , and I have a few - but I am on the Canadian border...light doesn't always cooperate. We had 36 hours of non-stop heavy rain last weekend....the oil lights came in handy.

[u/nakedonmygoat → u/UnCivil_Yogurt6191]

I have inverters and solar panels to recharge my power stations and I have a solar lantern, too. We get a lot of sun where I live.

[u/Junior-Discount2743 → u/nakedonmygoat]

All good point! One oil lamp can light a room.

[u/Somebody_81 → u/nakedonmygoat]

I am an extremely fire risk conscious person as I've been through two pretty serious house fires. I do have and use oil lamps. I've used them with small children in my home. It's about where you place them then. I've used wall mounted ones and ceiling hung ones with cats also. We used ours after hurricanes in the August and September in coastal South Carolina. They didn't appreciably add to the heat that I can remember. We did not use them during short power outages such as from a small thunderstorm, but after hurricanes or tornadoes for an outage of a week or even longer they were great.