# Battery vs. propane lanterns



## mcl2u (Oct 16, 2004)

I thought i was going to go with a fluorescent lantern but after seeing one in action i'm kind of leaning to propane. The last time i used a fuel lantern was years ago and didn't have to worry about little ones getting next to it. The lantern would be used strictly for outside camping. Lynx arc told me about a rayovac that seemed like it might be ok for my needs but if you guys could give me some pro's and cons it would help me with my choice.


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## raggie33 (Oct 16, 2004)

i love propane laterns tthere so bright specaily the northstar.


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## mcl2u (Oct 16, 2004)

That's the one i was looking at. Are they pretty safe.


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## raggie33 (Oct 16, 2004)

ya have to worry about carbon dioxided and a course fire and mantles break if its jolted but if ya be carefull there safe. dont use em in tent or inside


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## raggie33 (Oct 16, 2004)

i also love the dual fuel laterns that run on gas or coleman fuel ,now there pretty dangeroes dureing the refill process. but i never had a problem just make sure the laten is not on a course and has colled down and dontt spill


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## Draco_Americanus (Oct 16, 2004)

I like the dual fuel as well, easer to find gas then propane at times. I also like the idea of creating light useing a radioactive thorium mantle. too bad the new ones don't use thoruim anymore /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif


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## Scoob (Oct 17, 2004)

Hmmm... I wonder if you can make a spotlight out of the Northstar??? ... Big reflector... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif


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## Azreal911 (Oct 17, 2004)

I have those isobutane ones from primus and I'd prefer a gas lantern over an electric one anyday. I once bought a 2 lamp flourescent lantern running on 8D cells. after two days i returned it and then bought the primus. No Comparison! the gas lantern was tiny and was equivalent to 60 watts on high, but i rarely set it that high so the the small tank i originally bought lasted me two summers of lighting for 6 bucks of fuel. bought the bigger tank now for 10 bucks (canadian). so it should be good for 3-4 summers. it's cheaper than buying batteries and brighter. oh yeah and those butane tanks are a standard fitting i find. I could buy any of the other brands tanks (primus,MSR,camping gaz, brunton) and they fit into the screw hole exactly the same. so taking it internationally won't be a problem once you find the local camping store.


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## mcl2u (Oct 17, 2004)

I'm not familar with that kind of fuel or the lantern but i'll do some research. I just know about the propane and the coleman fuel lanterns. This forum is very eye opening.


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## TORCH_BOY (Oct 17, 2004)

I used to use propane lanterns when camping, they were
very bulky and got very hot not safe around kids, the advantage was that they were very bright. Now I use a battery
powered led lantern with 12 Leds, safe to use around kids,
easy to carry,long battery life, not as as bright and
I dont have to light it up every time I want to use it.


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## snowman (Oct 17, 2004)

I love our Coleman electric start, dual mantle propane lantern. Because it's electric start the mantles last much longer. We just changed them on our last trip, but the ones coming out were over 20 camping trips old. It's also very bright and lasts for a long time on a fuel bottle, (never actually measured run time but it goes many nights by the campfire in a row on the Coleman bottles).

I usually hang it by the carry handle to avoid knocking it over or accidental burns by stumbling on it. We use it inside our 10'x10' bug tent or out on a hanging line but never inside the sleeping tent. We have a few adapters for it that greatly increases it's flexibility of use. One of my favorite is a tree which lets us connect it to a refillable tank for non-backwoods camping trips. 

The nice thing I find about this tree is it holds about 15 minutes worth of propane in the tube, (on med-high) which acts as a timer shutoff if turned off by the tank and not the lantern. What I do is place it in the middle of the campsite and use it as an outside night light. The timer effect lets people get into their tents with the propane flood light and then dims and turns off on it's own once I'm comfortably in bed. Very cool.

I know I'm rambling but the last advantage I have to mention is the byproduct of heat that is produced by the propane. There are some cold nights where we really like the added heat inside the bug tent. Try staying warm next to a LED or fluorescent light /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


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## markdi (Oct 17, 2004)

my petromax multi fuel lantern is a lot brighter than my dad's propane northstar.
It is as bright as a 400 watt light bulb.
It runs for a long time on 1 tank of kerosene.
when run on kerosene it produces very little carbon monoxide.
the energy density of kerosene is a lot higher than propane or gasoline.

you can run petromax lanterns on all most any flammable liquid even vegtable oil(with reduced performance)
once they are warmed up and pumped up they will run for around 6 hours between pump ups.
(I use a co2 cartrige thingie to pump mine up-works great)

very high quality nickle plated brass.
spendy around 150 dollars with all of the goodies and shipping.

I have the little 150 cp lantern I ran it indoors for hours one night-very little kerosene odor

I also have the petromax(multifuel)kerosene cook stove
8000 btu and it is very well made-nickle plated brass

petromax still lights half of the world.

http://waltonfeed.com/petromax.html

http://waltonfeed.com/lamps.html


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## cobb (Oct 17, 2004)

We have a few kerosun(SP?) dual fuel oil/electric lamps with the special mantles on them. Man, the flame seems rather dim, but when you put the special mantle on it it became as bright as a 60 watt bulb and it was a white brightness, not some red like. We use it when the power fails at my folks house. One tank of the red fuel seems to last forever.


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## markdi (Oct 17, 2004)

cobb what are the lamps 
aladdin lamp with electric kit ?

if they are aladdin lamps only run kerosene.(clear kerosene the red dye will mess up your lamp after a while
aladdin lamps is the only manufacturer of non presureized 
lamps with a mantle.


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## Brock (Oct 17, 2004)

I have 2 Aladdin’s and have seen the petromax lamps in the past. I couldn't get past the "dimming" ability, the no pump and silent. Also you can get Aladdin’s that look like normal table lamps. Honestly once they are on you wouldn't know they weren't electric lamps made to look like an oil lamp. Although I got cloth type shades so they match our CF table lamps. The thing you have to watch out is that people walk up to the lamp and look down the chimney, a dangerous thing to do when lit.


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## cobb (Oct 17, 2004)

Sorry, you are correct it is the brand you mentioned. See we have two types. The metal ones that looks like a regular light, then those that have a transparent base where the fluid is stored. It may also be by the same manufacture.


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## Brock (Oct 17, 2004)

Yes the Aladdin's come in the old glass style with glass shades and the aluminum or brass with cloth shades.


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## Mike Painter (Oct 17, 2004)

[ QUOTE ]
*Yarddog said:*
Hmmm... I wonder if you can make a spotlight out of the Northstar??? ... Big reflector... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif 

[/ QUOTE ]
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/product.asp?sku=TRW%2D123&mscssid=KW4QKALTRE5M9GMGVSDAE34BHQ9TCDQD /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


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## Scoob (Oct 18, 2004)

That is too cool Mike... this might be my next (just for fun) project!!!


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## PocketBeam (Oct 18, 2004)

Found this, thought you might be interested - Lamp comparison - Petromax, Butterfly, Aladdin


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## Bright Scouter (Oct 18, 2004)

There also is a new for this year backpack lantern that runs on the iso butane canisters. Even though it is gas, it does not use a mantle. Makes for a much sturdier lantern for backpacking.


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## markdi (Oct 18, 2004)

I also have a kerosene butterfly pressure lantern-28 bucks shipped from big lots-350 cp 
I also have 2 aladdin lamps
one of the aladdins was given to me by my 88 year old grandfather it was the lamp he used as a 10 year old kid.
he would get in a lot of trouble if he did not fill it every day. He was raised on a farm-no electricity


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## PeLu (Oct 19, 2004)

We've use(d) the German Geniol (Petromax system) lanterns a lot. They all brass ones are very relyable and are easy to maintain and repair (just in case). I brought over several in the 80ies into the US and I think they still work. 
The kerosene is much saver to handle, of course and I run mine even on Diesel with no problems at all (maybe needs cleaning every 40-50 hours). 
I also put an Italian espresso coffee maker on top and get excellent coffee after ~8 minutes with the 400W one and ~20 minutes with the 100W. 
At least we got used to the 'noise' and do not care about it. Fortunately I have plenty of real gasmantles kept.


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## markdi (Oct 19, 2004)

so I am infering that the thorium mantles are better ?


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## Mike Painter (Oct 20, 2004)

[quote 
aladdin lamps is the only manufacturer of non presureized 
lamps with a mantle. 

[/ QUOTE ]

Hardly. Thre are hundreds if not thousands of manufacturors of kerosine lamps. The main claim to fame the Aladdin has is the design of the chimney which is much taller and narrow than others. Many people simply stack a couple of conventional chimneys to get increased output.


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## markdi (Oct 20, 2004)

Aladdin lamps have a round MANTLE that is heated by the round flame from the round wick. Kinda like a pressure lamp with a MANTLE.(MANTLE is HEATED and is INCANDESCENT-a lot brighter-whiter than just a flame from a WICK.
There is more to an Aladdin than the long chimney.
There was another manufacturer with a similar product years ago very short lived and rare-check bay.

So show me a modern non pressurized liquid fueled MANTLE lamp that is not an Aladdin lamp-pretty please-I would love to see it.(the MANTLE part is important-see above)


I could be wrong but I do not think so
but I am only sub human


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## Al_Havemann (Oct 20, 2004)

My Aladdan lanterns are put out plenty of light but you gotta be real careful of what’s above it. We had a power outage last year that lasted all night and most of the next day. We have a small generator that’s puts out enough to run the furnace and fridge but we used my two Aladdan lamps to lessen the load on the genset. 

My wife, wanting more light in the kitchen, set one of the lamps on the kitchen table, below a hanging electric fixture that was maybe three feet above the chimney top. You can guess what happened to the fixture with the Aladdan running directly beneath it for several hours. Yup! - Melted the whole thing, almost set the house on fire!.

I collect oil lamps, have maybe 50 in all but I Love those Aladdan lamps, lots of light without using gasoline, and no pressurization noise either. Best of all, you can still buy anything you need to keep them running. 

I was down on North Carolina last week at a MAST General store where they had just about every model of the Aladdan lamps and parts on display – I didn’t buy anything (my wife wouldn’t leave my side, she knew what would happen if she did), but I could easily have spent a fortune there.

Al


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## Hallis (Oct 20, 2004)

my dad had a lantern that was battery powred, i think it was powered off of rechargable cells. Had 2 flourescant bulbes in it. It was real neat. No fumes, no heat, we used it when the power went out during storms. I dont knwo what happened to it. But i prefer battery over combustable fuel for safety reasons.

Shane


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## 3rd_shift (Oct 20, 2004)

For outdoors, propane really rocks. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif
For indoors, battery powered appears to be the clear winner.


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## markdi (Oct 20, 2004)

try a kerosene pressure lamp-you will never go back to propane.

as long as you are careful aladdin lamps are great 
and very bright
they do put off a lot of heat which is nice in a cold room


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## Mike Painter (Oct 21, 2004)

[ QUOTE ]
*markdi said:*
Aladdin lamps have a round MANTLE that is heated by the round flame from the round wick. 

[/ QUOTE ]
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif Ummm, my dog wrote that and he didn't know any better?


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## PeLu (Oct 21, 2004)

I also like the Aladdin lamps (I've got one as a wedding present from an US friend at a time they were not (easily) available in Europe) for their silent light, but the pressurized lamps are so much more powerful. 
There are even small thermogenerators you put on top and produce a few W of electricty (to charge batteries for example). 
My Geniol lamps put out about 400W of heat for the 100W version and about 1kW for the 400W. 

For the light output, you just cannot compare them with the fluorescent models. 

There are many cheap models made in India and China and they are not that bad if you are careful, but use good gasmantles (BTW, an Austrian invention by Auer von Welsbach) for maximum output.

I have to agree with markdi, as the Aladdin are the only un-pressurized gas mantle lanterns nowadays. 

But there are several round-wick kerosene lamps (french Argand patent, AFAIK).


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## cobb (Oct 21, 2004)

Power? Is that like a thermal electric generator? I tried playing with one, but did not develop much power http://wheelchairmodifications.org/thermal_electric_generator.htm


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## Wits' End (Oct 22, 2004)

This thread brought to mind looking on Ebay for Aladdins.
And I thought this one was interesting. And NRC fusses about a little Tritium /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

BTW it only glows in UV /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif


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## eluminator (Oct 22, 2004)

[ QUOTE ]
*PeLu said:*
I also put an Italian espresso coffee maker on top and get excellent coffee after ~8 minutes with the 400W one and ~20 minutes with the 100W. 


[/ QUOTE ]

How do you put things on top of the lantern to heat them?

I've been thinking of using a kerosene lamp or lantern for emergency cooking, but I guess I will have to make my own stand to hold the pot.


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## eluminator (Oct 22, 2004)

I learned a lot of interesting things here. The Petromax seems nice. It's expensive though and I don't really need one. Maybe someday I'll get the cheaper Butterfly.

The one I really want is the Aladdin lamp with the mantle. It seems like a great improvement over my kerosene lamp. Unfortunately they seem outrageously expensive to me. Just the chimney costs $20. I guess I'll stick with my $5 kerosene lamp for a while.


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## markdi (Oct 22, 2004)

one of my aladdin lamps was bought a year ago 
I paid 32 bucks for it from jacks country store-online
now they are 75 buchs-ouch


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## markdi (Oct 22, 2004)

you can get a cook top atachment for the petromax 500 cp lantern

http://www.petromax.com/stoves.htm


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## PeLu (Oct 23, 2004)

[ QUOTE ]
*eluminator said:*
How do you put things on top of the lantern to heat them?


[/ QUOTE ]

Very easy with the Geniol, I just turned the top cap around (attached with 2 screws). 
Of course you could make a special holder. 

And BTW, the 100W lamp I mentiones is the 150 HK/cp version and the 400W the 500 HK/cp.

I do even have a searching spotlight based on a 500 HK lantern.

I always wanted to make some kind of water boiler on top of the lanterns, assuming that there is always use for hot water. 

Most of these lamps were used in underground camps, far away from the surface, mostly many hours from the next entrance. Some of them are maybe 15 years underground now, only replacing the gasmantle from time to time and very little maintenance. 

The Aladdin is not underground proof, but does a good job at home.


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## cobb (Oct 23, 2004)

Those 5 dollar lamps arent bad. We used one a few months ago for 8 hours when out powered failed from a storm. We also used a baygen windup radio to tune into tv with the tv band.


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## raggie33 (Oct 23, 2004)

big lots has a good deal on keroscene lamsp like 2 bucks for small . the huge asbnonrmal size was 3 i think


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## doubleganger (Oct 23, 2004)

here 
is an article that made me think twice about burning gasoline or coleman's fuel in my petromax.


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## markdi (Oct 23, 2004)

there is a large round heat shield on the newer petromax lanterns
that prevents a jet of flame from a hole in the mantle from heating up the tank or bolts/nuts or lead washers.
it fits older lanterns too.

I read some where that aladin lamps produce 2800 btu/hrs
of heat usung 5.6 tablespoons of kerosene per hour.
keeps my bedroom warm.


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## UncleFester (Oct 24, 2004)

Several years ago I got an Aladdin lamp. I planned to use it for camping, but later decided to use electric or propane lamps instead.
I was thrilled at the brightness the thing makes. I was also shocked at the JET ENGINE EXHAUST that comes out the top of the chimney. It will literally light paper in a few seconds.


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## markdi (Oct 24, 2004)

my aladin does put off a lot of heat but no noise
I like the heatnow but if it was summertime I would not like the heat.


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## raggie33 (Oct 24, 2004)

aint a aladin lamp just basicaly a wick in kerscene? and a glass chiney? them things only piut out like the light of a few candles


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## UncleFester (Oct 25, 2004)

Raggie
The Aladdin lamp has a circular wick that makes a circular flame. That flame goes onto a MANTLE that glows with a bright white light. It actually puts out as much light as a 40 watt light bulb.


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## markdi (Oct 25, 2004)

mine seems brighter than a 40 watt light bulb
more like 50 or 60 watts


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## raggie33 (Oct 25, 2004)

where do u get em ,i think im thnikng of a huricNE lamp i colect them to i love laterns


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## Hoghead (Oct 25, 2004)

Aladdin Lamps 
Jack's Country Store 
Southern Lamp & Supply

Was that what you wanted Raggie?


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## markdi (Oct 25, 2004)

they are a lot bigger and more complex than a regular
kerosene wick lamp.

they have a pretty good sized air intake below the base of the wick and they have a big chimney and mantle.


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## raggie33 (Oct 25, 2004)

[ QUOTE ]
*Hoghead said:*
Aladdin Lamps 
Jack's Country Store 
Southern Lamp & Supply

Was that what you wanted Raggie? 

[/ QUOTE ]yes thank you hoghead. they look very cool.how are they in brigtness compared to a single matle propane latern?


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## PeLu (Oct 25, 2004)

[ QUOTE ]
*doubleganger said:*
is an article that made me think twice about burning gasoline or coleman's fuel in my petromax. 

[/ QUOTE ]

I've never heard about any Geniol lanterns exploding at the German army (and I should have if it happened, but I will check). I know many people who have used it in the army and in civil life.
They only reported one problem when using gasoline:
People tried to refill hot lanterns, which is very unsave with gasoline. Sometimes it is not easy to let it cool down (everybody around is shouting: Go on, we need light!). 

And I also critisized the overpressure valve. We also used several coleman lanterns, but their drawback is, that they are not so maintenance friendly and seem not to last that long. 

But I prefer running them on kerosene anyway.


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## UncleFester (Oct 25, 2004)

[ QUOTE ]
*raggie33 said:*
[ QUOTE ]
*Hoghead said:*
Aladdin Lamps 
Jack's Country Store 
Southern Lamp & Supply

Was that what you wanted Raggie? 

[/ QUOTE ]yes thank you hoghead. they look very cool.how are they in brigtness compared to a single matle propane latern? 

[/ QUOTE ]

Raggie
It's probably 2/3 to 3/4 as bright as a single mantle propane lantern. It's WAY enough to trash your night vision. You can't see anything after looking at it. Is that bright enough?


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