# Does anyone know why this Aladdin Lamp (Kerosene) isn't burning right?



## williaty (Jun 11, 2020)

Anyone know why this brand new Aladdin lamp isn't burning correctly? The fact that only the lower portion of the mantle is incandescing supposedly means the flame spreader is too high in the burner but it's pushed all the way down.


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## GaiaIngram (Jun 12, 2020)

i see this kind of lamp for the first time )) trying to understand what's the problem , but i couldn't )) may be you can attach more pictures?


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## StagMoose (Jun 12, 2020)

Do you have other kero lamps? Just gauging your familiarity. 

The generator generally needs a good warming before they will light up well enough to keep heating the generator and vaporizing the kero. 

Source/ quality of kero can be an issue as well. First thing would be make sure it it holding pressure and the air intakes aren’t clogged. 

If you are pretty familiar I apologize for the low level stuff.


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## broadgage (Jun 16, 2020)

These are not pressure lamps and they do not have a generator, nor are they pressurised.

Alladin lamps are wick lamps, with a circular wick and a center draught. They burn with a non luminous blue flame rather like a kerosene heater. Light is produced by this flame impinging on a special incandescent mantle.

A poor light can be caused by 
1) wick not turned up high enough, it needs careful adjustment.
2) poor quality or clogged wick
3) Very low ambient temperature, self correcting after an hour or so as the lamp warms.
4) poor fuel.
5) very low fuel level.
6) excessive altitude, a special taller chimney is needed if you live at a significant altitude.


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## StagMoose (Jun 16, 2020)

Interesting. Thanks for the reply; I learned something new. Never had an Aladdin lamp, now I’m more interested. I like wick lanterns but haven’t seen one with a mesh mantle that uses a wick to illuminate it.


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## broadgage (Jun 17, 2020)

Aladdin lamps were sold worldwide, but were more popular in the UK. They are one of the few non electric lamps that permit of comfortable reading.
The wick needs very careful adjustment. Slightly too high will deposit black soot on the mantle and slightly too low significantly impairs the light.

These lamps burn a lot of oil, and the wick must be of good quality and in good condition to lift enough oil from the reservoir to the flame, especially if the oil level is low.


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