Who Likes And Uses Hurricane Lamps..?

[Chigger]

Not hurricane lamps rather kerosene pressure lamps. The lamp on the left is a Coleman 249 Scout which I bought a few months ago from a junk shop. Now rebuilt with new filler cap seal, pump washer and cleaned the generator. 1945 vintage and works as well as the day it was made.

Centre lamp is a Aladdin A1 also WW2 vintage with a brass plate RAN indicating it once was a Navy lamp. Completely restored, metal work re nickeled, painted and a new generator fitted. So pretty now a display pony.

The lamp on the right is a Austramax 3/300 which are still made in Melbourne. My main camping light, amply bright and reliable workhorse.

 

[Aussie123]

Thanks Chigger.

I had no idea there was a local manufacturer !

Austramax is located in West Brunswick (Melbourne)

 

[odgens]

I love them, reminds me of visiting my grandparents as a kid....pop always had one

Use three as part of my lights out kit, got mine via eBay....genuine Feuerhand from Germany

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Orig-FE...9e:m:mA0pNmFunt2BcZwFHWDdCaA&var=420901832881

 

[Chigger]

I love them, reminds me of visiting my grandparents as a kid....pop always had one

Use three as part of my lights out kit, got mine via eBay....genuine Feuerhand from Germany

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Orig-FE...9e:m:mA0pNmFunt2BcZwFHWDdCaA&var=420901832881

Nice lamps and look to be very good quality and should last for many years if looked after. Not like the cheap Chinese one I bought a year ago. It was so poorly made it leaked kero from all the joints, so pulled out the glass and threw the rest into the bin.

Totally useless piece of kitsch junk.

 

[Chigger]

Thanks Chigger.

I had no idea there was a local manufacturer !

Austramax is located in West Brunswick (Melbourne)

Yes amazing pressure lamps are still manufactured here in Australia. I believe their market is mainly the Pacific Islands and parts of Asia where there is little electrification.

The Austramax is a robust and very bright light, quite easy to get going once you get the hang of the preheating procedure.

Have noticed on lamp collecting forums the Austramax is well thought of.

I carry mine in a wooden case lined with closed cell foam (a' la a camping sleeping mat) and have had mantles last for nearly two years.

 

[Walker]

In regards to Austramax lanterns, where can they be purchased as a Google search seems only to show secondhand ones, can't find a current price either?

It's indeed odd these days that they don't have a dedicated website.

 

[Chigger]

There are two lamp shops I deal with, Braidwood Oil Lamps and TW Sands in Melbourne. Neither are particulary good at advertising their products. TW Sands website nothing happens when clicking on the various boxes.

Nor does Austramax have a website yet they certainly exist. Going to ring TW Sands today and will ask what is going on with their website. Following are a couple of links.

http://www.twsands.com.au/

http://www.oillamps.com.au/presser lamps.htm

Note there appears to be two separate lamps shops in Braidwood and this is the one that sells Austramax.

 

[Le Loup]

We no longer need to use hurricane lamps, though we did for a short time many years ago. Eventually it became impracticable to use these kero lamps, so we changed over to candles, grease lamps & rush lights. We used these for lighting for about 20 years.

Keith.

 

[Chigger]

Exquisite candle lights and noticed the pistol type flint candle lighter which I would imagine would only be something for the very wealthy.

Although this is a thread on kerosene if I may ask one question. A while back I was camped in a cave and resolved not to use any modern fire lighting or night time illumination devices of any sort.
No electric torches, mobile phone torches, lumo stick thingers or anything.

Lit the campfire with flint and steel from which lit my collapsible candle lamp which was my night light.

Upon going to bed realised that one I put the candle lamp out it was pitch black dark, could hardly see my hand in front of my face.

Lets say some calamity arose during the pitch black night and your candle lamp was the only source of light and the fire had gone out and one urgently needed a light fast.

I have enough trouble lighting a fire with flint and steel when in day light and can see what I am doing let alone in the pitch darkness.

Any suggestions ? No sneaking out a box of matches.

 

[Aussie123]

There are two lamp shops I deal with, Braidwood Oil Lamps and TW Sands in Melbourne. Neither are particulary good at advertising their products. TW Sands website nothing happens when clicking on the various boxes.

Nor does Austramax have a website yet they certainly exist. Going to ring TW Sands today and will ask what is going on with their website. Following are a couple of links.

http://www.twsands.com.au/

http://www.oillamps.com.au/presser lamps.htm

Note there appears to be two separate lamps shops in Braidwood and this is the one that sells Austramax.

TW Sands is an Aladin's cave ....
http://bushcraftoz.com/forums/showt...Tilly-Lamps-and-Carbide-Lamps&highlight=sands

 

[Chigger]

Those are excellent photos and what are treasure trove of goodies. My wallet would be lightened if I ever went into that shop even though have enough lamps to last me a lifetime. Have bought quite a few parts from them over the years.

Should I ever go to Melbourne will pay them a visit for sure.

 

[Walker]

We'd normally place a large log on the fire before going to bed, that way there are coals that last throughout the night and hot enough to start up the fire again for breakfast.

So, it'd throw a warm glow all night and well into morning. Easily stoked with a handful of leaves/dry grass, etc to get a sudden burst of light/flame. Can easily relight a candle.

Can sometimes be difficult if the wood supply doesn't produce good coals like She Oak, some species of Wattle, etc.

 

[Le Loup]

Exquisite candle lights and noticed the pistol type flint candle lighter which I would imagine would only be something for the very wealthy.

Although this is a thread on kerosene if I may ask one question. A while back I was camped in a cave and resolved not to use any modern fire lighting or night time illumination devices of any sort.
No electric torches, mobile phone torches, lumo stick thingers or anything.

Lit the campfire with flint and steel from which lit my collapsible candle lamp which was my night light.

Upon going to bed realised that one I put the candle lamp out it was pitch black dark, could hardly see my hand in front of my face.

Lets say some calamity arose during the pitch black night and your candle lamp was the only source of light and the fire had gone out and one urgently needed a light fast.

I have enough trouble lighting a fire with flint and steel when in day light and can see what I am doing let alone in the pitch darkness.

Any suggestions ? No sneaking out a box of matches.

If there were any glowing coals left in the fire you could use a spunk/sulphur match to light a candle, or you could blow on the coal & melt wax onto it from a candle, or you could use tinder & get the tinder smouldering from an ember, or you could use your tinderbox to make fire or to light a spunk & then light a candle. Practice is the only way you will get good at doing these things, I can make fire in the pitch dark just from feel, plus the sparks from the steel give one momentary light. Of course I also carry a flintlock gun, so I can easily use the lock to make fire & light a candle.
Keith.
[video=youtube;kEi-wkobZEc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEi-wkobZEc&t=1s[/video]

 

[bluebush2]

Speaking of Dietz. I have a Dietz Scout that dates from somewhere between 1920 and 1923. Made in the USA and sold for 60 cents when new. Still works.

 

[MongooseDownUnder]

I only have one hurricane lamp that I don’t use very often because it often spills when being transported. I do have 4 Coleman pressure lanterns that I use regularly and also use candle lanterns a lot as well. I would love to get a couple of the old Coleman kero lanterns though as I find kero much safer as a fuel when compared to Shellite or petrol.

 

[Chigger]

Speaking of Dietz. I have a Dietz Scout that dates from somewhere between 1920 and 1923. Made in the USA and sold for 60 cents when new. Still works. View attachment 25189

That is a very nice old lamp.

 

[Chigger]

I only have one hurricane lamp that I don’t use very often because it often spills when being transported. I do have 4 Coleman pressure lanterns that I use regularly and also use candle lanterns a lot as well. I would love to get a couple of the old Coleman kero lanterns though as I find kero much safer as a fuel when compared to Shellite or petrol.

Also have a couple of Coleman pressure lamps which I did not put photos up. One is a twin mantle which is blindingly bright and I use it when there is a group of campers. Lights up the whole campsite.
The other is a single mantle which also gives out a good light.

Went over to the kero ones as for a while could get Jet A1 kero for nothing which I used for quite a while. In any case kerosene is a safer fuel to carry about.

Yes a lot of the cheap chinese made kero lamps are just junk which are not properly sealed in their joints and leak everywhere as earlier remarked. Noticed BCF have some kero lamps again but don't know how good they are.

Don't know of any Australian suppliers of genuine Dietz lamps. Probably a search might uncover someone whom sells and will ship to Australia.

Edit: there are good quality German lamps on ebay which another forum member has bought. They are small lamps and think you would need a few of them.

Link https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Orig-FEUERHAND-276-storm-lantern-hurricane-oil-lamp

 

[bluebush2]

Here's some trivia for you. Did you know that the old fashioned mantles used in early kero lamps were pretty nasty? They were radioactive and were made with asbestos. Asbestos has been phased out in favour of ceramic, carbon fibre and other safer alternatives. As for radioactivity, the mantles were made with thorium and cerium nitrates that are radioactive. I did a radiation safety officers course years ago and we used 1970s lantern mantles still in their packets to test detection equipment. Its still legal to sell and use thorium mantles in some countries. I think they are still legal in the USA but have to be sold with a warning. Personally, the levels of radioactivity is so low it wouldn't worry me.

 

[Chigger]

Have read about that on various lamp forums, the radiation levels are pretty low. All the mantles I have are modern ones and the pressure lamps are mainly used outdoors in any case.

 

[koalaboi]

Hi,

I spent 2 years living on a little island just off the coast of Papua New Guinea and of course, electric lighting was a real luxury...we had power for 2 hours per day between 4 and 6pm. This was back in the mid 80s.

We had to use a hurricane lamp outside those hours. We had a kerosene fridge too so always had kerosene on hand. I found both to be a pain in the arse: the fridge was great when it worked but too often we'd come home from school to find our little house full of soot and the fridge out. The lamp inside the house stank.

Was never able to fix the fridge so just had to keep pulling it apart and cleaning it every week or so.

We solved the lighting by picking up some 12volt lights to run from a car cigarette lighter. Ran them from a 12 volt battery which was connected to a charger plugged into the power. Switches on the walls and it was a great set up. It charged up for 2 hours per day and was enough to keep the lights going and our radio.

Now back In Oz, I go campig and am onto my second Coleman dual fuel pressure lamp. I picked my second one up the other day at a garage sale for $10...it was hardly used at all. I also picked up a great kero pressure lamp some years ago but gave it to a friend...not sure if he still has it.

My Coleman presssure lamp is the go to lamp for checking out Aboriginal engravings at night. Put the light source down on the rock and hey presto, you'll see stuff that's just not visible in daylight.

KB