# Oil Lantern vs. Battery Lantern



## GatorDude

What's the advantage of an oil lantern versus a battery-powered lantern? Are oil lanterns safe to use inside?


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## sailaway

I have both, inside I would use battery opperated until they were gone then switch to oil. (CO emmission problems) Outside I would use oil until gone then switch to battery.


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## NaeKid

I also have both - but - I have propane lantern too.

I prefer my propane lantern (Coleman) that runs on the small 2lb disposable bottles or can be mounted to a full-size tank via their propane-tree. I will use my propane light inside my camper to burn off the chill / moisture before going to sleep if it is too warm to run the furnace.

Inside my house I would consider using the propane lantern for light, but, I prefer to use candles or led-based flashlights. The lanterns would be good for stationary light at the kitchen-table while playing games.


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## Expeditioner

I use both. Certain types of lamp fuel (kerosene) should not be used indoors unless the area is well ventilated.

I use rechargeable batteries and have a few small solar recharging units to help keep them powered up.


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## UncleJoe

We also have both as well as a wind-up lantern. For short term power outages, we light the oil lamps. If it looked like a long term event, I think we would use the battery or wind-up. 
Not only would the CO have a chance to build up, but the burning oil will leave a film on everything in the room if it was used for an extended period of time.


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## Sam

Batteries are fine for light only but do wear out quickly, aren't easily recharged and are not very versatile.

CO emissions are really minimal with an oil lamp, and you would be hard pressed to suffocate yourself unless in a very small, very tight room.

Oil lamps can be run on many fuels, literally anything that can be poured and lit with a match. Cooking oil, diesel, melted lard, alcohol,take your pick.
Always adjust the wick for the cleanest burn and you should have a soot plate over the chimney. You can fashion one yourself from a pop can if need be.
Can be used for cooking, heating and light.
If you are desperate and only have gasoline available use it to thin something like motor oil and burn that.

Sam


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## Preet

Emissions mostly. The oil lantern could be more reliable as batteries can go bad once they are old whether they have been used or not.


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## xj35s

*this is my way...*

Check out these artsy and functional lamps. Safe indoors just don't tip them.....
Wildwood Survival - Wilderness Survival - Lights


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## SnakeDoc

We use both. But in SHTF you can cook and to some extent heat with a old style oil lamp.


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## bunkerbob

GatorDude said:


> What's the advantage of an oil lantern versus a battery-powered lantern? Are oil lanterns safe to use inside?


I have a good number of Aladdin oil lamps along with some Dietz outdoor lamps and regular oil lamps. These work fantastic indoors or out, the Aladdin's are especially bright because they not only have a round wick but a mantel also. The lamps produce about 100 watt light bulb worth of lumen's. I burn a 99% paraffin oil that is virtually odor and soot free, and keep quite a bit of kerosene on hand also. Also have a ready supply of wicks, mantels, and chimneys. Also have propane lamps and battery style lamps, I keep an adaptor for the propane ones so I may use a 5gal bottle if necessary. Remember not to put all your eggs in one basket. You can see in one photo the one I have mounted on the kitchen cabinets.
One note I should add to this concerning lamp oil, be cautious when using scented and colored oil even though it smells good, when burning it sends out toxic particles into the air. 
Also small children can mistake the good smelling colored liquid for juice.


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## SurvivalNut

My plan is to rely first on rechargeable batteries and LED lamps. You can get some awesome 30-50 LED lamps on ebay for about $5 postpaid. 

I also pick up wicks and lamps at garage sales for a few quarters so I keep some flexibility.


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## NaeKid

Also - remember that old vegi-oil works well as lamp-oil. I buy vegi-oil in bulk for my deep-fryer - use it several times and the outdoor deep-fryer is basically parked for the winter. The oil is filtered when I put it back into the containers, but, after a while it goes rancid. When I realize that the oil is no longer good for consumption, that is when it becomes lamp-oil .. and it fills tiki-torches, hurricane-lanterns or just ends up as part of fire-starter in my fire-pit.

You can continue to purchase lamp-oil or kerosene for lights, but, you don't have to if you don't want to.


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## stars1

The oil Lanterns is available in oil only. It will add a definite nautical touch to wherever it is placed and is a must have for those who appreciate high quality nautical decor. It makes a great gift, impressive decoration and will be admired by all those who love the sea. But it's not safe. Burn easy.

Battery Operated Lanterns are the most popular camping lanterns for most campers. These are safe for children to use, have no fire risk and the easiest to use, just click the button and light!

The disadvantage would be having to make sure the batteries do not run flat, and to be prepared with enough spares. Using rechargeable batteries are a good option if you have an electric hook up and save money. You are also able to buy a rechargeable lantern or a cross between solar power and batteries.

A battery operated LED lantern may also become affected by very cold weather conditions. Batteries discharge quicker. This is where other liquid fuel lanterns become a better option.

An led camping lantern can last for over 50 hours run time compared to many of the fluorescent tube types. When considering a battery powered lantern, check the burn time and the lumens (the higher the brighter).


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## booter

*Oil vs. battery*

My setup is all about rechargables and LEDs, the best deal around for rechargers and rechargables is a set of solar powered lawn & garden walkway lights. On sale in my town I can buy a set of 8 lights for less than $20.00, this includes 8-rechargable Ni-Cad batteries, with each light unit being it's own solar powered recharger. They aren't the fastest, most efficient rechargers out there, but so what! you just leave them out everyday in the sun and they recharge for free, without you having to monitor them [other than checking the batteries with a multimeter once a day]. WTSHTF and the GRID goes down, I can't think of an easier 'no-brainer' for energy production, I'm not an electrician but I believe these 'solar trickle chargers' will also work on the more efficient Ni-mH cells, so far I have only seen these for AA-cells.


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## NotSoFast

I have to go on the assumption that at some point I, or even the entire country, will lose electrical power. When that happens, we will be down to either privately generated power (solar or wind or hydro) or fossil fuels. So with that in mind, battery powered devices, including lamps, are for immediate use but my long term plans are to fall back to oil lamps when the batteries are all used up.

Fire hazard? Train yourself and your loved ones to be safe with fire. Will there still be accidents? Yes, but we can also train ourselves to be prepared for that and know what to do in an emergency. The military does that all the time. We hated drills but they were a necessary evil that saves lives.

Besides, my life will be much simpler without all those electonic and electric gadgets. Just sayin'.


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## OldCootHillbilly

Ya need a blend of lights.

For awhile ya be able to use battery operated stuff, but given a long term disaster without power or resupply chains the battery stuff is gonna run dry.

Oil lamps an kerosene lamps will last longer, but dependin on how much fuel ya got set buy they will eventually run dry as well.

Given a very long term disaster, fire will be the last resort fer lighting, got the cave man through the dark ages an it would us to.

All that said, we have several variety of battery operated lights, including LED's which have a better battery use rate. We also stock an rotate out replacement batteries for them.

We have several oil lamps an hurricane lanterns that we stock lamp oil and kerosene for as well as spare parts.

There are several coleman lanterns that have been bought at yard sales an such. We store several gallons of fuel, both white gas an lp, to feed them.

After all that, we keep several cans of pine tar and old rags an rope stored away to make torch's with. 

As has been said, just don't put all yer eggs in one basket, the bottom falls out an all ya got is scrambled eggs!


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## sailaway

The greater the variety you have the more flexible you will be. The object of lighting is to be able to do things later in the day after sunset.


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## Genevieve

sailaway said:


> The greater the variety you have the more flexible you will be. *The object of lighting is to be able to do things later in the day after sunset*.


Yes, and also IMO you won't be wanting to light the whole place up like some people do now-a-days,post SHTF. Oil lamps do well for spot/task lighting,which is what most of us will be needing then. We'll be doing everything we can during the daylight hours and will probably be too tired to be staying up all night for silly reasons. People's schedules will change dramatically then. Lights will be needed more than likely for a couple of hours in the very early morning ( for tending the animals,cooking,etc) and then for the same reasons in the evenings after dark.
We have propane camping lights,oil lamps,crank lights and some emergency candles ( which I need to get more of).
I use task lighting now just to save money on the electric bill. Believe me, when I can see enough to get around the house in the mornings, there are no lights on.


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## Bigdog57

Be wary of burning used cooking oil for lamplight......

It could induce hunger....... 

Yep, I save my old cooking oil too. Once I have a good bit, I run it through a simple coffee filter to remove larger particles then boil it, let cool and pour though another filter into clean bottles.


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## ikhman

Whilst I agree that lanterns using kerosene emit very little carbon monoxide, we must still understand the consequences of CO poisoning. Even small amounts at 200 parts per million can cause ill health.

Have a look at following tables: Heaters And Carbon Monoxide Poisoning


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## JeepHammer

Oil lanterns are inherently dangerous because of the open flame and storage, filling of fuel.

I use them in the house,
But when we camp, I use battery powered lights, just SO MUCH MORE SIMPLE!

Rechargeable batteries make them useful for long duration camping,
Either from solar or from vehicle recharge.

It was fairly expensive, but I saw a lamp that had solar cells for recharging built into the top of it.

For area lights, the little cheap solar 'Walk lights' work pretty good.
Stick them in the sun in the day time, they work all night with no issues, even in the tents!

LED electric lights with rechargeable batteries are about the best solution I've found...
Not exact reading lights or 'Flood' lights (But neither are oil lamps) but they make GREAT camp site lights that are easy on batteries and don't break bulb filaments when you drop them.

A had cranked LED flash light I keep in my gear bag has been with me for about 5 years, cost $5, and has bailed my butt out more times than I can count!


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## greaseman

Like most preppers, I have various kinds of lamps. I recently bought a small crank led lamp, Not a lot of light, but never have to worry about batteries. I have also bought some rechargable batteries, a charger, and a solar panel that will charge a 12 volt battery. I have an inverter that puts out 400 watts. 
it's nice to cover as many bases as possible. Good luck folks.


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## kyhoti

I have both, a couple oil lamps and some battery lamps; my family feels more "normal" using battery stuff, so that's what we use 1st. When the batteries start to run out, we switch to the lamps (I have a Coleman lantern and candles too). It requires a shift in awareness to use flame-based lights, and requires practice. If you haven't done it, try it and see.


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## Bigdog57

For longer power outages, I like to use the oil lamps - I have four. I also use the big fat candles. Gives a low level light, but good enough to get around and I generally turn in earlier anyways. I get up early in the AM, so do not stay up late at night. Sometimes it's still light outside during the summer at bedtime.
My big CFL battery lanterns are more for the shorter outages, when I know it'll be back in an hour or two.


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