I am still looking for a āAladdinā Brand lamp that is used. New ones are insanely priced.
To those that have never seen one. In a few short words, they are very bright in comparison to other oil lamps.
I have two Aladdin Lanterns and keep them for the nostalgic memories since we used them before electrical power was available where we live. If you run them at too low a brightness, they emit noticeable soot, but otherwise they are great because they can be very bright and quiet (completely silent with a nicer tint compared to white gas Coleman Lanterns).
We have not used the Aladdins recently because unfortunately the replacement "Aladdin Lox-On Mantles" became too expensive (over $30 each) and difficult (if not impossible) to obtain. If anyone knows of a reliable source for the mantles (that is not Ebay), please let me know.
We now use two "BLF LT1" li-ion battery lanterns for power outages and enjoy using them even when we have power. I also occasionally fire up the calcium carbide Miners Lamp that I used as a kid (which was way brighter than the flashlights of that era) and are always surprised it still works like new and that calcium carbide rocks can still be obtained fairly easily. The big disadvantage of the Miners Lamp is that while you have some limited control over the brightness, you don't turn it OFF after it is ON and once you add water to the calcium carbide you need to clean and reload for the next use.
The Big Oil Lantern Thread is a Great idea. Thanks DBSAR.
I find old oil lanterns very interesting.
:+1: 
To celebrate the revival of the big oil lantern thread I made a picture of my smallest one.
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lets also get Roostre to fire up one of his Aladins. Those monsters are really bright in comparison to the single wick oil lamps.
Yes I am a fan of the Aladdin lamps so to give a comparison, here is a short video (made by Aladdin of course.)
The supply of mantles I purchased in case there was a Y2K disaster ran out several years ago and I had not even thought much about the Aladdins (which have become decorations) until āThe Big Oil Lantern Thread !ā was revived.
Like the mantles for the Coleman White Gas Lanterns, the Aladdin Mantles are very fragile after their first use and eventually get holes in them and need to be replaced, but the Aladdin Mantles are hard to find and very expensive compared to the Coleman Mantels.
shedding some light on the aladdin mantle lamps
Are those Thorium mantles?
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There is thorium in the mantles yes. Enough to easily pick up with a Geiger counter (I do the demonstration in the school where I work as a teaching assistent).
New to oil lamps here, just recently Iāve reading about non-led lighting lanterns (gas, gasoline, oil) and found them very interesting. Technologies that were already perfected for decades but discontinued in the modern times.
Iām looking for a compact oil lantern and trying to decide between the Feuerhand baby 276 and the Dietz 76.
I might not give it much hard use but do want something well built and durable that I can take to camping and work reliably. I read that dietz lanterns are now made overseas and are sold for mainly decorative purposes rather than functionality, meanwhile the feuerhand are still made in Germany.
Also, they donāt sell clear paraffin oil around here and only yellow tinted kerosene, would that work just as good for fuel?
oil lamps are not very fussy about the fuel, the tinted kerosine should be fine. Just do not use cooking oils because they turn rancid over time and the hard fats will clog everything.
Iād go with the Feuerhand too, they are sturdy and they use (Schott Duran) harded glass shades.
Iāve got a Feuerhand 276 on my wishlist right nowā¦Iām hoping for a fatherās day gift.
But to be honest, after more time spent researching than was probably prudent, I didnāt find any clearly better criteria for the choice than āMade in Germanyā versus āMade in China.ā
Overall, this site was the most helpful source of information for me. He sells both brands, as well as some of his own designs - both customs used by decorators and set designers, and apparently some sort of adaptation of Dietz designs. He claims, and seems to have the background to know, that although Dietz lanterns are now made in China, it is still to the same pattern and even on the same tooling as they used for decades.
https://lanternnet.com/product-category/oil-lanterns/
V&0 is a budget brand probably best reserved for decorative use, although Iāve read theyāre still a step up from the poorly made no-name lanterns you may see sold as novelty items at various retailers.
My 2c worth ā¦
I have both a Feuerhand 276 and a Dietz 76. My Dietz was made in Hong Kong.
The Feuerhand 276 is a heavier lantern & seems a lot more solid. It seems like the Dietz uses a thinner sheet metal.
Iād go with the Feuerhand.
I have a number of hurrican lanterns & some of them live outside. Under shelter on the porch but still exposed to the elements.
They are showing signs of āold ageā & a few of rust spots.
Any suggestions on how I can protect them ?
I thought of using car polish or a waxy/oil furniture polish. Preferable someting I can spray on to the lantern to make it easy to treat.
I periodicly treat the rust with a phosphoric based rust remover but maybe can use something else to protect from rust.
Turtle Wax seal N shine.
I got mine on Amazon!
!
Thanks, will try it. May be a bit expensive for my 4 outside lanterns.
from the MSDS:
P210 Keep away from all sources of ignition - No smoking
I appreciate the impressions based on a direct comparison. Thank you.
I was just looking at WT Kirkmanās website again and noticed he mentioned a āSupraxā globe on the Feuerhand 276. I looked that up, and found out itās borosilicate glass, so it should be at lower risk of breaking.
Unfortunately, the price of the Feuerhandās recently went up by almost $20 on Amazon US. But, thatās all the more reason to buy from Kirkman,
Iām actually now thinking I might want a slightly larger lantern, both for the slight increase in brightness, and more classical aesthetic. Since Feuerhand only makes the one size, the Dietz #20 Junior seems about right to me, since I donāt need a large fount. Iām not sure if I like the āmodernā (as in 1950ās) red color more or the novelty bronze. I would probably actually go for the more classic look of the galvanized if it was offered.
A little goes a long way; Iāve done my small car( Fiat 500) and my lantern with it twice and still have about a 1/4 of a bottle.