Book 6: Kerosene Pressure Lanterns (Non-Electric Lighting)

I learned more about kerosene pressure lanterns in 30 minutes with this book than anyone had ever told me and more than I’d learned in hours of watching YouTube. I’ve read a few of Ron’s other books in this series and I find all of the easy to read, understand, and enjoy. The author incorporates plenty of humor, wit, and wisdom in this the historical and technical information. His books seem honest. He seems up front about when he’s sharing his personal opinion vs sharing information he discovered in research. As I become more educated on the various types of non-electric lighting, I find myself gravitating more toward Coleman gasoline lanterns than kerosene, but kerosene for heat and light is no slouch. It has a prominent place in the world of non-electric lighting. This book (like his others) demystifies many of the myths and vague information commonly found online. Differences in lantern designs, what is necessary for a lantern to efficiently burn kerosene, who the different brand names are, differences in quality, mantles, and...how to modify a gasoline lantern to kerosene. Plenty of photos. I highly recommend this book and the other books in the series.

A short, informative read

With a chemistry background, I am fond of the thermal advantages that accrue to liquid hydrocarbon fuels, and favor kerosene over gasoline over naptha (white gas) over butane/propane over alcohol. So when I found one of the author's videos on YouTube, and asked, "How do I do that ?", he suggested I look for his book. There are some gotchas where things might no work the way he describes. I liken this to trying to make southern biscuits from a recipe - so many critical variables that don't lend themselves proper description in the recipe - easy to go wrong. So, when I attempted to follow his recipe for converting a naphtha (Coleman camp fuel) lantern to burn kerosene, his chapter was essential but not sufficient - there was some learning on my part. I did make it work in the end, and given the dearth of information on the topic, I highly recommend this work if you also would like to convert a lantern to kerosene.

Read my lips, this book describes KEROSENE pressurized lanterns, NOT the ubiquitous GAS pressurized lanterns that so many have. It even describes how to modify a kerosene lantern into one which burns kerosene, diesel, gasoline, white gas (coleman type lantern fuel), and other flammable liquids. Amazon sells a new coleman kerosene lantern such as described in the book -sorry, not convertible/adaptable to burn anything besides kerosene. By the way if one wants the all - fuel burning one I just mentioned, the book reveals the exact model and the exact modification needed. However, good luck in finding that model, hasn't been made in 60 or so years and if one finds one in good shape, expect to drop 3 to 4 or more C-notes! They obviously are a very much sought after item.

I must admit that I was skeptical about this pamphlet being worth the money until I read it. Admittedly, it focuses on a small niche segment of the non-electric lamp industry – specifically kerosene mantle lamps, not gasoline mantle lamps. The two are not really the same (as many people have found out to their misfortune), although superficially they seem identical. This is an area I have some practical experience in as I have owned several kerosene mantle lamps over the last 40 years. Still, Ron Brown delivered enough new information that even an old curmudgeon like me found the book to be well worth the price. The discussion on mantles was probably worth the cost of the book. Ron’s pragmatism on choosing lamps was refreshing, especially now that these lamps can cost $300. (Yikes! Can a lantern really cost that much? See ASIN: B014X4FXIC). By the way, he does cover non-pressurized Aladdin mantle lamps, so the title is slightly misleading. He does not cover kerosene wick lanterns in this book. If you aren’t really interested specifically in the selection, care, and maintenance of kerosene mantle lamps then I’d say skip this book. However, if you are interested, then I don’t know a better source of information.

This is a fantastic little book. I never thought I would enjoy reading it this much. I was able to convert my 1970 Coleman 220F to run on kerosene. It even shows how to modify the spring in the generator! The picture shows the lantern burning kerosene!

There is some decent info here. A lot he garnered from the web. It's a fairly concise. He probably did not need to stretch this into a whole series of books. Covers the basics, includes Aladdin lamps too. Also he mentions several times that US manufacturers stopped making thorium (radioactive) mantles in the "politically correct" 1980's This is mentioned a few times. It had nothing to do with political correctness and everything to do with the workers at the factory standing inches from a vat of solution big enough to make several thousands of mantles. I

There's just not much information out there on the subject of kerosene pressure lanterns. I really appreciate having such a resource. The writing is very plain spoken and precise. I like the chapter about aladdin non pressure mantle lamps. I own two of them and I think with the information in this book my frustration with these will be reduced. The info about converting white gas lanterns to kerosene is priceless. I am going to attempt to convert my 200A to kerosene after reading this book and watching Ron Brown"s video on youtube. More videos Mr. Brown if you can!

著者の趣味の深さ、そして楽しみを愉しむ豊かさを感じさせてくれます。「実学」のモデルといえるのではないでしょうか。

Study of pressure lanterns

Provides step by step instructions and photos to assist in resurrecting many gas powered lamps!

A differenza delle versione per Kindle, questa versione cartacea è totalmente in bianco e nero, copertina esclusa. Non capisco come si faccia a scrivere versione quando invece è un libro differente.

This manual provides excellent coverage of the range of Coleman lanterns and Petromax and Aladdin lamps. It is another fine addition to the kerosene lamp enthusiast's collection.