Feuerhand lanterns

[fluoxetine]

What are your thoughts on the Feuerhand lanterns for your overnight or few days out?

Been thinking of getting one so I do not have to depend on battery power for light. They are simple to operate but good enough to have around once lit. Some will last 16 hours with a low flame on one 300ml tank burn.

Also who would have one for being out and about? I know pressure lanterns are heavy and can be a chore to light whereas a cold blast lantern is just one match and you have light for the evening. With these being labelled hurricane lanterns they do have a charm when out in a windy camp and the fire is low with no chance of relighting it. Also what fuel would be good to have the brightest light if it could be indoors in a bothy as you do not want it stinking out the rooms.

Maybe I find the CREE lights a bit much in the way of X Lumen power but I would consider only used in an emergency whereas flame might be more cosy. So what are your views?

 

[MrEd]

If you get premium paraffin (properly premium - the slightly green stuff) it’s less smelly.

 

[Robson Valley]

Will you be wanting to light an entire campsite?
A fuel lantern provides some heat which might be quite welcome on a chilly night.
If you can squeeze a 16 hour burn from 300ml, that's great.

As MrEd says: go for the higher quality fuel for a less objectionable odor.
I think the worst is when I shut those things off. They really do stink.

I have CREE LED lights in doors for our common power failures.
Just one 8W, pointed upwards at the near-white ceiling is plenty.
I don't think that the light power needs to be particularly great.

Outdoors in a camp, I have the usual Coleman pressure lamp.
Pumped up hard, it's easy to light.
Sitting on the ground, most everybody can get around quite well.
Coleman makes a similar lamp which uses a propane bottle.
I would expect quite a bright light. I have never seen one running.

 

[MrEd]

When I total darkness you don’t actually need a bright light to see immediately around you and do admin tasks.

I have a pressure lantern which I use in power cuts and a candle lantern I take out in the woods, which once my eyes have adjusted is good enough to read with

 

[Bishop]

I occasionally wander about with a Feuerhand, below is an older pic but it was with me for the Winter Moot. They're quite bulky and with fuel mass around 725-780g so there's a space/weight trade-off to consider if like me you are hoofing all your gear about over any distance. As for light output they are not brilliant, if you were writing in a journal for instance then you would need to be within two feet of it. Beyond that they do throw a useful ambiance that stops you tripping over tree stumps. In winter they are awesome tent heaters and my personal favourite trick is to put it into a hole like a Dakota firepit and rest a metal water bottle on top. Warm water for a wash in morning or changeover hot-water bottle for those cold nights.

Alas there's not a lot you can do about the smell except suck it up and savour the history. Premium no pong lamp oil is around £3 a litre, heater quality is about £1.50 if you buy in bulk.
(got me wondering what blubber/ whale oil smells like)

If you are vehicle based or not wandering too far from it then a Tilley or Coleman pressure lantern is the way to go, intense light and hotter than hades to the touch. There is a third option with the Aladdin mantle lamps. As bright as the Tilley or Coleman options but silent in operation with no hissing however these are 2ft tall, don't travel well and intended for homestead use. .

 

[KenThis]

I have one, I bought some premium indoor fuel for it. I use it in my bedroom in the evening because I like the natural light before bed. Not noticed any smell. I will take it camping but as mentioned more for ambience than brightness, theyre comparable to Uco candle laterns imho.

 

[MrEd]

i love my UCO, i use it with citronella candles

 

[Robson Valley]

I find the hissing sound of a Coleman pressure lamp is memory music to me.
Many decades of it and months off the grid.
A tent, a log cabin, OK, but I believe the carbon monoxide output is too much for inside a house.
Same for the classic Coleman "green box" pressure stove.

In any case, the heat output is a bonus.
It's maybe 25C days here now bit no more than +2C at night.
Some frosted roof tops at 6AM.

Total power failures in the night here are so ultra damn dark, it isn't funny.
I keep a big LED touch light in the bathroom. Touch the top of it for 3 levels of brightness.
I can find that one location in the house with nothing to trip over.
Find that and nothing else is a problem.
Not a camping light. It just isn't strong enough to have any practicality under those circumstances.
Maybe inside a tent in very good weather?

 

[Janne]

Used to use one on my canoe trips. I used kerosene. To me it still smells like perfume.
I made a wooden box for it, with space for an extra bottle of fuel.
Never use this kind if lamps indoors or in a tent without adequate ventilation, CO poisoning is not a joke!

Those lamps last a life time.

 

[Janne]

Btw, the light output is excellent. You need to clean the insude of the glass properly before each evenings use, even a thin layer of soot makes it visibly less bright.
Also, wick adjustment is crucial.

Those lamps are so much nicer than the modern stuff!

 

[Paulm]

Love mine

Sent from my SM-A530F using Tapatalk

 

[John Fenna]

I prefer "Lamp Oil" for indoor use ... and some come with added floral perfumes!

 

[KenThis]

I prefer "Lamp Oil" for indoor use ... and some come with added floral perfumes!

That's what I use.

 

[GuestD]

Here's a good source,
http://www.hurricanelamps.co.uk/heater_wick.htm

 

[Mesquite]

I've got about 8 Feuerhand lanterns... I really love them as they hardly need much doing apart from filling up and occasional wick change and glass cleanse.

Dingly Dell at last years Moot I had 6 of them and I've picked a couple up at boot fairs since for a couple quid each.

Picture was taken by Wayland

 

[dp0001]

They're lovely but have the light output of a large candle. I got a bunch of assorted lanterns including some Feuerhands as a job lot a few years' ago and started to restore some of them. You can get all the parts easily. From memory, one was railway with red and yellow coloured glass. I wouldn't want to carry one in a pack as it would probably leak over everything. I've used them with citronella as a mozzie deterrant.

Beware some of the cheap chinese lanterns from pound shops, the glass can break suddenly if the lamp changes temperature too quickly. Good as ornaments only. But Feuerhands are first rate. Must dig them out.