Grease Lamps - from a silverware serving spoon

[Mike Ameling]

Hi. My digital camera is a cheapo junker and does not do close-up pictures. I will try to get a pic, but can't promise anything.

The wick just lays right down in the bowl and runs up to just above the end. Then you put your "cooking grease" (or olive or veg oil) into the bowl. The oil/grease then soaks into the wick. When you light the end, the "heat" from the burning end helps melt and liquify the grease/oil so that it will flow up the wick to the burning flame on the end.

In the converted spoons, I used about 1 inch cut off of a strand of a cotton mop. I laid it down into the spoon bowl, and poured Crisco corn/veg oil in. It did take a bit to get the end of the wick burning - a whole stick match (or two). Once it was burning, I used a metal pick to move the wick up/down a bit in the end of the spoon bowl until it was burning well. It will only burn where the wick is above the level of the oil/grease. So you also have to check the wick kind of often, and adjust it as necessary. One "bowl full" of oil/grease lasted around 20 to 25 minutes.

The main advantage of using a grease lamp is to use up leftover grease from cooking to get light. Otherwise you had to process that leftover cooking grease and turn it into tallow candles. That's a lot more work - straining out the gunk, clarifying the grease, and then dipping the candles. And tallow (grease/fat) candles take a lot more "dipping" to build up to using size than when using wax. Plus those tallow candles are susceptible to melting if they get too hot - as in a hot summer day or being left out in the sun. You can easily end up with a puddle of grease/tallow instead of a candle.

So the wick just lies down in the bowl from the deepest part, and runs up to just past the end of the "point" of the bowl. Simple technology from a much earlier time period.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

 

[Singeblister]

love to see things like this , thanks for sharing Mike

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

OK gave this a try and have to say once the oil burns down a bit the entire wick catches fire I am assuming the wick needs to be very short for this to work ?

 

[Mike Ameling]

Here's a (poor) pic of a grease lamp with the wick in place and ready to have the grease/oil poured in. (several people have asked for a close-up pick of how it all would be set up)

The wick is part of a strand from a floor mop. It goes from the deepest part of the bowl, and runs up the point to where the end just sticks up past the top of the point. This particular grease lamp is a bit long, so a larger wick will work better to generate more heat to keep the grease melted/liquid to flow up the wick.

The wick will only burn above the level of the grease/oil you have in your spoon bowl. So, as more grease/oil is burned up, more wick will be exposed and can possibly also start burning. I use a wick long enough to go down to the deepest part of the spoon bowl.

This is not a ... long term ... light source like a candle. You have to check and tweak it much more often. But even that candle wick only burns above the melted wax on top - because that is where the vaporized fuel is. Candles just are designed to work differently.

WARNING! NEVER use kerosene or lamp oil in a grease lamp. That fuel is too flamible and volatile. It turns to vapor way too easily, and that vapor when mixed with air burns, and can burn FAST. It will burn by itself if poured/dripped onto anything. That's why some people will splash some kerosene on wood to get their campfire burning. It is very similar to bar-b-q fire starter fluid. Gasoline, of course, is a major NO NO. And most motor oils are the same way.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

p.s. Now to work on some Rush Lamps - and to soak some cattail rush piths in grease to see how they work.