# Where have all the oil lamps gone???



## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Last year, at this time, everyone had oil lamps... the glass ones and the 'railroad' lantern style lamps. Hardware store had them, all the Wallies had em. Now that I'd like to pick up a dozen of them, no one has them in stock. I can still find them online, sorta... but shipping eat's you up.

I think the day I discovered my free drip gas works fine in the lamps, is the day everyone de-stocked them.

Since I can't find the oil lamps, I've started trying to find anyone with the mantled lanterns for kerosene, and find no one stocks them either....

Asked a knowledgeable clerk (yes, they do exist) at Wallies and they said they'd get cases of them in if there was a hurricane on the way. I don't think we're going to see any hurricanes for a while... global warming sorta killed our hurricane season last year.

Anyone seen any of the el cheapo hurricane lamps recently???


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Maybe the 'junque/antique" road side stores, or the thrift stores?


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

Even garage and barn sales here are charging upwards of $10 for the made in "wherever" cheapos. AND THEY SELL! I kind of think some people will grab whatever they have heard about at any cost...(isn't that what got us here in the first place???) that they have been told they need. Actually sad. I prefer my old railway lanterns and wall mounted oil lamps, but hey; that's just me, and whale blubber in the Poconos is pretty scarce anyway ;-)
Matt


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I have the wall oil lamp, a RR style two or three or so regular ones. All Walmart type or there abouts, but the work when the severe weather takes out the electricity.

Then - the water candles - I really like them. Float a wick (water candle) in vegetable oil (olive oil works well, but so does stuff like bargain veg oil) the oil floating over water in a glass, jar, bowl, - works well, not too bright - but enough to see around the house with two or three of them. 

Angie


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

Ace Hardware? Tractor Supply? My WM still has them in stock, you might want to call a few of the outlaying ones that are within traveling distance. Maybe I should pick up a few while they are still around. 

They might be one of the imported things that we have seen the last of. I seen a bunch of them a few days ago... wish I could remember where... 

My problem has been finding oil. I have several lamps, but oil has become an endangered species in my neck of the woods.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Publix grocery stores have them around here. Less than $10 for a basic lamp, IIRC. Lowes wants almost that much just for the replacement chimneys.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Are you anywhere near an Atwood's? I haven't been in for about a month, but they had them the last time I was there, $8 for the glass ones and about $13-15 for the metal railroad style, I think. Store Locator: http://atwoods.efwebdesign.com/store_locator.asp


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

All the big box stores in my area carry oil lamps and lanterns. The trouble I am having is finding wicks.


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## wvstuck (Sep 19, 2008)

We noticed about a year and a half ago that all of our big box stores quit carrying oil lamps. Our ACE Hardware has them in stock, they even have a few Aladdin Lamps

I can buy different sized wick either in packs of pre cut lengths or by the entire roll at Ace Hardware.

I buy my Dietz lanterns online and the shipping is not that bad... Dietz lanterns for $12 to $22 a piece plus fairly reasonable shipping. W.T. Kirkman is where I buy

http://www.lanternnet.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WKL&Category_Code=DL


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I just bought two lamps from WT Kirkman myself! I have a couple of the cheapies from Walmart, but I wanted a couple more. I decided to buy better quality this time. I got two of these, which have large founts:

http://www.lanternnet.com/Merchant2..._Code=WKL&Product_Code=WTK2&Category_Code=WKL

They're still not American made, but I'm happy with them.


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## lorian (Sep 4, 2005)

I buy all mine at auctions, I try to stay away from what all the collectors out there want and I usually get really nice, old, well made ones for $15.00 or so. I do live in the country though...makes it easier I guess.


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## preecher97 (Oct 9, 2008)

I saw a whole shelf full 2 weeks ago at Rose's discount store here in South/Central Ky. They were cheap too, only $7 each. The oil was what is so expensive, at $7 per qt.


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## Old Swampgirl (Sep 28, 2008)

Try Lehman's in Ohio on line. They have most everyting like that.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

Take a run thru the Goodwill or other local re-sale shop. I can usually find 2 or 3 each time I go thru the store (once a week) at $2.00 to $5.00 each.

Last year here (wisconsin) Walmart manager guy told me that they stock the lamps as a seasonal (winter) thing...so they trot them out in August, put them away in February. 

you CAN make your own using mantle parts, if that's the type you want. You just need something to screw the mantle on to. Threaded pipe that goes into a reservoir of some sort.... The mantle holds the lamp shade.


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## debbiekatiesmom (Feb 24, 2009)

wow. this post has gotten me to thinking i might better hit the local atwoods and pick another one up. i have 3 or 4 at least but it seems like anything like that is getting harder to find. and yes wicks/replacement parts are harder to find. that's why i always pick up 1 or 2 when i run across them. weird place, tho, the last time i got some was in a little gift/quilt shop in a small town. i did notice the largest area wal mart had a very much smaller selection of seeds/seed starting supplies this year also. maybe it's a good thing i hang on to all that stuff after all, even tho most of my family wonder why i don't just buy new every year when i need it. yup, call me cheap, whatever, but i'm hanging on to what i've got!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Wicks, wicks and more wicks.

http://milesstair.com/


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I shop Kirksman's also. A couple of years ago I bought their remaining NOS made-in-America Dietz laterns. They are made in China now but work just as well.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Every oil lamp and oil lantern we own was either bought off the internet or at an auction.

All that our big box and hardware stores carry is Chinese junk.


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

Run up to Jefferson to the Old Mill antiques store, probably a lot of em in there. I got a deal on 14 of the rascals on ebay a couple of years ago, for or 5 were the little baby ones with no chimney, but still a deal.
Ed


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## Jean in Virginia (Oct 5, 2008)

I've been thinking about getting some of these--

http://www.lehmans.com/store/Lamps_Lights___Oil_Lamps___Parts___Burners___Collars___Canning_Jar_Oil_Lamp_Adapter___1310?Args=#

I really love canning jars, and we prefer candles when the power is out, but for living in 1850....

might be handy.


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## NJ Rich (Dec 14, 2005)

hey texican, 

I find oil lamps many times when I go to the local Flea Market. I have 10 kerosene lamps and some extra globes. Two are from my parents and grandparents. The rest I bought at the market. The most I paid was $3.00 for a lamp. It has gotten to the point I stopped buying them. Any other lamp would need to be something special for me to buy it. I also have a Deitz N. 8 Air Pilot given to me by a friend. My biggest problem is fuel more than anything else.

BTW: Lehman's sells lamp wicks by the foot. Best to ya, NJ Rich :cowboy:


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## oceantoad (May 21, 2009)

Was looking for lamp oil for a friend and ended up buying a couple of small bottles at Academy Sports. Wally World here does not have it and I asked at the Ace Hardware and they do not have it. Did not ask about them ordering it for me. Did not see any lamps at either store.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

We've noticed a shortage of lamps and oil in our area too...even at Christmas time (2008 it seemed everyone was selling lamps)
We have several antique kerosine lamps that we've changed over to burn the parafin oil stuff and we've purchased wick and stopper things to turn wine bottles into lamps.
We buy up any candles we find at thrift stores, flea markets and garage sales (if they've already been used I melt them down and make them new again...get some strange scents sometimes ...~lol~...)
We also have some outdoor solar lights we can charge outside and bring in to light up the rooms that wouldn't be safe to leave a candle or lamp burning unattended.


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## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

The Family Dollar down the street from me used to be the closed place to find the lamps, oil and wicks but the past few months they have stopped selling the lamps, then the wicks. Now I have noticed they are down to just a few bottles of oil with no signs of restocking. I checked other stores and they are not carrying the wicks, but I can find the oil and some lamps. I found replacement globes at the craft store but they are almost as much as a new lamp! 

I am scouting out thrift stores these days looking for more lamps and replacement globes. I have four oil lamps, about 4 gallons of oil, and several dozen wicks but only one replacement globe.

I wonder why they are getting so hard to find?


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

Maybe the bad weather across so much of the country with accompanying power outages has something to do with it everyone being out. I know a lot of the bigger stores do these only as seasonal items. I have a couple K-Mart lamps, several auction lamps and lamp that is the type collectors buy (50Â¢ at a garage sale). I used to buy oil at Dollar General but they quit carrying it. Last I bought came from Walmart. I'm not sure where I last bought wicks but I have several packages on hand.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Jean in Virginia said:


> I've been thinking about getting some of these--
> 
> http://www.lehmans.com/store/Lamps_Lights___Oil_Lamps___Parts___Burners___Collars___Canning_Jar_Oil_Lamp_Adapter___1310?Args=#
> 
> ...


We have one of those. We keep it on a blue glass jar and make sure only clear fluid goes in it. Both DH and I have family lines that run through "moonshine country" so it seems fitting on the mantel.

No lamps here either, oil you can get for an arm and a leg at Ace, kind of shocked us when we looked last fall....4 yrs earlier lamps and oil were everywhere and CHEAP! 1/2 gallon of oil was only $3 before we moved to Europe......what happened can't even find 1/2 gallons now and the qts are close to $8?????


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

Our local Kmart and Meijer stores have them.


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## blooba (Feb 9, 2010)

AngieM2 said:


> Then - the water candles - I really like them. Float a wick (water candle) in vegetable oil (olive oil works well, but so does stuff like bargain veg oil) the oil floating over water in a glass, jar, bowl, - works well, not too bright - but enough to see around the house with two or three of them.
> 
> Angie


You can make your own. Goto http://www.piteba.com/eng/index_eng.htm Then click on Tips then Floating Candle


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## Jerngen (May 22, 2006)

They must of pulled them off the shelves down south and sent them all north because they're everywhere here. I was looking at them at Meijers two nights ago. Three different styles. $7, $10, $12. 
I broke the globe part on one of mine the other day which is why I was looking. Found the replacement for that ($2 w/ coupon) at Michaels craft store.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

PhilJohnson said:


> All the big box stores in my area carry oil lamps and lanterns. The trouble I am having is finding wicks.


Places that use to carry the lamps and oil, for some reason still carry wicks. Got three packs last week. Reckon I should look into alternatives to wicks... maybe old torn up canvas pants (dead carhartts!).


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

debbiekatiesmom said:


> wow. this post has gotten me to thinking i might better hit the local atwoods and pick another one up. i have 3 or 4 at least but it seems like anything like that is getting harder to find. and yes wicks/replacement parts are harder to find. that's why i always pick up 1 or 2 when i run across them. weird place, tho, the last time i got some was in a little gift/quilt shop in a small town. i did notice the largest area wal mart had a very much smaller selection of seeds/seed starting supplies this year also. maybe it's a good thing i hang on to all that stuff after all, even tho most of my family wonder why i don't just buy new every year when i need it. yup, call me cheap, whatever, but i'm hanging on to what i've got!


:clap: My evil plan has worked!!! I recently cornered the oil lamp stock market... all I needed to become richer than Bill Gates was to start a panic on oil lamps...

Okay, visions of grandeur moment is over...

I probably had enough lamps around the house, for regular usage... it's when I think about the future, and the need for light (I've lived months at a time without any night lights, and it's not 'fun')... then, stores started pulling them from their shelves... well that's a recipe for mild panic on my part. Can't wait to try the 'drip gas' in different types of lamps, and see if they work on it as well as the hurricane lamp does.

I've done some looking online and find there's no 'real' shortage... it's just, in a perfect world, I'd rather pick em up in person, and chew the fat with the clerk...


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## debbiekatiesmom (Feb 24, 2009)

you stinker texican! lol. yeah i have enough for me, but there's always barter, and then there's the unprepped relatives, etc. i'm getting more used to buying online, but i also like to actually see or feel the quality of the merchandise. btw, my favorite oil lamp i own belonged to my grandma and 'pa that had it. it's a nice pink base alladin. wouldn't trade it for anything! i had to get it in an auction and fight for it, won't say what i paid!lol-but it was worth it to me


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

You guys who can't find oil do know regular pump grade kerosene will work fine, right? It smells a bit more but it's half to a quarter of the price of "lamp oil".


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

texican said:


> .... it's just, in a perfect world, I'd rather pick em up in person, and chew the fat with the clerk...


So I'm wondering....what kind of stuff do you and the pimply-faced, 16yo Wal-Mart clerk discuss? :grin:


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## Donkey (Jan 10, 2008)

Bret4207 said:


> You guys who can't find oil do know regular pump grade kerosene will work fine, right? It smells a bit more but it's half to a quarter of the price of "lamp oil".


i would only use clear kero, ive burned the dyed stuff and it builds up quickly on the wick and also smells more


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## NCLee (Aug 4, 2009)

A FWIW post. 

I love oil lamps and collect them. Last time I counted, think I have about 30. That doesn't count the kero lanterns. I buy the "cheap" new ones and buy at yard sales, flea markets and such. I'm not a collector from the standpoint of making an investment. Instead, I buy from the standpoint of what I like. Couldn't afford the "collectibles", even if I wanted them.

But, more to the point, I also collect information. Have a DIY notebook titled "Let There Be Light". Everytime I run into information on how to make a lighting fixture, it goes into that notebook. If you'd like to do something like that, google "olive oil lamps" for a good starting point. Google "soda bottle lamps", too. 

Spend some time at this web site. http://www.milesstair.com/ In addition to selling supplies, there's a wealth of information on lamp repair, restoration, fuels, and much, much more. 

While this is a hobby for me, it's another underlying principle of being self-reliant and being prepared for whatever the future holds.

Lee

Oh, before I forget, check out this site on how to clarify cooking grease. That can be used in some of those "olive oil" type lamps. http://www.grandpappy.info/wclarify.htm


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Cabin Fever said:


> So I'm wondering....what kind of stuff do you and the pimply-faced, 16yo Wal-Mart clerk discuss? :grin:


Some of the kids/clerks have potential, amazingly enough. Back in the Battle of the Ammo Wars, circa post election 2008, several of the ammo clerks became experts on the differences between .223 and 5.56 cartridges, which can be shot safely out of the other, accuracy concerns with both, etc. Beauty or the Beast, fancy shotgun that you can't afford or a beater that you can...

Sewing lady... the state of American cloth, does it even exist? or is it just 'assembled on spools in the USA and stamped made in America'. The best needle ever made. Scissor technology.

Haven't learned the secret Sam Walton handshake yet...


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

I made the "mistake" of ordering a Dietz lamp about 2 weeks ago. I like the lamp, but it is made in China...grrr. I should have known better to read that. Oh well, at least I have a "wind proof" lamp now. I also got an olive oil type lamp to see how it is made so we can make more of them. I render lard from our own pigs for that and it seems to work very well. I was suprised that there was very little smoke or odor. Quite pleased with that overpriced little guy...will be making many more very soon.


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## Charly (Feb 20, 2010)

Was impressed to check the local thrift store and found a pretty good sized oil lamp for under $5. Went home and tried to look online for lamps and saw the same lamp for $40! Was sad I hadn't found a thrift find for $2-3 as some of you have mentioned. Felt better after finding the "new" price. Can more of you talk about the fuels for these oil lamps? I know some of you have. Would like information on what's good, better, best? Can you mix fuels? Best means to store fuels? Are they combustible? Thanks folks.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Trisha, which one did you get?


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## NJ Rich (Dec 14, 2005)

texican put me over the edge. 

I said I had enough lamps in an earlier post on this thread and I have been passing up ones I have been finding at the local Flea Market. Well............ I bought three more today. Two didn't have globes but I have extras here. I passed on a two wick lamp, no globe, but the burner was junk.

From the person selling I bought: two "almost new" heavy nylon sports bags 12" X 24"; an almost new Corning perk coffee pot complete with the inserts; a mirror sign with wood frame 12" X 18" with a saying "Private Bar Open 24 Hours(that will go over the bar on the patio this summer); heavy duty 12" X 16" cooling rack to put hot dishes on. I buy from this man often and I only paid $7.00 (seven) for all of this stuff. :thumb: 

Since so many are having a hard time buying lamps I figure I better buy when I find them. 

I can't find "sterling grade kerosene" around here. All I find is the kerosene with coloring added. Maybe I could find some if I go to Pennsylvania's Amish area. That's 2 1/2 hours away. Does anyone in NJ know where to buy the best grade kerosene? If you do private message me. 

Thanks, NJ Rich :cowboy:

I just saw another post asking about mixing fuels to make you own fuel. The answer is NO! On another Forum on the web someone asked about using paint thinner. It burns too hot and if you had a fire and they could prove you used paint thinner in your lamp the insurance company wouldn't have to pay you anything.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

Cyngbaeld said:


> Trisha, which one did you get?


This is the Dietz I bought 
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Lamps_Lights___Lanterns___Dietz___Dietz_Jupiter_Lantern___jupiter?Args=

and this is the olive oil lamp I bought (the cabin lamp with the flat wick)
http://www.lehmans.com/store/Lamps_...mps_and_Parts___Olive_Oil_Lamps___15978?Args=


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## NCLee (Aug 4, 2009)

Charly said:


> Can more of you talk about the fuels for these oil lamps? I know some of you have. Would like information on what's good, better, best? Can you mix fuels? Best means to store fuels? Are they combustible? Thanks folks.


Think you'll find about everything you need here.
http://www.milesstair.com/kero_fuel_primer.html

Also take a look at the info on caring for wicks, maintaining various styles of lamps, etc. Even though I've been around oil lamps all my life, I learned a bunch of new things at this site.

Lee


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## DavisHillFarm (Sep 12, 2008)

We were at Walmart yesterday and they had no oil or lamps. I've ordering a lantern from our local hardware store a couples ago and it's been back ordered ever since. Think I'll order one from Kirkman. As for lamp oil, I use clear K-1 from a nearby Sunoco station.


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## fratermus (May 11, 2009)

texican said:


> Now that I'd like to pick up a dozen of them, no one has them in stock. I can still find them online, sorta... but shipping eat's you up.


Not cheapos, but Kirkman will sell them by the case. I assume you've already seen his stuff. He's kinda famous (scroll down).

I bought a Champion #2 and it's really well done. Well worth the price, IMO.


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## secretcreek (Jan 24, 2010)

Lehman's the non- electric store, will always have this stuff. I saw cheapo-made RR type oil lamps, oil, wicks just last Saturday am in Athens, OH. Crafts 2000 has alot of wick style needs for simple oil jar lamps.


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