kerosene vs lamp oil vs paint thinner
What an interesting subject. It appears to me that you cannot take just one aspect of the product and draw general conclusions from it (kinda like anchoring, gotta look at the entire picture).
For those with an interest, as mentioned, the cut off flash point, concerning superheating (the cause for "explosions" and runaway flame) for lamp fuel appears to be 100F. What I find interesting is that I've found (MSDS sheets) on some lamp oils with flash points as low as 94F and kerosene-1 with flash points as low as 101F. The lowest flash point for the more common paint thinners, that I have looked at, haven't been below 105F.
You folks can draw your own conclusions, but it appears to me that even if using a fuel labelled as "lamp oil", you still could experience superheating if using one of the oils with a low flash point. As far as health safety, I haven't found any paint thinner, kerosene or paint thinner that the MSDS sheets give a clean bill of health.
Maybe I'm drawing all the wrong conclusions, so each must make their own decisions... the fun of being an owner, captain and operator!
Rudy
Briney Bug, Panama City, Fl
Rudy,
What are your thoughts about using or not using the Coleman brand propane
and kerosene lanterns?
This stuff comes from a web site mentioned at the bottom.
Kosmos Oil Lamp operating tips.
-
We recommend using regular clear lamp oil, clear 150° kerosene, or
synthetic kerosene only. Paraffin oil in the U.S.A. (Ultra-Pure, Nowell's,
etc.,) has a flash point over 250°, and will not burn properly and will clog
the wick in a Kosmos Lamp. Once the wick is clogged, it must be replaced. -
Remove the chimney and carefully unscrew the burner, being careful not
to use the burner stem or thumbwheel as a lever. Even trimming of the wick
is important and is most easily accomplished by exposing a bit of DRY wick
above the wick tube, adjusting wick so it is even all around, and burning
the wick dry until it is evenly consumed all around. -
Fill the oil container approximately 90% full. It is also important to
keep the lamp no less than 1/3 full. If the fuel level is too low the
flame will begin consuming the wick. -
Screw the burner back on to the oil container and let the wick become
fully saturated - approximately 30 minutes - before lighting the lamp. -
Light at minimal flame, quickly replace the chimney and keep the flame
low for a few minutes until the cold glass has had time to warm to prevent
the chimney from cracking, then adjust the flame to the desired level.
(Flame at highest level should be around 1" tall.) -
Lamps direct heat upwards so allow at least 24" clearance above chimney
to combustible surfaces. Use a smoke bell to help deflect ascending heat.
*Additional Notes on Mineral Spirits
I have added the following information due to the number of inquiries we
have been receiving lately about the use of paint thinner as a kerosene
substitute to explain the danger.
Mineral Spirits (Paint Thinner,) should NOT be used in any wick lamp or
lantern.
There is a reason they are called "Kerosene" lanterns, and not "Paint
Thinner" lanterns. Tubular lanterns, and most oil lamps that employ a wick
delivery system, are designed for use with 150 Degree Test (read "Flash
Point,") kerosene, which is a "straight run" petroleum distillate made for
such use. Standard Lamp Oil, (such as Lamplight Farms Medallion Lamp Oil,)
has a 142 Degree flash point, and is also an acceptable lamp or lantern
fuel, being within 10% of the design standard.
Paint Thinner, (Mineral Spirits,) on the other hand, has a flash point of
under 110 Degrees, and is a complex petroleum distillate that at best may
produce (including odorless,) fumes that are not something that you would
want to breathe near, and at worst has the potential for creating a runaway
flame or worse.
Let me explain further: In addition to conveying fuel, the wick also
conducts heat from the flame into the tank. As the fuel level drops, the
oil temperature rises and expands, regardless of the oil you are using.
With Mineral Spirits, this function creates an accelerated evaporation,
which in turn produces pressurized flammable vapor that must expand to
somewhere. (This process is also referred to as "Superheating.") Usually,
the pressurized vapor will gradually work its way through the burner and
will be consumed at the flame. At this point it is not a major problem,
except that because the flame is no longer dependant on the wick, you no
longer have control of the flame, which will begin to "runaway." The
natural reaction is to turn the wick down as far as possible to try to
extinguish the runaway flame. This only increases the vapor flow as well as
the flame size. If you turn the wick down too far, and the cogs disengage
the wick, you will not be able to raise the wick to reduce the flame size.
When this happens, the best course of action is to smother the lantern with
an inverted pail or bucket, or dirt.
In a worst case scenario, if the pressurized vapor is unable to gradually be
consumed at the flame, it will increase in the tank as the fuel level drops.
The reason this is "worst case" is because if the vapor bursts through the
burner, an explosion will result that will most likely shatter the globe.
"Copyrighted Text by W.T. Kirkman Used With Permission, Courtesy of
www.lanternnet.com "
I think most lamps used by boaters are of this generic type although various
names are uses.
Note especially, keep the lantern tank more than 1/3 full.
A flame run-away inside a cabin, say of oiled teak with curtains nearby
could be ....
Richard
To understand the tendency to produce a 'runaway flame' you also have to
look at the vapour pressure of the fuel.
Essentially this means the tendency for it to evaporate and how much it
evaporates at a particular temperature.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_pressure
Paige.
Rudy et al.
Over here, there are kerosene heaters (japanese branded) over here
that are used to heat smallish places during the winter. They are flue-
less, and there are strongly worded warnings that to avoid CO
poisoning, one must use an "approved" fuel. That appears to be a
"white" kerosene that the dealers sell.
The government is so concerned about this that they mandate that with
every sale, a 25 liter container of this stuff must be included. The
stuff is not cheap after that so I do not know what people do after
that first batch runs out.
When I read of CO deaths in houses that use these heaters, it seems
that the common thread is that the heater had unapproved fuel in it,
and usually that is either diesel fuel or something just as crappy.
When I was younger, I had such a heater, and it came with a warning to
use "double refined" white kerosene only. I did and even slept at
night with it lit. (Now that I think about it, how stupid!)
There are also LPG heaters here but NONE are rated for use in enclosed
spaces without a flue.
I use paraffin oil in my Weeds and Platt lamp, and any other "cheap"
lamp I happen to have. It is not cheap either but 1 liter seems to
last a year+.
Lee and Zehra Licata
M/Y LeeZe
Cesme Marina, Cesme Turkey
On 9 Oct 11, at 19:57 , Rudy and Jill wrote: ...As far as health
safety, I haven't found any paint thinner, kerosene or paint thinner
that the MSDS sheets give a clean bill of health...
On Sun, Oct 9, 2011 at 1:15 PM, themellors@shaw.ca wrote:
What are your thoughts about using or not using the Coleman brand propane
and kerosene lanterns?
I grew up in a place with no power (the arctic) and we used Coleman
stoves and lanterns extensively. I also worked on a boat and all we
had for heat and cooking was a Coleman stove.
So, as to your question: Coleman stoves are incredible. Reliable, hot,
pretty foolproof. However, the big problem is that they burn naphtha,
which is essentially gasoline. Refilling the stoves is messy and on a
boat pretty unsafe.
Coleman lanterns and even more incredible than the stove. As long as
you don't drop them and break the globe or mantle, they will run for
years. However, they are very, very bright and also very very hot. Way
too hot for inside a boat, unless it's frozen in ice. Plus, they burn
naphtha as well, so it's still unsuitable for a boat.
Coleman propane stoves are not appropriate for anything but the very
smallest boats. They don't put out much heat, and since the heat
energy of propane is so much less than naphtha, you have to change the
propane bottles all the time.
Coleman propane lanterns are actually pretty good. They are neither as
hot or as bright as the naphtha lanterns. However they still take a
lot of propane, and the light is pretty bright and harsh.
The other problems with boat naphtha and propane is that they consume
oxygen and produce water vapor and carbon monoxide. So you have to
plan for both incoming and outgoing ventilation. In a tent that's not
so hard, in a water & windproof boat cabin it's a bit more
impractical.
All in all given the fact that our boats have a ready supply of power,
I would highly recommend electric lights. Incandescent if you like
soft light, fluorescent if you are worried about power user, or LED.
Scott Welch
Island Eagle
Hi Lee
I'm glad that you brought up the subject of death and it's not just a danger limited to boats. We have a friend here, in this area, whose daughter, while burning a kerosene heater indoors, died when she failed to open a window before going to bed. We're so concerned about this danger that Jill is not allowed to go to sleep until I wake up in the morning. Okay, in all seriousness, it isn't something that just happens to the other guy. It can happen to you, if you don't take the necessary precautions. Better to sleep slightly cold and wake up in the morning, than to sleep comfortably... for ever!
Rudy
Briney Bug, Panama City, Fl
Here in the states, most gasoline stations sell K-1 or white kerosene. Cost
is about 50% more than diesel fuel. The manufacturers specify this for fuel
because it burns clean with little odor. I have a couple 23,000 btu units
that I use on occasion to heat up an outbuilding, but would not use any
unvented combustion heater in a living space while sleeping. I don't run a
genset on the boat while sleeping either.
K-1 will kill you with CO just as quickly as any other fuel. It's a lack of
oxygen that causes incomplete combustion resulting in CO rather than CO2 as
a combustion by product. People die every year using these heaters in closed
spaces.
Rudy et al.
Over here, there are kerosene heaters (japanese branded) over here
that are used to heat smallish places during the winter. They are flue-
less, and there are strongly worded warnings that to avoid CO
poisoning, one must use an "approved" fuel. That appears to be a
"white" kerosene that the dealers sell.
Lee and Zehra Licata
M/Y LeeZe
Cesme Marina, Cesme Turkey