The mantle is another factor: Aladdin has changed them recently because of concerns with thorium, which was in the old design. The new mantles aren't as bright, but I'm willing to stipulate that they're still brighter than any non-pressurized alternative (though there are many variables with flat-wick lamps that impact their brightness). Mantles are somewhat fragile, and from reading various comments from users, the mantles need to be replaced with some degree of regularity--though that would depend for the most part on the amount of use. The mantles represent an ongoing cost; though flat-wick lamps also need new wicks periodically, those are cheaper and they are consumed at a lower rate.
I was partly interested in a good light source for emergency use--the power here does not go out often, but it has been out for about 24 hours a couple of times while I've lived here due to ice. I wasn't sold on the practicality of a kerosene lamp for that purpose. I have flashlights and batteries, plus options to run low-wattage things (like strings of LED Christmas lights) for a time if the power is out. When I began to plan for a kerosene heater as well, it made more sense to get something for lighting that could use the same fuel.
I ran across this duplex (double-wick) lamp offered by Lehman's one day, and decided to give it a try [Update 11/22: no longer available]. I'm willing to spend $50 on a speculative basis. It arrived in July, which was not necessarily a good time to either 1) find kerosene or 2) use a lamp that puts out a lot of heat as it runs. So I didn't do much with it until fall, when its heat output would be an asset.
I didn't know what to expect. I have some battery-powered LED candles, and figured that amount of light was about what I'd get out of a single-wick lamp. I was surprised. The duplex burner (two 1 1/16" wicks) puts out a lot of light. It's not like an electrical light, but it's more than enough to read by if sitting close to the light source. The picture makes it look like it's somewhat brighter than it actually is, but it's close.
I also got a lantern (the second picture above); they have some advantages over lamps. They can be carried around more easily and are more weather-hardy. I bought a #2 Champion from W.T. Kirkman, though other brands and cheaper versions can certainly be found. I liked the galvanized finish. This lantern has a 7/8" single wick. It's also brighter than I thought it would be--my expectations were apparently too low before I started this--but it's noticeably dimmer than the duplex (as you might expect, with only 41% as much wick width as the latter). The lantern also puts out less heat, although the Kirkman site helpfully estimates the heat output: 1400 BTU per hour (compared to about 10,000-23,000 BTU/hr for a kerosene heater...that suggests they have limited potential as mini kerosene heaters: one lantern, the Jupiter, was designed with a large font/tank to enable it to burn for a long time and heat greenhouses). The light output is estimated at about 12-14 candlepower with a max of 20--getting from there to lumens seems to be somewhat of a messy calculation. However, it's also bright enough for reading and general low-level illumination, though you wouldn't mistake it for an electric table lamp with a 60- (or even 20-) watt bulb.
You may be able to see in the picture that the walls are a bit darker with the lantern; the difference between the two is reasonably close to how they look when viewed live, but to my eyes, the brightness of the duplex lamp was about equivalent to that of the second picture, meaning things were dimmer still for the lantern. Either would work fine for non-electric lighting.
What about fuel efficiency? I have not done a fuel consumption test. Patrice Lewis, on her blog, has. She used a lamp with a 3/4" wick for her test and found that it consumed about 0.61 ounces of kerosene per hour (2.5 cups used in 33 hours). If the amount of fuel consumption is linear at a 1:1 ratio with wick width, that would mean the 7/8" wick lantern uses 0.71 ounces per hour and the duplex lamp uses 1.71 ounces per hour (if you ever had any doubts, yes, algebra has real-world uses). If all of these assumptions and calculations are correct, the duplex lamp is a fuel hog, relatively speaking. The Aladdin should be somewhat more fuel efficient than an equivalently-bright flat-wick lamp if it converts some of the heat to light through making the mantle glow. However, I've seen some sources--like Jack's Country Store, which sells them--report that consumption is about 3 ounces per hour (if they use that much, they really would put out a lot of heat).
And what about fuel? K-1 kerosene can be bought at big-box stores in the early winter months as heater fuel for around $9-$10 per gallon [Update 11/22: LOL--$14 to $18]--they advertise it as ultra-low in sulfur, and therefore low emission. It can be bought at the pump at service stations for maybe half that amount. W.T. Kirkman has a summary of fuels as well as a list of ones to avoid. The only ones I have used so far are Florasense, which definitely has a kerosene-like smell when it burns in the lantern, not so much in the lamp, and Klean-Strip kerosene substitute (which still has a smell on first lighting in the lantern, but it soon dissipates).
One other thing about the duplex lamp: The chimney assembly comes off of the burner for lighting--you don't have to pull the chimney up by itself then get it back into the prongs after lighting. I found that tip on a YouTube video that I can't locate at the moment. It makes things a bit easier.
There are other options for emergency lighting--the aforementioned LED Christmas lights will do a decent job if you have a battery and inverter to run them (this isn't as hard to set up as you might expect; some car starters have small inverters and outlets, and you can also hook an inverter up to your car battery). Or you can use LED lanterns (like the Streamlight) with a couple of sets of batteries at the ready.
Kerosene lamps and lanterns are in many ways antiquated and sub-optimal; they are relatively dangerous; they pollute as they burn; and they are relatively inefficient. There are a number of international initiatives to transition rural areas in the developing world to solar LED lanterns. However, for some uses, the inefficiencies of kerosene are bonuses. Winter ice storms are one such situation.
Reviewed: 11/1/22
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