I am considering purchasing a petromax type lantern ? I have an old Coleman kero lantern and it smells bad and puts out a great amount of heat. Are the petromax lanterns ok for indoors use ? Smell ? Heat ? Help !

-- reed moore (reed_moore@postmaster.co.uk), May 25, 1999

Answers

We have used Petromax indoors. Smell a little. Heat a lot. They recommend lighting them outside, which we do.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), May 25, 1999.

To reduce the smell of a kerosene lamp always; fill it outside, light it outside, turn it off outside, and store it outside.

A lamp that has better combustion like an Alladin has less smell when operating. I don't own a Petromax, but I'ld suspect that it burns cleaner than a Coleman.

There are (at least on this side of the pond) different grades of kerosene.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), May 25, 1999.

A Coleman _kerosene_ lantern? It must be old, or at least uncommon in these parts. The smell you encounter is probably due to general inefficiency, primarily with the wick. Assume the stove would have some form of vaporizor. Anyhow, why not sell that one and upgrade to a new single mantle petrol? Less light with single mantle, but longer burn time. For the price (and lead time) on a Petromax, you can purchase a lot of Petrol to feed the Coleman, or equal.

-- A. Hambley (a.hambley@usa.net), May 26, 1999.

As a dealer of the Petromax, I can tell you that to reduce any smell, use a good quality fuel. Kerosene is the recommended fuel for the Petromax Lantern, but if you use lamp oil, you will have no smell whatever (kerosene will give out a slight smell). I recommend that you light it outdoors as is instructed with the purchase of a Petromax. These lanterns are far superior in quality and are used today by NATO forces. They still have the original design from WW1 (why tamper with a good thing). You can also use any combutible fuel in them. The Petromax has heated a 20X20 room at 0 degrees. On its highest setting it runs at 400 watts! Nothing compares. Check out my site for pictures and more stats. Diane http://www.highlandtraders.com

-- Diane (prepare@highlandtraders.com), May 26, 1999.