They may not look as nice, but will Coleman lanterns that use fuel and have a mantle give off the same amount of light as the Aladdin? How about the Century propane lanterns? I can buy the Aladdin Geni II for $70 locally. I have the Coleman and the Century lanterns. Will I have more light if I use the Aladdin?

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), October 11, 1999

Answers

At least with the Coleman, I think the issue is fumes. I don't believe you are supposed to use them indoors.

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), October 12, 1999.

If we can get nine more people who want Aladdin lamps (tall aluminum), we should be able to get the lamps for less than what you would pay for the genie II.

Check out the cooperative preps thread.

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (faryna@groupmail.com), October 12, 1999.

I've seen Coleman kerosene lamps for sale on occasion, I presume they'd be as safe as the Alladins for indoor use. You can also get a Coleman propane lamp.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), October 12, 1999.

Carol, Aladdin lamps give off light equivalent to a 60-watt bulb. I don't know what the light equivalency is for the Coleman and Century lanterns. You could light them up and make a guesstimate, if you put them in the same room with a 60-watt lamp.

-- Jill D. (jdance@mindspring.com), October 12, 1999.

There was another thread on this forum that went into some detail on the use of Coleman lamps indoors, and the levels of CO that might be generated. Maybe someone is familiar with thtat and can post a link. The Coleman and Century lanterns are propane; and Coleman also makes a nifty thing called the Powerhouse Dual Fuel which uses white gas (Coleman fuel) and unleaded. I like that because it gives at least one more option for generating light if one of those fuels is to be unavailable but the other is still supplied somewhere. Unless you have a Coleman that runs on Kerosene (like the Petromax) the Coleman lanterns are nothing like the Alladins: Coleman requires pressurization of the reservoir/fuel; generates an intense light, hiss, and (so they say) fumes, and is designed to work as a camping and outdoors lantern. However, that other thread included posts attesting to absolutely zero CO production from the COlemans. I would get a Coleman first-- probably a Dual Fuel -- and learn to use that while you hunt for Alladins, which are much harder to come by now. Alladins are perfect for indoor use, day in and day out. Coleman will be acceptable in an emergency if you ensure ventilation or manage to verify that you ahve no CO gases being produced. Coleman actually gives a much brighter light, but is not nearly as hosptiable a light as the Alladin. Look in an antique store; or if you can reach the Aurora Lamp Works, in Aurora, Oregon or the Antique Depot there (try directory assitance) I understnad that the owner, Sandy Chandler, has a close relationship with teh Alladin comapny and she might still have Alladins around. The Alladin works like an ordinary kerosene lantern -- by evaporation of the kero on a central wick -- in this case a tubular wick as opposd to a straight one. THe flame then causes the palladium coated mantel to incandesce brilliantly white - but (unlike Coleman) without noise and without toxic gases -- except for some residual kerosense smell if you are using kerosene.

-- Roch Steinbach (rochsteinbach@excite.com), October 12, 1999.

I don't believe that carbon monoxide comes from pressurized fuel.

So far as I'm aware, the only result of pressurized fuel delivery (all other factors remaining consistent, i.e., *type* of fuel, completeness of combustion), is that pressurized delivery creates a brighter light.

So, if it's safe to burn kerosene in an Alladin, I'd be *very* surprised if it wasn't likewise safe to burn it in a Coleman (presuming it's a Coleman designed to burn kerosene).

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), October 12, 1999.

You didn't ask about the Petromax lantern, but if you visit the TB2000 Forum, where someone asked today about Aladdin vs. Petromax, you can read my "rave notice" for the Petromax I bought. (And no, I don't work for them!) :-)

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), October 12, 1999.

I've owned a Coleman white gas stove and lantern for years. When I first became concerned about Y2K, the first thing I did was call the local fire marshall. After giving me the obligatory talk about how your fire department doesn't like it when you use ANYTHING portable with an open flame, he went on to tell me that the CO fumes will only reach a dangerous level, if the room is sealed. If you crack the window an inch or two, you'll be safe (at least from the fumes, he added).

This doesn't help much, if you're trying to keep a room warm, but those appliances could be used in a space that you don't plan on heating, anyway. For example, if you have a second floor, that you don't plan to heat, but may be storing items there. I'm not planning on heating my kitchen. I figure that will help with preserving refrigerated foods longer. In there, camping appliances will be safe to use.

This might also be a good bit of info to pass on to any DGI friends or relatives who might happen to own some camping equipment.

-- Bokonon (bok0non@my-Deja.com), October 13, 1999.

One caveat with any pressurized lantern: make *absolutely* certain that it's *burning* when it's turned on! If you open the valve but don't light it (or if somehow the flame goes out), you'll be pumping *highly* combustible vapors into the air, and since they're heavier than air, they'll settle in the lowest place they can find.

Some possible ramifications: your electricity is out, your natural gas is on. Your gas water heater is burning. The fumes from an open, but not-ignited lamp roll along the floor until they come to the burner (or pilot) of your water heater. Your house explodes. Your power is out, including your electric water heater. Your lamp performs as in the last example. The power comes back on. Someone flicks a light switch, or your thermostat causes a relay in your furnace to click, *kaboom*, your house explodes.

Be *very* careful. At the very least, I'd suggest lighting the lamp outside, and not bringing it inside until it's warmed up past the sputtering stage, and then *storing* it outside when not in use.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), October 13, 1999.