As nost of you know we have lived w/o power at our house for the last 7 years. We use Aladdin lamps and one two wick oil lamp for all out light. All of our lamps come from Lehmans. They are honest and reputable. We have wall hangers and a brass ceiling hanger too. They help a lot when lighting a home.
You need to buy extra wicks, mantles, flame spreaders and always have a wick trimmer on hand. They are somewhat expensive to maintain but the best light for a non electric home.
NEVER leave one burning unattended. They will run away and can cause a fire.
Scott, a definite NEVER on leaving them unattended. During our test burn, it was runnin' smooth for over an hour at my Dads place. 40 minutes after we left, my Dad had 12-14 inches of bright orange flame coming ABOVE the chimney!! It gave the mantle a good soot covering, but the next day it was re-lit and burned low at first and slowly increasing until the mantle cleaned itself off.
When you talk about extra flame spreaders, do you mean the gallery itself or an actual flame spreader? Does this fit inside the mantle?
Also, what about these light boosters I'm seeing? Does it really increase the light by 25% at sea level?
One more quicky: High altitude chimneys. Are they worth the extra dough if not above the specified altitude? I've read that people at lower altitudes use them for a better burn and draft through the lamp. Is this true?
