Lamp Oil or Paraffin for Garden Oil Torch

[Toadflax]

My wife bought a couple of those bamboo oil torches for the garden earlier this year (similar to these http://www.coventgardencandles.co.uk/acatalog/17.html), together with a bottle of 'lamp oil' to burn in them. The lamp itself is basically just a tin can with a fibreglass wick.

The lamp oil seemed pretty expensive (about £3.50 for a litre) and the bottle says that it is kerosene - which seems to be just another name for paraffin - I think. Anybody know if I can just burn paraffin in these lamps and what (if anything) is so special about the lamp oil sold by garden centres?


Thanks



Geoff

 

[Doc]

Paraffin works fine. So does cooking oil.

Some of the lamp oils are scented, others have citronella in to try and keep midgies at bay.

 

[john scrivy]

I think its a matter of taste the lamp oil is expensive as you say parrafin works good but stinks asit burns cooking oil also chucks a bit but works well to sum it up some oils stink the other one is exspensive

 

[nobby]

My wife bought a couple of those bamboo oil torches for the garden earlier this year (similar to these http://www.coventgardencandles.co.uk/acatalog/17.html), together with a bottle of 'lamp oil' to burn in them. The lamp itself is basically just a tin can with a fibreglass wick.

The lamp oil seemed pretty expensive (about £3.50 for a litre) and the bottle says that it is kerosene - which seems to be just another name for paraffin - I think. Anybody know if I can just burn paraffin in these lamps and what (if anything) is so special about the lamp oil sold by garden centres?


Thanks



Geoff

A sailor told me that lamp oil is paraffin that is well filtered and burns cleaner. He found it important because he was still using paraffin lamps on board and didn't enjoy cleaning the globes too often. Besides the issue of pollution, it probably doesn't matter in the garden.

 

[rik_uk3]

Paraffin works fine and only smokes if you are burning too much wick; this leads to incomplete combustion, hence smell and smoke