ali-s Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Does any one use Victorian style Oil lamps for lighting their home occasionally? We get frequent power cuts here, five in the last couple of weeks which can last between a few minutes or a few hours. Last week we woke up to no power and had to shower by candle light. I keep candles and matches at the ready in every room in the cottage except the bedrooms which have a torch ready. The power cuts can happen at any time of the year, sometimes when the weather is bad but also when the weather is normal The cuts affect us, the village a couple of miles away and the School so I don't think the problem is anything to do with our connection. I would like the sort of lighting that I can leave out on display and which looks nice and thought if we are going to be plunged back into the 19th Century we might as well look the part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I have been looking into oil lamps too, as we get the odd power cut and candles just aren't bright enough. Check out charity/antique/junk shops as they often have oil lamps at a reasonable price. I know that Mrs Frugal has a good supply in her house I recently saw some in a junk shop when visiting Rye. Wish I had bought them now Lovely seaside red ones for £10 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 You can even buy new ones - although they are a tad expensive! Tilley Lamps I saw two beautiful ornate oil lamps at the car boot this morning - a bargain at £45 each (I may have succombed but they really were too posh for camping!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali-s Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 The Tilley lamps look good. We have plenty of camping gas lanterns and use the camping stove to cook on when the power is off. I would like pretty looking lamps which will look good on display when not being used. The camping lanterns tend to get put away in a cupboard or out in the shed and then when the power goes we end up stumbling about in the dark looking for them. I was wondering if oil lamps smell or are smokey?, do they give off a decent amount of light? I don't mind at all being without the TV etc but candle light is not bright enough to sew, knit or read. I've never seen any oil lamps in junk shops or car boot sales. I have found this site www.galician.co.uk which sell new oil lamps. The prices vary from expensive to really quite cheap. The cheaper ones have lovely hand painted flowers on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey Lucy Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Those Tilley lamps look lovely, I wish I could invent a reason for needing one... Slightly OT but is anyone else stuck with 'Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning..' going round in their head or is it just me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Those Tilley lamps look lovely, I wish I could invent a reason for needing one... Slightly OT but is anyone else stuck with 'Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning..' going round in their head or is it just me? I am now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Those Tilley lamps are beautiful! I think oil lamps are much safer to use than a candle. Much less easily knocked over. I have some oil lamps for the garden. I have two which have the oil burner bit and 4 which have a tea light holder, but would like to replace them with all oil lamp burners. Anyone know where, or even if, I can hold of these things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Worth doing a search on ebay - there are some nice ones on there! oil lamps I've just remembered - many years ago we holidayed in a cottage that didn't have electricity and we used oil lamps then. They do give off a decent light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I have a couple of hand me downs that I use when our power goes off - for the town centre, we get a lot of outages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey Lucy Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 The ones we get are usually due to farmers cutting through cables while ploughing etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 We get quite a few here too. The last one in the storms lasted 12 hours. If we weren't moving I'd invest in a small generator.....enough to power a few lights, the fridge and the freezers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickweed Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I personally would not like to use a Tilley lamp in my house unless there is no other option. We used one loads when we we used to camp in a tent. They give out good bright light and lots of heat but give off the smell of paraffin quite strongly which gives me headaches. You would need to open your windows. I find a camping gaz lamp a better option indoors, they give out plenty of heat too. We still use our Tilley outdoors in the evenings if we have a barbecue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Oh gosh, I really love those Tilley Lamps..could these be the new omlet must have???? think I may invest in a couple for the garden at least... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
