This is a really easy-to-make oil lamp which produces almost no smoke and can be hung from a tent pole or tree branch. It is also very portable and you can carry the oil and source of ignition with you. This is an incredibly fuel efficient lamp because it provides light and a surprising amount of heat but can last around 150 hours on 1 litre of fuel. So you could run it 24/7 for a week and it would only cost less than a pound!!! Or it's completely free if you recycle oil that you have already used to cook with.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

To make the Jam Jar Vegetable Oil Lamp you will need:
A Jam Jar
A Jam Jar Lid (can be used to smother the flame out)
A Tea light
String (Natural fibres like cotton or it will produce poisonous fumes)
Vegetable Oil (or any kind of oil like sunflower oil)
Skewer (or other sharp pointy thing)

Step 2: Making the Floating Platform

To make the floating platform in the oil lamp:
1. Empty out the tea light so you are just left with the aluminium "cup"
2. Poke a small hole in the bottom
3. Tie a knot in the string, bigger than the hole you have just made, near the top of your string
4. Put the long end of the string (it should be about 3-5 cm long) through the tea light cup

Step 3: Making the Handle

On most jam jars there is a lip just underneath the bit where the lid screws on. This is where you have to tie on a handle, this stops it slipping out when it is hanging from something or you are holding something. To do this you will need a piece of string about 30-40 cm long. Tie one end in a loop around the jam jar underneath the lip then tie the other end back onto the loop.

Step 4: Source of Ignition

If you want to you can now stick (with sellotape) a waterproof match and a striker to the inside of the lid. It has to be a water proof match otherwise the oil may make the head not ignite. In the picture at the beggining there isn't a match or striker in the lid because I always have a lighter with me.

Step 5: Safety Feature

If you are having a party or something where there will be alcohol then you can put in some safety features to stop it getting knocked over and setting things alight. First of all you can pour water into the bottom of the jar and then pour oil on top so that if it is knocked over then the water will put out the flame. You can also use the fact that about 10ml fuel = 1 hrs 30 mins burn time so if the party is expected to last 3 hrs then you should put some water in the bottom of the jar and then pour in 20 ml of fuel. But if the party goes on longer than expected then you can just pour in another 10 ml of oil. These numbers may not be correct for your oil lamp as fuel consumption depends on the height of the flame and the type of oil you are using.