Permanent Oil Lamp Wick.

Intro: Permanent Oil Lamp Wick.

hello

today ill show you how to make a permanent wick for your flat wick or central draft oil lamp.

it is a bit costly but it is the kind of wick it is set up and forget, with no fear to let it burn,and no trimming.

i know there is fiber glass wicks for those lamps but they are hard to find and tend to clog or fray easily.

the wick we will build is mostly carbon felt .

it is easier to get and it will fit any size of lamps or lantern you have.

flat or central draft style.

note: you can clean the wick by dry burning it!

have fun!

STEP 1: Stuff You'll Need.

you'll need mostly 2 component:

some carbon felt, carbon felt is very heat resistant and should not be able to burn as a lamp wick.

so the wick will be set up and forget kind of deal. no more fear of letting the lamp run out and burn the wick!

you ll find carbon felt under various names and brand,soldering blanket,soldering flame protection,or just carbon felt pad.you know the kind used in fancy feast alcohol stoves,by the way this tutorial has been inspired by those stoves.

the one i use is from ebay, size doesn't matter because it will be cut to the wick size you need . but the one i used was 3mm thick (1/8").

the second component is some multi-strand copper or aluminum wire,this has been inspired by zippo wicks . it will be be mostly to make the wick more rigid and solid,so it slide more easily and don't fray or get destroyed by the burner mechanism, it add too some thermal conduction in the wick if you plan to use thicker oil like vegetable oil so it wicks more easily,it is not needed if you plan to use your wick inside a central draft lamp. mostly because central draft lamp have a whole sliding assembly to move the wick up and down.

STEP 2: Cutting the Carbon Felt to Wick Size

this step is easy, just take the wick of your lamp and cut with some scissors the carbon felt at around the same size.on my side i just eyeballed it.i will not put measurement just because it can be different on other oil lamps.

the only thing is,my carbon felt is 3mm thick and the original wick was around 1mm thick.

so i just split the felt thickness in half with my fingers,the felt goes apart very easily , it is not hard to split it at all.

STEP 3: Adding the Copper Strands.

some multi-strand copper or aluminum wire will be added . this step is not needed if you plan to use your wick inside a central draft lamp because central draft lamp have a whole sliding assembly to move the wick up and down instead of just grabbing it.

it is really easy you just have to stitch metal strands inside the carbon felt in random pattern, no needle needed the felt is very soft.

i was kinda lazy so i just done it on the half of the wick.

it is just to make the wick more rigid and solid,so it slide more easily and don't fray or get destroyed by the burner mechanism and the burner mechanism will have something to grad ,if you do it all along the wick, it add some thermal conduction if you plan to use thicker oil like vegetable oil so it wicks more easily,

STEP 4: Final Result

and here the final result .

my hurricane lantern ready to use at any times with

some citronella lamp oil.

i think it burn a bit clear ,i guess it is from the citronella oil, it has tons of ethanol and butanol inside.

in the end it works very well!

Comments

[Ihavetrustissues78]

Did this with my hurricane lantern, and my experiences it seems to make the kerosene for hotter and longer. Just curious to see how long it lasts. It's like a little space heater

now.

[Eezoxnuffsaid]

Would be interested in trying this as a wick for a Zippo style lighter, since the material is used in makeshift alcohol cat food can stoves.

A Zippo style wick is normally composed of cotton, fiberglass and tiny copper wires. When the standard wick chars due to lack of fuel, or its burned up until no more fuel can be absorbed, it is pulled up and adjusted.

This material will not burn up so there should be no need for pulling.

Zippo wick is between 2 and 3 mm in diameter. A couple of VERY small copper wires woven around it should facilitate the material holding shape.

No risk of explosion since a ZIPPO is an open system and the fuel is constantly evaporating. About 5 inches of the new material should be sufficient.

ZIPPO wicking used to be made with asbestos, but no longer as asbestos fibers cause cancer when breathed in. I do not smoke but even manual handling of asbestos is deadly.

[TailsL]

I have a Zippo wick tutorial as well.

[_Vyper]

My safety comment was pointed at the "window screening", as it may have some coating that you'd want burned off before taking it and burning it indoors. But to answer Re: Zippo, Maybe? it should theoretically work and vape mesh is cheap, also from the vaping world is silica wicking that also may work for a zippo.

[_Vyper]

I'll have to try this, I'm also trying SS mesh as a wick, Inspired by the vaping community. might even try metal window screen for a cheaper alternative(after I do more research into the safety of "burning" it).

[Eezoxnuffsaid]

Apologies as apparently I pushed the wrong reply button at 4 am😂. Silica wick should be glass fibers AKA fiberglass. Glass is made of silica /sand and various additives , as you know. Ill check into that wicking since its probably pre made to exact sizes indicated or very close.

Thank you!

[_Vyper]

Something like this for example, but sourced somewhere convenient to your location... likely 3-4 mm would work for a zippo if memory serves https://www.vapetime.co.uk/ekowool-silica-wick/

[Eezoxnuffsaid]

How big are the holding areas for your lamp fuel? One would imagine that it takes a LONG time for those tiny wires to transfer that much heat into your fuel with a long enough wick to sit at the bottom. In order for explosions to occur the system must be closed with no air flow or a way for vapor to escape. It would hence build up enough pressure to rupture. The heat transfer needs to warm the glass container as well . If its a liter of paraffin oil sitting in room temperature glass , the vast majority of the heat is being transferred up your chimney and out, while the glass container cools as well. The only way you could know for sure is put enough oil into a lamp to experiment, set it somewhere safe, light it and watch a few hours.

[crazysquirrel]

On another sire that specializes in Lanterns and fuels, they indicate that fuels with a lower flash point can explode. Heating fuels lower the flash point.

Does your copper wire trick cause the fuels (aka regular lamp oil or K1 Kerosene) to thin out too much and risk an explosion?

I did your carbon felt trick. On one wick I sewed in a single strand of crafting copper wire and the other a double strand. I think it was something like 20 gauge.

The regular lamp oil I use has a flash point of about 142F.

I did light both lamps but never let them burn more than a couple of minutes just to see if they worked.

I am worried about a fire/explosion risk with heating the wick/fuel.

Both are hurricane lanterns (one small, one a little bigger - both about 1/2" wicks roughly.

My thoughts on this is that warmer oil vaporizes better, wicks better, burns cleaner, and can put out more light.

I assume that if I were to use Olive oil or similar I would need several strands to heat the oil.

I did have to split the carbon felt as it was too thick to go into the wick channel.
And it is not very easy to get that soft carbon felt to thread into the wick channel.

Your thoughts please?
Thanks!

[theguywitheyebrows]

could a version of this be used as a wick in a diy oil lamp? i made a tiny oil lamp out of a baby food jar so i didn't have to use a lighter to melt paracord ends when im cut many pieces or hot melt glue with arrow heads and such but i find that braided bandana burns away quickly. could fiberglass cloth be used?

[TailsL]

it should probably work just caution your oil lamp dont destroy the wick by rubbing it too hard.

[theguywitheyebrows]

made one out of steel wool spread out thin and flat with some cotton fibers laid into it, rolled it tight and use a piece of telephone wire for the flame stop. not 'permanent' but lasts way longer than braided bandana shreds.

[seamster]

Very nice, good solution!