Oil lamps have been used for centuries. They were probably the first kind of lighting system ever used by man. Oil lamps are very simple yet very effective. They are easy to manufacture and the first lamps were usually earthenware or terracotta. These clay lamps were very effective and worked very well with the only problem being that they broke very easily.
The basic structure of the lamp is a bowl or a saucer with a pinch on one side where the wick can sit. Oil, any oil was poured into the lamp and a wick was placed into it. A bit of the wick was pulled out of the oil and kept on the pinched portion. This portion was lit and burned with a steady flame and sometimes lasted for hours…the length of time only being dependent on the amount of oil in the bowl.
The first lamp oil used was vegetable oils and depending on which part of the world these lamps were used the oil differed. Mediterranean countries used Olive oil while African countries used mustard and groundnut oil. They sometimes even used oil extracted out of carrots. The Indian subcontinent generally used groundnut or sesame seed oil for normal purposes while they used Ghee or clarified butter for religious purposes.
Oil lamps have played an important part in the history of mankind and till the late 1700s only oil lamps with vegetable oils were used. Later whale oil was used because they burned cleaner and did not give off much smoke. Populations of whales were decimated during this time because of the need for whale oil and the sperm whale was the most preferred because of its huge oil reserve inside its head. When petroleum was first discovered it was also used…although not widely because it tended to smoke a lot.
The discovery of petroleum however hastened the discovery of other petroleum products like kerosene that started replacing vegetable oil until in the mid to late 1800s it was the most widely used oil for lamps. Kerosene is still used as the fuel where lamps are concerned and even though electricity has spread to much of the world there are still areas where it is but a distant dream.
Kerosene is cheap, highly flammable, yet safe enough because it is not that combustible. For example if you have a bowl full of kerosene, it is almost impossible for you to light it except if you put in a wick. It needs a medium to burn and is like wax in the sense that only when a small amount is heated will it reach temperatures high enough for it to burn well. These days however oil lamps are not widely used except as a mood setter and kerosene is not a good fuel for this.
For all its effectiveness kerosene is not a good lamp oil because it smokes a lot. If you are using it indoors it will not only smoke, it will even start to smell badly. There are other oils that are used nowadays for this purpose that are more expensive but work far better as a mood setter. The oil is safer to use and is also scented so that you will get a pleasant smell as the lamp burns. Canola oil is good for the outdoors because it will keep bugs away and is the most commonly used lamp oil for tiki lamps. The problem is in the cost and although it is possible for you to get it at around $5 or $10 a bottle most stores sell them at five times that amount. Go online and check it out; there are a few companies that sell direct and at very cheap prices too.