I noticed today that the 
Old North Church has gone modern, replacing the old lanterns with LED lights. Some things should never change, so if you hanker for the old lantern that Paul Revere used in the Old North Church (“one if by land, two if by sea”) to warn the colonists that the British were coming, you can now have your very own Dietz lantern.
We got ours about a week ago, but it wasn’t an impending British invasion that sent me on the search to find one. No, it was a power outage caused by a wind storm a couple of weeks ago. We were without electricity for several hours. We lit candles in each room and drug out the battery-powered flourescent light to find our way around. The candles made us nervous, however; we would blow them out when we left the room, or carry them with us. Very dangerous, we decided.
So, back to my old friends at Lehman’s. The solution: the deluxe black-and-gold Dietz lantern, the Amish brand-of-choice for a long time. This lantern holds enough fuel — either lamp oil or kerosene — to burn for more than 24-hours, so you could get through a couple of dark nights easily. Safer than candles, and more light, too.
My only disappointment: they’re made in Hong Kong now. Gives new meaning to “two if by sea.” Seems even the Amish have gone global in their sourcing. Anybody know of an American made lantern? I’ll make that my next purchase. Stay simple.
Do you reserve the oil lamps for power outages or do you use them more regularly? I’ve wondered what the feaibility is to use them versus more conventional options.
Also, what about fumes… noticeable?
Thanks!
… Jeff
P.S. I am enjoying this new blog!
Jeff, thanks for your comments. The lantern thing is new for us, so no, we don’t use oil lamps regularly. I keep hoping for a power outage now, but none so far. Yes, there are fumes and smell. I made the mistake of firing up the lantern for the first time inside the house. Should have done that outside first, as the wick and lantern give off an odor initially even though I was using lamp oil and not kerosene. But, the lantern does not pose the danger a kerosene heater poses, so I don’t think it would be harmful after you got used to the lamp oil. We’re newbies at this, so we’re learning new stuff everyday. Glad you like the blog. We’re having fun, so maybe that helps. – Chuck
Chuck,
W.T. Kirkman at http://www.lanternnet.com is the only maker of tubular oil lamps and lanterns in the U.S.A.. They also have the largest selection of replacement lantern parts and globes for Dietz lanterns. Their website also features a great reference section on lantern care and history! -
Woody
greetings chuck, check out my latest post. our company sells a very cool lantern, similar to this…