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01-09-2016, 21:50
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: sydney, australia
Boat: 38 roberts ketch
Posts: 1,309
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Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Flicking through “A history of sailing in 100 objects” in a bookstore today – under 'hurricane lamp' they mentioned that early lamps ran on olive oil. Did a little bench test and olive oil burns brightly and cleanly. Price of olive oil is better than dedicated lamp oil, with the added extra that I do most of my cooking with olive oil already – using it in the lamps means one less thing on the shopping list. Why didnt I already know about this!?!
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01-09-2016, 23:47
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#2
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Moderator
Join Date: May 2008
Location: cruising SW Pacific
Boat: Jon Sayer 1-off 46 ft fract rig sloop strip plank in W Red Cedar
Posts: 21,135
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Hey, that's kinda interesting! I vaguely recall that lots of lamps ran on whale oil... that was one of the uses that drove the market IIRC. I like the idea of squashing olives a lot better than whacking whales! We may just give that a try!
Jim
__________________
Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II, lying Port Cygnet Tasmania once again.
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01-09-2016, 23:51
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Back in Montt.
Boat: Westerly Sealord
Posts: 8,178
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Try Colza......
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02-09-2016, 00:17
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Boat: Island Packet 40
Posts: 6,415
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Genie in the lamp, for rich folk olive oil was what they burnt in them. Poor folks burnt mutton or goat fat in a wick which floated in a wooden or ceramic bowl. Really poor folks stumbled about in the dark.
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02-09-2016, 00:32
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Back in Montt.
Boat: Westerly Sealord
Posts: 8,178
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Really poor folks went to bed and made more really poor people.....
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02-09-2016, 00:37
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#6
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: aboard, cruising in Australia
Boat: Sayer 46' Solent rig sloop
Posts: 28,400
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Quote:
Originally Posted by El Pinguino
Really poor folks went to bed and made more really poor people.....
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Oh, El Ping, that's not PC! Not that it isn't correct, of course.
__________________
Who scorns the calm has forgotten the storm.
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02-09-2016, 00:43
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: sydney, australia
Boat: 38 roberts ketch
Posts: 1,309
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
dont think colza is common here but canola i s'pose is lots cheaper than olive oil. Could just get a floozy aboard and do as el p. suggests but in my experience that usually turns out to have serious hidden costs...
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02-09-2016, 02:51
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Whoo! Finally made it back to Mexico!
Boat: Cheoy Lee Offshore 38
Posts: 1,458
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Costco used to sell gallon jugs of "pomace" , that's oil from the olive pit, quite cheaply. If one is set on oil lamps it might be worth checking out.
__________________
If toast always lands butter side down, and cats always land on their feet, what would happen if you strapped toast to a cat's back and dropped it? - Steven Wright
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02-09-2016, 08:49
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Nova Scotia until Spring 2021
Boat: Custom 41' Steel Pilothouse Cutter
Posts: 4,976
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming
Costco used to sell gallon jugs of "pomace" , that's oil from the olive pit, quite cheaply. If one is set on oil lamps it might be worth checking out.
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Yes, I use this for cooking. It's about $8-9 Cdn for three litre tins, compared to $14-$19 for "extra virgin" (if you believe that). I can't imagine it burns less effectively. I should give it a go, as it's cheaper than lamp oil.
Sootiness unknown, alas.
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02-09-2016, 09:01
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#10
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Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 6,174
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Qoute: "Why didnt I already know about this!?!"
Cos of a guy called Jaydee - J.D. Rockefeller. His daddy was into oil too - snake oil :-)
We see the origins of the "Military Industrial Complex right here: In 1910, as I recall, the first "oilburners" were authorized for the USN, viz USS Nevada and the USS Oklahoma, both commissioned in 1916. Alfred Mahan, he of The influence of Sea Power upon History felt himself vindicated and permitted himself an extra glass of port. Instant shock and awe, instant "total spectrum dominance".
The Pommies hadn't done so badly either with Jackie Fisher's Dreadnaught and their Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
Also: Unter die Sonne, nichts Neues. But that's why you didn't know, and that is why there are still - a few - sperm whales left:-)
TrentePieds
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02-09-2016, 09:03
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Troon, Scotland.
Boat: Beneteau 423 Clipper
Posts: 4
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Olive oil is so versatile, a couple of years ago on my boat in Turkey, someone introduced me to shaving with olive oil, I no longer buy expensive shaving gel's from Mr Gillette, and get the best shave ever with a face like a baby's bottom. 😆🇹🇷⛵️⚓️🇹🇷
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02-09-2016, 09:07
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#12
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: May 2012
Location: New Orleans
Boat: We have a problem... A serious addiction issue.
Posts: 3,974
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
If you are just going to use it for lamps see if you can track down olive oil for machinists. Very highly refined olive oil is still used industrially as a cutting oil for titanium and other highly galling metals. It's also cheap as blazes.
__________________
Greg
- If animals weren't meant to be eaten then they wouldn't be made of food.
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02-09-2016, 09:19
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#13
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cruiser
Join Date: May 2010
Location: SF Bay Area; Former Annapolis and MA Liveaboard.
Boat: Looking and saving for my next...mid-atlantic coast
Posts: 6,197
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
You get more miles per gallon with the Extra VO.
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02-09-2016, 10:03
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Houston, TX
Boat: Newport 41 MKII/S Carioca
Posts: 26
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Does olive oil also work as a replacement fuel for kerosene lamps?
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02-09-2016, 10:37
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 2,150
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Re: Olive Oil For Hurricane Lamps
Quote:
Originally Posted by El Pinguino
Really poor folks went to bed and made more really poor people.....
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Still doing that nowadays.
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