Electrified kerosene lantern

[71virgil]

I put this together this morning. I bought a new kerosene lantern for $5, ripped the guts out of the bottom of it, installed a 40 watt appliance bulb and socket where the wick normally does. I had to drill a hole through the bottom for the socket post to go through, and a hole on the back side for the cord to run through.

I'm going to make 3 or 4 more of these to hang on the porch area to my man cave/office. I plan on having outlets wired to a dimmer switch for the lights only.

 

[Steevo]

That is cool.

When my wife and I had an antique business year ago, we stocked kits like the one in the picture, that a customer could buy to "electrify" an antique oil lamp.

Yours looks like a reproduction of what we used to call "railroad" lamps or "signal" lamps.

 

[1/2 Cup]

Top idea!! consider it copied

 

[71virgil]

Yours looks like a reproduction of what we used to call "railroad" lamps or "signal" lamps.

You're correct - this is a cheap china made p.o.s.! I bought one like this a few years ago for camping, every seam on it leaked oil and made a mess everywhere. I decided it was a fire hazard and threw it in the trash.

 

[NHBandit]

Technically it's referred to as a barn lantern. I collect railroad lanterns and they generally have a much more robust "cage" around the globe and most will have markings on the shade & the globe indicating what railroad owns them. The color of the globe indicates their use. Red meaning stopped, etc. Some of them are extremely valuable. Very cool idea and one I might copy myself with some of my more common lanterns. Here are a few actual RR lanterns. As a side note which is entirely off topic but might be of interest to some.. These all had significant amounts of surface rust when I bought them. This is the result of soaking for a couple days in a 5 gallon bucket of water mixed with a couple jars of Grandmas Molasses. It's much milder on steel than electriolisis and works as good or better. Some of these lanterns are nearing 100 years old.

 

[71virgil]

These all had significant amounts of surface rust when I bought them. This is the result of soaking for a couple days in a 5 gallon bucket of water mixed with a couple jars of Grandmas Molasses. It's much milder on steel than electriolisis and works as good or better. Some of these lanterns are nearing 100 years old.

I've never heard of that before, will have to remember that. I assume any brand of molasses will do.

 

[Alchymist]

Cool - now change the bulb:

http://www.houseofantiquehardware.c...tt-3-3-4-standard-base-flame?sc=9&category=33

 

[NHBandit]

I've never heard of that before, will have to remember that. I assume any brand of molasses will do.

Yep and when you're done with it you can dump it in your garden. Very environmentally friendly.

 

[kbs2244]

If you are going to hang them think about using thinner “lamp cord” and find a way to thread it through those hollow side supports.
I am sure some coat hanger wire will need to be used for fishing it through.
Then you can run it up the sides of the wire bail and into a ceiling socket.

 

[71virgil]

If you are going to hang them think about using thinner “lamp cord” and find a way to thread it through those hollow side supports.
I am sure some coat hanger wire will need to be used for fishing it through.
Then you can run it up the sides of the wire bail and into a ceiling socket.

That was the original plan, but there's no way to run the wire up the side supports without destroying the entire thing to get it apart. Thinner wire is a must for the next few I make. I think I can use some super glue to stick it to the supports and conceal it as much as possible.