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Aladdin Blueflame paraffin (kerosene) heater...

Started by twocvbloke, February 19, 2015, 04:08:18 PM

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twocvbloke

Won this beauty last week, quite pleased at a total of £31 considering some of the prices people ask for them, it's intended as a shed heater, but could be useful for other things if need be, but, I never knew they existed (well, I knew or Paraffin/Kerosene heaters, just not these Aladdins!!), a paraffin* heater that looks like it's burning natural gas or LPG as it has a blue flame when properly set up, amazing things they are... ;D

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121564562548

Anyway, this one needs a new wick, does work as it is with a fresh tank of fuel, but the wick's so worn down that it has been trimmed unevenly so has one side running too high and the other side not high enough, but still heats up a lot!! Best part is, take the lid off of the top f the chimney and it's a cooker too, so you can stick a kettle up top or a pan of something sloppy to heat up or cook from scratch and keep yourself fed & warm at the same time!! Other than the wick there's not much it needs doing, just a bit of a spruce up really... :)

I think they still make these in eastern countries, or variations of at least, I've seen a Japanese model 38 (the British Aladdin company only went up to Model 37 from what I've read), so they're still a popular item... ;D

Here's a video of a similar Model 15 (some differences, the wick retainer and adjuster mainly), I could stare at the blue flame for hours... :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeHqceOvuCc

*And no, I don't know why we call it Paraffin when our C1 Paraffin is actually just K1 Kerosene with a yellow dye in it!! Even says it's Kerosene on the bottle!!

Anyway, pictures, it's sat out in the overly-cluttered shed at the moment so no pictures from myself for now, so ebay pics for the moment... :)

19and41

I had a time a couple of years ago when I had bought some oil lamp fuel for my emergency lamp.  My lamp was intended for kerosene and the lamp oil was paraffin oil.  That was a mess,  the wick would light then smolder.  I had to drain the lamp and clean the wick with naptha.  That was after 5 hours in the single candlelit house.  The store I bought it in still has the paraffin oil with the kerosene lamps They will keep it 'til it is bought up.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

When I was looking at potential alternatives for fuelling this Aladdin, I came across some things about people using diesel in their lamps and Kero heaters, and this lead to people mentioning how some unscrupulous sorts had been selling diesel as lamp oil (usually old, stale diesel bought cheap), and while you can use diesel in such things (so long as you thin it out with additives such as injector cleaner), they choke up cotton wicks and result in poor burning and often very smoky flames, so you could have bought diesel dressed as "lamp oil"... ???

The other one is using household heating oil (K2 Kerosene), which also results in poor burning in wicked things, so I think they're selling dodgy stuff that shouldn't be used...  :-\

The stuff I got is Bartolene's Paraffin:
http://www.diy.com/departments/bq-paraffin-4l/257116_BQ.prd

Though I didn't buy it from B&Q cos the day I went they didn't have any in stock, had to pay a little more and buy from somewhere else, but does the job nicely... :)

19and41

Was that a government surplus unit?  Just wondered about the arrow mark on the tank.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

To be honest, I haven't a clue, I know they were issued to certain units of the British Military, so it is entirely possible that it's MOD surplus...

19and41

Aladdin is a good brand.  They sell well here also.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

They sell well around the world, presumably because they're so simple and easy to operate, no need to worry about pressurised butane or propane, or spilling flammables like Coleman fuel, and on a 4L tank they apparently can burn for 12 hours straight at full blast, longer at a lower setting, so it's a win-win heater... :)

19and41

One hint, if there is kerosene available specifically fot heaters, it can be worth getting.  Ordinary kerosene leaves deposits in the areas where it is used.  My parents discovered this after they noticed everything in the area turning yellow.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

Yeah, the "paraffin" I bought the other day is the right kind of Kerosene, on the side of the bottle it specifies that it is for heaters and burners and smells reasonably pleasant (some of the "lamp oil" here absolutely reeks)... :)

Bill

I think (correct me if my long-ago memory is wrong) that PARAFFIN=KEROSENE Europe, but not in the US. So US lamp owners beware!

Bill

twocvbloke

Yes, it's a confusing mess with terminology, all I know is that C1 Paraffin here in Blighty is K1 Kerosene across the pond, only we dye it yellow (K1 is clear) cos some sorts out there used to like using it in their diesel tanks when Paraffin was cheaper than diesel fuel in this country... ;D

twocvbloke

Fitted a new wick in the heater today, it was an NOS one that predated the model 37 but was the same part number, was a fiddly job as the tube on which the wick sits had a nick in it from something hitting it, so had to smooth that out before the wick would actually fit on the holder, but, it's working now... :)

And I made a video of it rather than pictures (especially as the forum seems to be having a few issues with bandwidth), that flame is so nice to stare at... :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utfY6md1l9I

19and41

It certainly lives up to its' name!  Is it doing the job?
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke

twocvbloke

I had it running for a couple of hours and my bedroom (didn't feel like doing the work out in the shed, it's windy today) heated up quite a lot, and that's with the window open to vent the fumes, so it's a pretty effective heater... :)

Weird thing is, the flame on the video is a lot bluer than it is in person, as it has a more greenish tint in person, but still blue for the majority...

19and41

Glad it's working well.  In the town I grew up in, people would use Standard Oil kerosene "perfection" stoves to heat cold rooms that their convection coal stoves wouldn't quite get to.  They would have tank wagons to deliver fuel to fill them to each block of homes.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke