Just wondering whether anyone out there has any footage of a hurricane lamp in an actual hurricane or maybe just in windy and stormy weather. I started trolling the net, just out of idle curiosity, to try and discover just how good these lamps are when pitched against the elements. I was stunned to discover that there was untold YouTube footage showing what they are and how they work etc but no footage at all of one proving its mettle. So here's the challenge. What about some budding Cecil B making some proper extreme test footage to prove just how good they actually are.
@David Lawlor That’s a good thought .... Righty O folks, the gauntlet has been thrown down ........ At present, the weather here in Queensland Australia is very autumn stable with no storms on the horizon or in the near future, so somewhere in lampie world can this be tested and recorded? .... any takers? Cheers Pete
@David Lawlor In THIS thread the originator of it complained that his Chinese-manufactured ‘hurricane’ lanterns blew out in s gentle breeze. In response, The consensus in that thread was that poor construction of the Chinese examples referred to left air gaps which caused them to blow out. Properly made, they don’t blow out. You’ll have to take my word for it, but this Feurhand and Dietz railroad lantern were burning consistently throughout a windy evening in NW England. Though subjects of a pastime for most of us these days, these lanterns were workhorses in their day in domestic, agricultural and industrial settings where a reliable flame in all weathers was a necessity. John
I don't doubt it for a minute in fact I found quite a few pictures of a similar nature while conducting my search but nevertheless its movies that I seek. Being British I think that my sudden desire for storms is somewhat untimely as we're just heading out of our winter but the first chance I get I will be trying to capture mine in all their glory and resisting the elements. Rest assured there are will be no cheap Chinese wannabes only the authentic and classic names staring in my movies.
John, @presscall , it looks like your Dietz is one of the "proper" US made ones. I have the same Dietz model, made in China and it is worthless in the lightest breeze... I have a couple other Chinese Dietz lanterns and these are much better in windy conditions but I've never tried them in harsh conditions. Same with my other old wickies, only used in fairly quiet weather.
Not sure about the wind, but my Chinese one disintegrated into rust over six weeks. The genuine Feuerhand one I replaced it with still looks new after two years.
I got a couple of these Lamps before I embarked on the Pressure Lamp trail. Missus Johnny has a Fuerhand which we take camping and has withstood some challenging British weather. I have a Deitz #80 I think it is, but it needs a bit of a clean up. They are interesting, but I'll stick to just the two.....
@Wim Yes Wim it’s an American original, a Dietz Vesta railroad lantern dated 9 of ‘42. I think I know of the Chinese Dietz copies, more of a Feuerhand pattern than a Vesta maybe. If I’d not retired from the fire service I’d soon resolve this ‘hurricane lantern in a storm’ challenge by setting up a PPV (Positive Pressure Ventilation) fan and tethering a lantern in the blast from it.
On a really windy day hung some lanterns on the rotary clothes line and made some tests to see which was the most wind resistant. Two Dietz, a Chalwyn and a Korean made lantern. The Korean lantern went out in the slightest breeze, the others stayed alight with only a slight fluttering of the flame. Recollect the Dietz Blizzard (one inch wick) was the most wind resistant.
Having been out in a cyclone, (could not physically stand upright fo more than 1 second) I question whether they would survive the physical lashing rather than whether they might blow out.
Came across info for the red hanging roadside box type lamps the other day. They were common about the 1960s and ran on a small kerosene wick and could last 3 days on a tankful or more. Anyway it was stated they had been tested by the Commonwealth Aeronautical Research Laboratories (in Australia) and they withstood blowing out up to 89mph.
I'm pretty sure a hairdryer would give comparable results and you could vary the distance between that and the lamps to make it at least quasi-scientific - good enough for us here anyway...
@David Lawlor While I realize your original question is really about how well lanterns work in wind, the wording makes me think of conversations with people facing their first hurricane - "Some wind and rain, how bad can that be?" Those are the people I tell to write their name and next of kin info in permanent marker on their arm so we'll be able to identify them afterwards. The aftermath of a hurricane needs to be seen first hand to have any sort of understanding of what one does. I've seen house trailers perched in 70 foot tall pine trees (Betsy 1965), an ocean going tug deposited so far inland it was left in place and turned into a gift shop (Camille 1969) and later heavily damaged by Katrina in 2005. When Ivan hit the town where I live in 2004 there were roughly 80,00-100,000 homes in the county. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) gave out 40,000 tarps for temporary roof repair. That didn't count the houses that were completely gone, or people like myself who used their own tarps. Ivan was only a high CAT3 or low CAT4 (debate continues). A CAT5 like Andrew, Katrina or Michael just leaves bare slabs where houses were. I live roughly 30 miles inland and lost over 30 trees to Ivan the smallest at least 24" in diameter. In a 60 MPH wind a lantern doesn't stay lit, it transforms into a missile. Shingles become flying razor blades as do street signs, garbage can lids and most anything else not nailed down. One of the first steps of hurricane prep is to pick up everything loose in your yard. Living so far inland I'm not worried about storm surge (the big killer and destroyer) or flooding (I live on what passes for a hill around here) but I did build a storm room that is rated for 250MPH winds. If it's a CAT5 I may not have a house left afterwards but I should survive. Last thing on your mind is a lantern, especially as battery powered and candles work better inside since hurricanes are a summer/early fall event when temps are still pretty high on the coast and a lantern inside isn't what you want when the power is out and the AC isn't working.
that was a good read ^^ I thought they were called a hurricane lamp, not because they would stay alight outdoors in a Hurricane (we calls them Cyclones), but because they are a reliable source of illumination when a storm hits after electrical power has been knocked out. my daughter and her family, living on a farm in tropical Queensland survived Cyclone Debbie a few years back by cowering in the brick laundry/$hitehouse, with a hurricane light for company along with a couple of flashlights at night, as all power was gone (along with most of the house). they endured a terrifying ordeal of things crashing and banging around outside. she and her family of little kiddies were eventually rescued by the army and taken to safety, for which we are all eternally grateful to. dont know what happened to the hurricane lamp though.
Have a test underway as we speak (er write). Currently 40km/hr winds with gusts to around 60km/hr. Roadside lamp, similar to a Veritas Roadside Lamp going Okay. Chalwyn small type went out as soon as I went to hang it up. Maybe the kero hadn't soaked well enough so tried again after eye-droppering kero onto wick to assist capillary action and seemed Ok, but strong flickering as soon as out of shed. At 10am after 30 mins Chalwyn now still going, but flickering strongly and swaying wildly at times. The Artcraft 72hr (similar to Veritas Road Lamp) had gone out. So much for 89mph winds. Suspected I had wick turned down too low so relit with 1" flame and still going after 15 minutes. Iain
Have concluded my mini test as it's not the friendliest of weather. The Chalwyn Tropic cold blast hurricane lantern was still alight at the end of the test after 3 hours with wind gusts up to 63km/hr and the met bureau advises gusts can be up to 40% stronger than the prediction. So well made little unit. The Artcraft 72 hr road lamp lasted quite a while but went out around the 2 hour mark. I substituted an Australian Lanora hot blast lantern with a bigger opening above the globe and surprisingly it also did not blow out but the flame flickered with the wind. OK, so I lit a Tilley and took it out. Wow; that's a storm lantern for sure. It never missed a beat. At least I am not curious about this topic anymore. Iain
It looks like you need a bit of rain up your way, Iain! I’ve used a couple of X246s in bad weather and they’ve performed very well. Cheers Tony
@Sedgman A really good test done there. My Chalwyn Far East performed very well in strong winds. Did not try hot blast lanterns as thought the gap at the top would be to exposed.
