I'm doing some research through the forums on the Amish fuel Mix of 75% Kerosene and 25% Naptha/Coleman fuel/Camp Fuel. I am wanting to give it a go in my Vapalux and Bialaddin pressure lamps. Can I get some feedback on whether it is "actually" a safe venture and what are some of the pro's and con's from your experiences. I appreciate any assistance/ideas/comments/etc. Best, Terry
Terry I misled you a bit. The standard Amish mix is 50/50 naphtha/kerosene or in whatever percentages you like always more kerosene than naphtha. The Amish burned this mix I believe because the naphtha burns cleaner and kept their appliances generators cleaner. What I've found over the years is that my kero lanterns SEEM to run a bit brighter and with more giddy up than on kero alone. When I said 75/25 I was thinking of how I would burn it experimenting with how bright I could get the lantern. lol You can adjust the fuel percentages downward if you are concerned about the safety of naphtha. You are absolutely right to be cautious with white gas.
Hanzo: Thanks much for the reply and clarification. I had read that you should not use the Amish Mix in lamps with no fuel shutoff such as the Vapalux/Bialaddin etc. I feel confortable using it in my Petromax 829 so I believe I will try that one first with the 75/25 mix to start. Still in the process of gathering info on this mix related to my Vapalux/Bialaddins. Best, Terry
There have been times when I resorted to using an Amish mix, particularly with badly behaved British lanterns. I generally use a 75/25 mix and as @Hanzo says, it makes for a brighter burn and maybe an easier start up. However, I never go for anything above 25% Naptha because of the combustion risk should a leak occur, but that's just me.
Colin: Thank you for your input. That is exactly the information I needed. I will run a 75/25 mix in one of my Bialaddin or Vapalux lamps and post photos of the results. This excites me! Cheers, Terry
Because naptha can be a bit pricey here in the UK I've sometimes gone 80/20 or even lower, and still had good results! It'll be interesting to see the results if you post some photos.
Colin; Naptha/Coleman fuel/Camp fuel is relatively inexpensive here and I keep 4 to 5 gallons on hand as I use it in other applications ( filling my Zippo lighter), cleaning, etc. I'm quite anxious to try this and hope to test several of my British Beauties this weekend. I will photograph all my results. Knowing that this mix is also good and keeping vapourisors from cooking up is a huge plus. As you know, original vapourisors are harder to find these days and nearly impossible to clean properly. Wish me luck! Cheers, Terry
Terry With my Vapalux and Tilley's I use a combination of Amish mix and a 500cp thorium mantle. I found a real increase in light output by ditching the double tie mantles used for them and simply cutting and shaping a 500cp mantle to fit them. This creates a bigger mantle and more light output. I was always disappointed with the light output of the English lanterns and I found with the 500cp fitting they became brighter. Would be worth taking one of your lanterns and simply experimenting to see for yourself whether it works or not to increase light output. Not saying it should be your standard practice but just an exercise in jacking up light input.
Hanzo; That's worth giving it a go! It'll be a fun experiment! I have Petromax 500cp mantles so it'll be easy. I'll post some pics in a few days of the results! Thanks so much! Best, Terry
Here's a post that details using a Butterfly Mantle on a Tilley (or Bialaddin). As these are basically a copy of a Petromax style mantle the same technique should work just fine. It can be a little fiddly but I use this method all the time as genuine Tilley mantles are too expensive. Mantle shenanigans! I made some drawings a while ago that might help when adapting and using larger, Petromax style mantles. 2 methods of tying double tie mantles
I have a large number of excellent unbranded double tie mantles that I bought from TW Sands in Melbourne (Australia). They are large, shape very well when burned off on first lighting, and produce a bright white light. On the matter of “Amish mix”… I’ve used it from time to time, but never more than 25% Shellite (=naphtha) in a kerosene lamp. But I find that if I’ve got access to good quality kerosene there’s no discernible difference in light output. Gasoline has lower calorific value by volume than kerosene, so theoretically Amish mix should produce less power than pure kerosene, all other things being equal. So… does the higher flash point of the gasoline compensate for something in the quality of the kerosene? Tony
Altough gasoline has less energy per volume it also takes less energy to disintegrate (before burning). So it gives a brighter burn than kerosene with some mantles. It might also help for a better burn if the jet is slightly worn. However, I'd suggest not to use Amish mix in appliances that are not designed to burn gasoline, since the fumes are equally flammable.
Although I've used Amish mix in the past, I tend not to do it as much. I figure if a lantern is misbehaving I should sort that out first rather than change the fuel. Of course, with some of the more obscure lanterns, new jets are basically unobtainable. I use AM in these to get them going but they aren't my 'every day' runners if you understand me. My Coleman 169K is a case in point. Everything looks and seems fine and it is a Kero lantern but it needs a spot of naptha to burn correctly - about 10% does the trick.
I have used 75/25 Amish Mix in the past to "boost" the output/make for easier starting of a couple of Primus 1001 Lanterns. The result was more pricking required, every hour or so to keep the brightness up. Turns out it was a poorer quality heating kerosene of a dubious grade than what was advertised on the 20L drum as top grade C1 I resorted to buying premium kerosene at a premium price (in 16 gallons bulk quantity so I got a small reduction), and the 1001s have run faultlessly since But I would say that if you have a poor starting kero lantern or one which struggles to vapourise at lower light outputs, try Amish Mix, it certainly worked for me for all the wrong reasons Alec.
Hi Terry, I also tested the Amish mix! A am highly satisfied with the results! I used jet fuel A1 kerosene with Benzine. This seems to burn cleaner AND results in higher lux levels! My new std fuel!
Tony, I have it that the calorific value of gasoline is higher than that of Kerosene. 48 kJ/kg vs 56 kJ/kg. With kerosene it can vary between 42 and 46.
@Jacob van Pareen Kerosene has a slightly higher density than gasoline. In terms of energy density, we usually measure the amount of stored energies per unit volume, such as in MJ/litre or kJ/litre. Kerosene would have a slightly higher energy density than gasoline when compared in this way. Whereas, if we are comparing them in terms of specific energies, then we would be considering their amount of stored energies per unit mass. That's to say, for example, in MJ/kg or kJ/kg of the liquid fuels under the same Standard conditions. In this latter case, gasoline would then have a slightly higher specific energy than kerosene.
Thanks for the chemistry info Myn, that was genuinely interesting and useful! I have often wondered about this.
Hence, all other things being equal, a 300cp lamp will have a smaller jet for kerosene than for gasoline. Cheers Tony
Jacob that has been my experience with Amish mix. I think it just burns better and brighter in kerosene lanterns and is standard for me. The lantern starts easier, burns brighter and doesn't foul as easily on Amish mix. Only downside is if the gas percentage of the mix is really high the lantern runs hotter. I am not trying to invalidate scientific explanations or the experiences of others but my experience with it has been better than just running kerosene alone. Like the song says" If loving you is wrong (Amish mix) I don't want to be right! LOL
Hi Hanzo, What a wonderful feeling, not to feel alone! Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree on the "running hotter" . This could be (part of) the reason for the lanterns burning cleaner and brighter! I experimented with various models; 201, 214, 237, 249, 339, and others. I found all lanterns burn better/brighter, with the valve not fully opened. This is the universal principle of optimum, versus maximum! The lantern that gained the highest temperature increase, was the 249, (tested on a 1953 and 1958 model). In fact, I deflated both a little! The answer for me was to pump no more than 30 to 40 strokes. They would burn in access of 3 hours, without extra pumping. Pity not all lanterns had pressure gauges like Petromax and all its clones! I went further: I found a product used in gasoline car engines, that claims it reduces carbon buildup and even rust! Now with this in our Amish fuel, is this not as good as Coleman fuel? Some technical reasoning: Coleman Fuel is made up of Aliphatic carbon chains only. Kerosene consists of both Aromatic and Aliphatic carbon chains. Aromatic carbons burns "dirty"! Benzine has only Aliphatic carbon chains, thus Amish is for sure cleaner burning! Stay in touch!
