Rayo Center Draft Lamp

Not a pressure lamp, but plenty bright and hot. The Rayo Lamp was manufactured by the Bradley & Hubbard Mfg. Co., in Meriden, CT. The flame spreader’s first patent is Nov. 30, 1894, then called “Perfection” which were initially made under contract with the Standard Oil Co. Its sole purpose was to help Standard Oil sell kerosene.






They were greatly out-performed by the new mantle Aladdins around 1907

 

In 2015 I bought one of these RAYOs in an Antique Mall near San Francisco and brought it over here to Europe in my handluggage. I replaced the wick and lit it once or twice, but it has great thirst and generates lots of heat, so I decided to put it on my shelf.
SOCONY had a nice idea to sell these to help them selling kerosene... a real guzzler!

 

Rayo were quite common here in Sweden, so they often turn up here and there.
Notorious as real fuel-hogs, and the supicious ones might think Standard Oil had them made extremely thirsty on purpose so they could sell lot of kerosene later on

I think the lamps came for free when buying a certain (large) amount of kerosene.

 

Rayos turn up in Australia often too.

They run fine with the Matador chimney but I find they are better with a less bulbous chimney.

 

Round wick lamps were widely used.

 

Were these lamps actually that thirsty if compared to the light output ?

My subjective impression, not confirmed by measurements, is that they burn about one a half times the oil that a duplex oil lamp does, but also give about one and a half times the light. So not bad if a bright light is wanted.

I have a very similar center draft lamp, it uses a very wide flat wick that is rolled in the burner in order that it resembles a circular wick.
I believe that lamps of this style were used in smaller and less important light houses that did not justify anything more elaborate, later displaced by Aladdin or similar lamps.
Larger lighthouses used pressure lamps, generally a fixed installation not a portable lantern, or sometimes acetylene.

 

I love the small center/side draft lamps like the Kosmos. I've got a little #6 consierge style that gets regular use on the hearth mantle and side porch. Not blinding light by any means but enough for the necessary. My Aladdin drinks some fuel but these 6line are very fuel efficient.