An expensive day for the Zero. Decided to walk through every aisle in CostCo today to see what was around that had some applications for my needs. Found a great deal: Coleman two-mantle propane lantern *with* hard carry case for $30. Zowie. A quick perusla of The List shows that the last hard carry case I bought for that same model of lantern was almost $14. Ka-ching…some savings. So, I now have two perfectly identical propane lanterns with carry case. (And , naturally, they take the same mantles as my Dual Fuel lantern) Drawback is that my ‘adequate’ supply of spare mantles is now ‘inadequate’ since the quantity-per-lantern just took a 50% hit. Fortunately theyre cheap enough I can pick up a dozen for less than $10.
Also found ‘Trio’ brand #10 cans of instant potatoes. Now, why the excitement? Well, a scan of the label showed that this was a food-service product made by Nestle…the same guys who make my beloved Idahoan instant potatoes. Remember the just-add-water instant potatoes I was going on about a few months back? Well, this is the #10 can of ’em. w00t.
And, although this doesnt really apply to my needs directly, there were surgical scrub sets for $15. Nice, loose, baggy surgical scrubs for lounging around the redoubt house. Navy, burgundy, UN blue, or green. I went with navy…its slimming and wont turn translucent in bright light.
Also grabbed a 6-pack of 16oz propane bottles for $9.99.
So CostCo was good to the Zero today. Spent 10x what I had planned, but that lantern was a sweet deal.
If you think the Aladdins are expensive, go price a Petromax.
Propane has a bunch of advantages, the biggest is that it is safer to use indoors, IMHO, than gas, Coleman fuel, or kerosene. Heres why: Gas and Coleman fuel, like all fuels, create carbon monoxide, right? So we crack open a window and we should be okay…but, in my experience, the gas/Cf lanterns, in addition to being very noisy, give off fumes that are very unpleasant. For lighting a shed, path, campsite, garage or other structure, theyre great. For my living room, not so great. Kerosene is my favorite, even over propane, because the lamps are quiet, throw out a good bit of light, and I can see how much fuel is left. If you light it outdoors, wait a few mintues, and then bring it in you get no smell at all. Now, propane lights easy, has no odor and is less of a fire hazard…tipping over the propane lantern breaks the mantles and thats about it. You pick it up, shut off the valve, replace the mantles. So, for indoor lighting I go with kerosene and propane. Additionally, and this is a b-i-g plus – the propane lanterns can be run off of a 20# tank which can also run your propane cookstove, propane room heater and even a propane generator. Cant do that with kero. So for clean, quiet indoor use and versatility in appliances, propane rocks.
Aladdins use, as youve noticed, mantles rather than just a regular flat wick. The difference in light output is impressive and, in my opinion, worth the price difference. A lamp at my Ace hardware is $59.99 but they are heirlooms…they last forever with moderate care. Get a parchment shade and you get a lamp that puts out about as much light as a 40-watt bulb…and thats pretty impressive in a power faliure.
The fluorescent lanterns are nice and their bulbs use less energy. To me, the drawback to them and similar devices is that they give a glare that is harsh and unattractive. Pull the shade off a table lamp sometime and turn the lamp on…pretty harsh, right? But the shade diffuses the light and gives everything a warm glow. Same thing with the Aladdin…get the shade for it and it turns a harsh, glaring light into a warm, everything-is-normal looking light. Spare parts for the Aladdin are about $7 for a spare mantle, chimneys $16, wicks about $9, complete spare burner is about $39 (and probably totally unnecessary).
The Coleman Dual Fuel lanterns and stoves have one big advantage and that is that in addition to using C.fuel they’ll use gasoline – the most common fuel your going to find (at least, in the begining of a crisis.) But..their fumes are , in my opinion, pretty bad. I’d rather use propane for my stove and lantern and heater.
Also, think about fuel storage. Whats going to store best? A 5-gallon drum of kero will last without treatment indefinitely, is more stable and less volatile than gasoline (throw a match in a gallon of kero and nothing happens) and Coleman f., and gives a good amount of heat. I fell perfectly safe with a couple five-gallon drums of kero in my basement, while I wouldnt keep a 5-gallon can of gas there.
Propane stores well as long as the bottles are in good shape. I keep about two dozen of the 1# bottles on hand and will be getting a 20# with a ‘tree’ to let it run a stove and lantern at the same time.
Because I want to be able to have the option of whatever fuel is handiest and can be scrounged, I have lanterns and lamps that will run on all of those fuels, but I prefer kerosene and propane. Propanes versatility cant be beat…a 20# bottle will run your stove, heater, lantern and generator all on the same fuel – thats a big selling point.
If you just want something for lighting the house during brief outages (<3 days) I'd go with propane or kero.
Of course you can never have enough flashlights (or lightsticks) but I see them as something I use to find my way to my propane or kerosene lanterns.
Regular wick-type kerosene lamps are romantic and better than nothing but except for giving just enough light to keep from tripping over your feet, I find them inadequate for giving enough light to work by (by work I mean operate equipment, set up gear, read/write, etc, etc)
Why did you dismiss the propane and Cf lanterns?
Seeing that you use charcoal for your grill (much as I do), I’m compelled to ask – how much charcoal do you keep on hand? Do you grill regularly as a matter of course, or are you a strictly pool-party “let’s have fun on the patio” griller?
I have roughly 150 pounds of charcoal stored, and I grill about five days out of the week. Virtually, you name it and I can (and will) cook it on my grill – much to the chagrin of my wife (at times). One of my keys to being prepared, though, is to use the skills I’d be using then – and in this case, if the power is out for a week, then very little changes about my cooking habits.
thanks for going and looking. I currently use lighter fluid simply because for me, it’s easier, but I am familiar with the newspaper-lighting method. I’ve got tons of newspapers stored up (I used to work at one), so I’ll likely never run out of those.
I keep about a hundred pounds on hand. Since the Volcano stove uses very few briquets, that can last a loooong time.
I usually take an empty pop can, fill it half way with kerosene and leave one charcoal briquet in there to soak for a few hours. That briquet goes in the center bottom layer of my little 14-briquet pyramid. Light that one and that’ll do all the rest.