DIY Mason Jar Oil Lamps (Making lantern and candle with cooking oil)

I got my cotton wicks from a $1 Mop from Dollar Tree! I treated them by soaking in salt and borax for longer burning wicks.

I take candle wicks and hang them in large mason jars. Then I melt crisco in a bowl over a heated pot of water. When the fat melts I pour it into the jars and let it cool. Now no need to worry about the jar being knocked over or the oil evaporating out of the jar. I've also done the same thing with rendered beef fat. Screw on a lid and set on the shelf and they're good for many years for an emergency.

You can actually put a glass chimney on the candle lantern and it will give off more light. Also, you can wrap some aluminum foil halfway around the back side of the chimney and the light will be reflected into the room and be even brighter.

Commercial mop bottoms for wiping up floors are excellent wicks. They are made of cotton and perfect thickness. Awesome video

I've noticed with several of the DIY olive oil lamps I made last year, once the level of the oil got to where there was about 1 inch of space from the top of the wick to the top surface of the oil, the flame actively started to die down. With that, I found that I overfilled/designed some of them to take more oil than was necessary. I made my oil lamps similar to the 2nd version created in this video, but I used the flat cotton wicks (with the red stripe) found in the Walmart candle section. I didn't let the newly built lamps sit to wait for the wick to slurp up the oil. I just poured some more oil over the dry wick to saturate it for quicker use. I wrote down how long they lasted on average, but can't find the info at the moment. You will definitely get a small handful of deep winter, long overnight burns. I was surprised. I lean towards using olive oil in these types of candles due to the more minimal flame up/burn the house down factor. I don't worry about using up any expired oil in a hurry anymore since leftover or old oil can be relegated for oil lamp use. If there is an Ollie's closeout store near you, they tend to sell food that is close to expiration, including cooking oils, at a good price. Trimming the wick somewhat before a relight helps to cut down on unwanted smokiness. These lamps don't usually smoke up for me otherwise.

Love this guy. We used thinly braided strips of old cotton tee shirts for wicks when I was younger. We couldn't afford much and wasted nothing. Tried his sandwich - really, really good!

USE A CARBON FELT WICK...(TO MAKE WICK)You can buy flame retardant blankets made from carbon felt for dirt cheap...THEY DON'T BURN UP AND THEY WILL HOLD OIL...cut the blanket into small squares...roll into a tube to use as a wick in whatever size jar you are using...you can use a threaded male connector for pipe fitting to slide your wick tube into, to keep it rolled up...and then put it into jar full of oil...Happy burning and save money from buying wicks...👊❤👊

The use of mirrors behind these homemade lights is great.

Cooking oil is slow to wick to top if wick so use cheapest oil available as its a thinner viscosity...to offset the smell, add few drops fragrance oil...rather then having open top oil lamp, get a 1" chisel, punch thru jar lid and add 1" genuine lamp wick. Works great been doing it for eons!!

I plan to make the lamp type one in a Mason jar with handle just to make it easier to carry one around. Thanks for the video.

Going to try this! Going to dollar store and get me some mop heads! Thanks for that suggestion!

Ive actually boiled a cup of water for instant coffee using a candle. I placed a similar candle inside a metal canister where the sides were 2 to 3 inches taller than the flame, then placed a small lightweight grill oover it then placed a metal cup filled with water. It took about 10 minutes to boil. The surrounding temperature was in the 70s. I happened to be without electrcity due to a storm. I don't know how well this work in a really cold environment.

One of the best videos I have ever watched. Great details, clean and simple. Good job!

Thanks so much for this video!! I'm using mine for arts and crafts, much easier than having to use a lighter while making my flower deco!

Sitting a candle or tea light on top of a mirror will also increase your light area.

That was cool and now I can use old cooking oil so double win , thank you so much

I use leftover jelly jars with a handle on them. I fill them with lamp oil and use a wick/ceramic wick holder I get from Wal Mart online. Six of them will raise the temp inside my 29' fifth wheel 2 degrees in the dead of winter- does really help. I put the jars inside an old, unused heavy cooking pot that won't get knocked over. Next on my list is a vesta heater. Any help I can give my electric heater cuts the bills (yeah, I pay for the fuel) and I don't have to install a wood stove or cut holes in my roof.

Basically these style of lamp has been around for centuries. The lamp inside the jar is definitely the best option because it can be made to burn brighter and more efficiently with a small easy to do refinement! Simply use about a 1 inch long, 1/8 inch diameter piece of tubing flared a little on one end to pass your wick thru. This will act as an adjustable wick trimmer to keep the burning end of the wick out of the oil and act as a very efficient burn height control giving the both brightest light and keep smoke and soot to a bare minimum.

So, I am crocheting wicks, sitting around at night, single stitch, we will see how it works

Video suggestion: What different kinds of oil work and how well different ones work and how long they last. Thanks for the info!