Vigil lamp keeps burning out

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

Thanks for the link Fr. Mark.

Coarse mop-cotton has long strong fibers which are desirable, but they are typically not as clean, white, fine, nor almost transparent in oil when "unspun." Like everything else related to the Church, offer the best you can find.

I've thought about this and for me, "the best" is the wick that burns the oil the longest. In other words, my goal is for it not to suddenly stop in the middle of the day or night, however that might be accomplished within reason. One way or the other, I don't believe cost is a concern as no matter what wicks are not a siginificant cost.

I don't know what you are doing, but a wick that burns for days is unheard of in my house. I think it is because when the oil level gets lower, the wick has a harder time pulling the oil up so it runs "leaner" and "leaner" (these are old-believer 'floats'). The athonite style present to many problems and I have stopped using them.

[priestmark]

I don't know what you are doing, but a wick that burns for days is unheard of in my house. I think it is because when the oil level gets lower, the wick has a harder time pulling the oil up so it runs "leaner" and "leaner" (these are old-believer 'floats'). The athonite style present to many problems and I have stopped using them.

Not sure what my "floats" are called but I use the type which is constructed from a little tube around which a wire is twisted. We make them ourselves using insert tubes from compression fittings for small bore plastic tubing, wire and a variable speed drill - run slowly. Costs less than 5 cents, and less than a minute of time. Of course it can take forever to find the parts and the drill.

Anyway, they don't float. As the oil burns down there is a greater and greater distance that the oil has to climb. The flame goes out when the glass is empty (no worries about hot and possibly flaming oil splattering around). It is a short trip for capillary acton (which can take water to the tips of tall trees). Cold oil is more viscous and could present a problem until it warms up (the oil in our Chapel is often solid before services in the winter, and even well tuned wicks will sometimes char until the oil melts).

I don't know what else I do differently, but 2 days is not a problem with a well-tuned lamp, with pure wicking. Good oil for burning is of course indispensible. I still recommend Bertolli's as mentioned in the link (from 8 years ago). Bad oil will build up crunchy carbon like crazy - but that too is dependent on temperature, and drafts etc...

I learned about lampblack (microfine particles - opposite of crunchy) when I used to use Alladin kerosene lamps in our antebellum home in Indiana (see http://www.aladdinlamps.com/store/dynamicIndex.asp and http://www.goodpick.com/ for more lamp info). When the flame breaks through the mantle, a cool zone begins to condense carbon, which cools radiatively, which causes more carbon black to condense, etc... and in a runaway interaction the lamp quickly soots up completely.

A small scale version of this can often be seen on vigil lamp wicks, especially in the warm months it seems, as little globules or disks of lampblack form - sometimes quite rapidly.

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

Not sure what my "floats" are called but I use the type which is constructed from a little tube around which a wire is twisted. We make them ourselves using insert tubes from compression fittings for small bore plastic tubing, wire and a variable speed drill - run slowly. Costs less than 5 cents, and less than a minute of time. Of course it can take forever to find the parts and the drill.

Strange you should say that. I had always used the Athos style floats, which are donut shaped corks with an aluminium top and a wire routed through it to form handles at each and, and wrapped in the middle to form a "tube". One big problem with these is wick run through it usually just falls back into the oil and does not "stand up" in order to burn. I had alway wanted to make the type of "float" you described (but as you say, could never find the right tube); I had always thought a tube would be the solution. Then I found "Old believer" style ones, which are exactly as you describe. I'm not sure if they are "Old believer" or not as I hear they are the standard throughout Russia.

Now I do get the "disks" of lampblack as you describe as i use Oil from our local ethnic store which is probably not the best. Several people in our church have also recommended Bertolli's, I guess I 'll have to give that a try.

[Apologist]

Maybe you should get the pink ones...

[尼古拉前执事]

:bump:

I just had use for this thread since I was having problems with my lamps staying lit.

[Marie]

Earlier this year, I received the following instructions on burning/maintaining an oil vigil lamp from the monks at the ROCOR Hermitage of the Holy Cross in West Virginia, upon asking. I had tried oil before, but didn't have much luck with it. It was too messy, among other things. I switched to beeswax votives made by the Hermitage's sister monastery for women. I wanted to try oil again, and so I emailed the monastery for instructions. Here they are! Note, this uses the wick holder the monastery sells (as well as www.easternchristian.com), which are not the cork floats other used.

Vigil lamp Instructions:
Separate the four strands of cotton wicking.

Insert one strand into the wick holder, so that about 1/4 inch of wick is exposed above the shaft.

Bend the arms of the wick holder so that the shaft is about 1/2 inch below the top of the glass.

Fill the glass with oil up to the middle of the wick holder.

Pour some oil onto the exposed part of the wick.

Light the wick.

Glory to God!

To maintain your lamp by:

Pour oil on the flame to extinguish it, and then trim off the black part of the wick with a pair of small scissors. You can also pinch off the black part of the wick with a kleenex or tweezers.

The wick trimmings and any oil that you clean up from the lamp should be disposed of properly. i.e. We keep a burn bag and discard the kleenex and trimmings there. Then we burn the bag when it fills up and discard the ashes in a garden or somewhere they will not be walked on.

How often you trim your lamp is up to you. Maybe once a day- its a daily act of devotion we can show to our Lord and His Saints.

I do not recommend leaving your lamp unattended. i.e. If you are leaving your house for a while it is safest to put it out.

To clean the Wick Holder:

Remove the wick. You can hang it on the side of you Vigil Lamp.
Hold the Wick Holder over a metal pan or sink-- something that will not be damaged by hot sparks.

Hold a candle or lighter flame under the "sticky" shaft of the wick holder until the residue ignites.

When the residue is burned, run water over the Wick Holder to cool it down.

Shake the water out of the holder and re-insert the wick. You can wipe off the black carbon with a kleenex if you like.

Oil Recommendations:

Use a Light or Extra-Light Olive Oil. These have most of the olive "impurities" removed and make a cleaner,brighter burning oil. We use Bertolli's Classico in our Church. ExtraVirgin, Pure, Pomace, etc. all have more of the olive fruit in them and will not burn very clean. Do not use petroleum based lamp oils or paraffin candles, since they produce vapors/soot that is harmful for your icons. If you are trying to protect your icons, you might consider having a kiot made for them or having them framed in a traditional way.

Personal note: I keep my lit vigil lamp on my living room icon corner during the day when I am home. But when I go to bed, I move it into my bedroom and place it in front of the icons on top of my dresser. I like to be able to wake up in the middle of the night, as I often do, and see the light flickering on my icons. I've in several places that in pre-Revolutionary Russia many small children learned to not be afraid of the dark, when they would wake up scared, but see the icon lamp flickering on an icon of the Theotokos and Christ.

I hope this is helpful to you. Holy Cross Hermitage's website is www.holycross-hermitage.com

[spiridon]

I know a Cathedral that uses Mazola oil- the cheap stuff because they use so much of it daily and because it has no smell at all...if you contact me personally I can give you there number and you can call them and get the exact name of the oil...................I think you can even purchase it at a Dollar store in america............