Kerosene Lantern

[Ted]

The last time I spent five days on my 16 the batteries drained down to the point where I couldn't keep my anchor light going all night. I was solar charging but with all my usage, it didn't quite make it.

I have read about people using kerosene lanterns and wonder if anybody here has used them. I would fear burning through a line if I hung it up. I would probably not want to spring the 100-150 bucks for a high end one. I am thinking more about the cheaper Dietz lanterns that you can find on Amazon.com.

[Shawn]

Why not switch to a LED anchor light? I use one of these:

http://www.bebi-electronics.com/owl.html

Compared to typical incandescent anchor lights the LED will run for 10 hours using the same energy as the incandescent in 1 hour. As a backup you could hook the light to a 9v battery and run all night easily.

As far as the kerosene lanterns I have several for camping. The Dietz are nice but are not very bright, decent for lighting indoors but I'm not sure bright enough for an anchor light. I think they average around 3-10 candle power depending upon the size of the wick. The light comes from the flame itself. The models with the bigger fonts will burn all night easily and as they are just wick types will run unattended all night as well. I have the Dietz Hurricane DLite (I think) and leave one running overnight while camping. These were also very handy during a 5 day power outage last year.

The 100-150 high end lanterns are likely pressurized mantel lanterns. This will burn *much* brighter.. up to 500 candle power. These are incandescent lights, the fuel is pressurized then vaporized and burns to heat a mantle. The heated mantle glows which produces the light. I wouldn't use one of these as an all night anchor light. Because the fuel tanks are pressurized they typically need to be pumped up every couple of hours. If they aren't the pressure will drop enough that the lantern will stop burning but will have enough pressure to keep forcing fuel out... it makes a mess. The mantles are also fairly fragile and if damaged would need to be replaced. These put out a fair amount of heat and will burn much more fuel than the Dietz lanterns. I have a couple of original German army Petromax 500cp lanterns and they are wonderful but not for an anchor light. Because of the pressure and how much exhaust these make I only use them outdoors.

Shawn

[Ted]

Shawn,

Thanks. I own a pressurized lantern and, like you, would not want to use it for an anchor light. Too dangerous. If the Deitz aren't bright enough, though, that's probably the answer I need to go LED.

[marc]

I've used a Davis Mega-light for about 10 years.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1%7C65136%7C739053%7C760453&id=7977
I hang it from the boom or backstay. What I particularly like about it is I can set it to blinking mode and easily find my boat after dark in a crowded anchorage. If I have plenty of power, I'll use this plus my anchor light. If my battery is running low, I just use this light.
Marc

[HenryC]

Kerosene lanterns are dangerous, even when they are not lit off.

I've only been on one boat that had one, and even though it it was properly hung up so it could swing safely, the minute we hit rough weather I tripped below, grabbed the lantern instinctively to keep from falling, and yanked the hook out of the bulkhead. The boat was filled with kerosene and broken glass and it took me an hour to clean up the mess.

Boats already  have glass things, and flammable things.  Flammable glass things is just asking for trouble.