What Lantern would warm as well

is there such a thing as a lantern that would warm the surrounding area a little bit, also is there such a thing as a marshmallow roaster with something like a lantern, wouldn't matter if it was electric,

You mean like an Coleman gas/fuel Lantern?

Aladdin mantle lamps put out ~1500 BTUs, or so I've read. I haven't run mine yet. I don't think you would want to try to roast a marshmallow above the chimney though; too much heat and too much chance of stuff falling into the mantle and starting some excitement.

The Dietz style lanterns also generate some heat; one even comes with a warming plate on top.

A propane lantern with metal top like some of the Coleman propane models get quite hot on high. Ex. Pinnacle.

Duodec said:

Aladdin mantle lamps put out ~1500 BTUs, or so I've read. I haven't run mine yet. I don't think you would want to try to roast a marshmallow above the chimney though; too much heat and too much chance of stuff falling into the mantle and starting some excitement.

The Dietz style lanterns also generate some heat; one even comes with a warming plate on top.

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Aladdin lamps do produce a lot of heat and you definately don't want to cook over one for a number of reasons.http://www.lehmans.com/ has Aladdin lamps and most Dietz lanterns including the cooker model if anyone is curious.

http://www.britelyt.com/

Cooking attachment - don't be cooking with gas inside an enclosed space - you know of course.

My coleman northstar lanterns put out 4000-5000 BTU on full blast (about as much as a 1500W heater) and can be turned down to nearly any level you like.

Whatever you do, don't forget proper ventilation.

Most lanterns are pretty clean burning, but they can still consume quite a bit of oxygen.

A 16.4 oz disposeable propane cannister has about +/- 21,000 btu's hiding in there when full. On a propane lantern with say, a 5-7 hr runtime, you can guarantee that most of that stored energy is going to go to heat, with only a few percentage points of it being turned into lumens.

sqchram said:

http://www.britelyt.com/

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Whenever I see Britelyt brought up, I feel it's my duty to point out that the manufacturers are idiots and begging to be sued into poverty. The Petromax/Britelyt lantern is not designed for nor safe to be run on anything more volatile than kerosene. Yes, they will put out light on gasoline, but not safely.

Gasoline lanterns:

1. Have a positive fuel shutoff. If there's a problem you can turn a valve and shut off the lantern, right now. The way you shut off the Petromax/Britelyt is by venting tank pressure from a vent in the fuel cap. Think about that again, you have a lantern that is having a problem, and the way you turn the lantern off is by venting air laden with gasoline fumes and vapors............right next to an ignition source, the burning mantles. Brilliant.

2. Do NOT have a way to vent tank pressure to atmosphere. See #1 about why this is a bad idea. Sure you can remove the fuel cap to vent pressure, but there's no need when you can just use the valve to turn the lantern off.

3. Have dual redundant check valves on the air pump, both would have to fail for pressure to be vented from the tank through the air pump. The Petromax/Britelyt have one check valve.

4. Have an air pump that exhausts it's air through a tube that goes above the fuel level. Should both of the check valves fail and tank pressure vents through the air pump, only the air on top of the fuel will vent. Yes, this is a problem, but not nearly the problem a Petromax/Britelyt would have under the same circumstances. The Petromax/Britelyt air pump has only one check valve, and exhausts it's air at the end of the pump, right into the fuel. Should this one check valve fail, not only will pressure vent out the pump, but it will push all the fuel out first....right next to the burning mantles.

Adding a metal plate between the mantles and the tank does not fix any of the above issues, regardless of their claims. Adding all of those safety features would not at all interfere with the use of kerosene or diesel. Coleman's kerosene lanterns all contain those features, simply for the sake of parts commonality.

This is not to say that Petromax/Britelyt lanterns are not fine workable safe lanterns with kerosene or diesel, whose flash point(the temperature at which ignitable vapors will evaporate from a given fluid) is 125 degrees F or so. However, they are bombs waiting to go off when used with gasoline, whose flashpoint is -40F, or alcohol. You have to try to set yourself on fire just to turn them off when using a volatile fuel.

On topic:

Any fuel-powered lantern will provide heat in addition to light. Propane is the easiest/cheapest to use, but I find my gasoline or kerosene lanterns are much brighter than propane even though they use the same mantles. All are solid performers, and I heartily recommend Coleman. I've bought lots of Coleman lanterns and stoves for $5 at garage sales and had them running merrily in very short order. Parts are still available for just about every product they've ever made, and I have little doubt they still will be in 100 years if your great grandkids need something for grandpa's old lantern. If you plan on using your lantern in temperatures below freezing, I'd steer clear of propane as it won't evaporate out of the tank when temperatures get down into the teens.

Please excuse my rant above, but take my warning to heart. :buddies:

PS: I also won't support Britelyt for lying so blatantly about such a serious subject that has been brought to their attention repeatedly. If I were in the market for such a lantern, I would make sure it was an original Petromax and have nothing to do with Britelyt.

1 Coleman single burner under 1 chair + 1 space blanket = a 1 person sauna. Have used it many times on cold weather hunting trips. (A 2-burner full blast is too hot !)

PS: the light is free.

Now that would be a hotseat.

My best and cheapest (but not "most safe") emergency heater has always been a top-of-tank screw on coleman 1-burner propane burner. I used to have a 6lb tank, which cost less than $3 to refill, with a 12" tree. Would run on low, probably 4-5k btu's for almost 2 days. Once during a massive snowstorm, that kept the internal temp of a small townhouse during a power failure at about 55 for almost two days, with an outside temp at about 28F.

Looking to replicate that setup now, have found that Manchester Tank makes both 5lb and 11 lb tanks with OPD (sp?) valves for the newer trees.

One December many years ago, I went camping with two friends. I had a teardrop-style trailer and a commercial "pup tent". The first night I drew the tent. Like a fool, I hadn't checked the sleeping bag before the trip. It was my brother's old "Boy Scout" bag. When I tried to sleep in it, I realized that all the insulation was in the corners! All I had for warmth was two thin layers of cloth! I had a two-mantle Coleman lantern with me. I tried using it for long enough to warm the tent and then shutting it off. That tent didn't hold heat at all! I spent the night with that lantern on just to keep from shivering.

So, the short answer is a good gas lantern does work as a space heater if the space is small and well vented. In the day of my adventure no one was marketing propane lanterns.

Wisdom comes from experience. Experience comes from surviving your mistakes.

Be very careful about things that burn in tents! The danger to person and property cannot be overstated!

spatterfree said:

is there such a thing as a lantern that would warm the surrounding area a little bit, also is there such a thing as a marshmallow roaster with something like a lantern, wouldn't matter if it was electric,

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A new reply to an old post -- for newcomers who are browsing: An Aladdin lamp, like most mantle lamps, actually puts out a significant amount of heat. I wouldn't know a BTU if it sat on my lap; but here's another way of indicating output. I had a paper shade and ring that was made locally, here in Nepal, for a two-wick lantern. I wanted to figure out whether it would be safe on an Aladdin Model 23. I tested the temperature at various distances and areas with a good instant-read thermometer, which measures up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Holding the thermometer 2 inches above the top of the chimney, the temperature maxed out the thermometer (meaning 600 degrees +) in less than a minute. They are like a small area heater. Great indoors for 3 seasons of the year in cooler climes. But the heat can be welcome even on a summer evening, if you are using it outdoors in a temperate, not tropical zone.