How to Use a Ceramic Oil Lamp

Ceramic oil lamps are both attractive and handy household items.

Oil lamps make attractive additions to any home. The warm yellow light they shed adds a homey atmosphere to a room, and oil lamps become doubly handy if the power fails, especially at night. If you have acquired a ceramic oil lamp, setting it up and getting it ready for use will only take a few minutes.

Things You'll Need

• Bottle of lamp oil
• Book of matches
• Household window cleaner

Instructions

1. Remove the glass chimney from atop the burner assembly and set it aside. If the chimney is dusty or covered with fingerprints, use the window cleaner to get it sparkling clean.

2. Unscrew the burner assembly from the lamp base. Use a counter-clockwise turning motion. Set it aside for now as well.

3. Pour a quantity of lamp oil into the reservoir (lamp base). Be careful not to spill any or to overfill the lamp.

4. Insert the wick into the threaded hole in the lamp base. Reinstall the burner assembly by turning it in a clockwise direction. Screw it down securely, but do not over-tighten it. It may make it difficult to remove in the future.

5. Wait a few minutes for the wick to absorb and "take up" the lamp oil. If you touch the top of the wick as it exits the top of burner and it feels moist, the lamp is ready to be lit.

6. Strike a match and light the wick. After a few moments, adjust the flame height so that the wick does not smoke or produce any soot.

7. Reinstall the lamp chimney atop the burner assembly taking care to secure it inside the retaining clips.

8. Place the lamp in a wall mounted holder, or on a table.