How to Make an Emergency Light

A homemade oil lamp works on the same principle as old-style lanterns.

Emergency flashlights require batteries, and batteries sometimes go dead at the worst possible moment. A low-tech solution like an emergency oil lamp, however, can be made from components easily found around the house and is therefore always readily available. The oil lamp described here burns olive oil. Olive oil has been used in lamps for thousands of years. It is a reliable and clean light source for emergency use. The wick is enclosed in a canning jar for both safety and to protect it from breezes.

Things You'll Need

• Wide-mouth canning jar
• Flexible wire
• Pliers
• Wire cutter
• Nail
• String, smooth and made of natural fiber
• Olive oil
• A can with a slightly smaller diameter than the mouth of your canning jar

Instructions

Build the Wick Holder

1. Cut a length of wire two to three times as long as your jar is high. The wire can be any uncoated metal that can be easily bent but will hold its shape after being bent. Avoid using copper because it tends to produce verdigris when in contact with fatty acids.

2. Make a spiral at one end of the wire: Using your pliers, wrap one end of the wire around the nail. Make three or four tight turns with no gaps between the turns.

3. Make the wick stand: Measure the height of the canning jar and divide by two. Measure the same length on the wire coming out of the spiral. Mark the wire. At the mark, bend the wire at a right angle. You will now have a spiral, a short stretch of wire, a 90 degree bend and a longer stretch of wire.

4. Take the longer stretch of wire and, beginning at the bend, wrap it once around the can. Remove the can. Fold the spiral end of the wire down so it is lying flat on the circle you just made. Then bend the spiral end of the wire so it sticks straight up from the center of the circle. At this point you should have a circular base with a spiral wick holder sticking up perpendicular from the base.

5. Turn the canning jar upside down. Lay the circle of the wick holder in the center of the bottom. Note where the long stretch of wire meets the edge of the jar. Bend the long stretch of wire so it points in the same direction as the spiral end of the wick holder.

6. Turn the jar right side up, and drop the wick holder into the bottom of the jar, using the long stretch of wire as a handle. Bend the long stretch of wire so it hooks over the rim of the jar. Trim it if necessary; it should reach no more than a third of the way down the jar.

Put the Lamp Together

1. Salt the wick before use: Cut a length of string at least as long as your jar is tall. Put it in a bowl. Pour water into the bowl until the string is barely covered. Pour table salt onto the wick until it is covered. Let it sit for an hour. Squeeze the wick dry, and then let it air dry overnight or until completely dry.

2. Thread one end of the wick through the spiral wick holder. Leave about a half inch of wick sticking up above the spiral.

3. Lower the wick holder and wick into the jar, hooking the hook end of the wick holder over the rim of the jar. Let the wick coil naturally underneath the wick holder.

4. Fill the jar with olive oil until the oil reaches just below the bottom of the spiral. Let the wick soak up some oil.

5. Using the hook, lift the wick holder out of the jar. Holding the wick holder over the jar with one hand, light the wick with the other. Then lower the wick holder back into the jar.

Tips & Warnings

• You can get by without salting the wick if you are making the lamp in an emergency, but the salt will help the wick burn slower and with less charring.

• An old shoelace can also be used for a wick. Make sure to make the spiral large enough to accommodate the width of the lace.

• As the wick burns down, you can pull it out from the spiral using tweezers.

• If you extend the wick too far from the end of the coil, the lamp will smoke.

• If the wick burns down, the flame will shorten and not give as much light.

• If the oil level is too low, the lamp will burn too fast.

• Treat the lamp as you would any open flame.

References

• Mother Earth News; Make Your Own Olive Oil Lamp; Deanna Duke; June 29, 2009
• Judy of the Woods: Homemade Vegetable Oil Lamp