29 March 2014

31 Days of MOO No. 29 - A Preserving Jar Oil Lamp, Just in Time for Earth Hour


Tonight we celebrate Earth Hour from 8.30pm - 9.30pm, so I thought I'd show you how to make a really simple but very effective oil lamp to use while the lights are out tonight, or any time you feel like a little ambience or the power goes off.  http://earthhour.org.au/

These little lamps give off an amazing amount of light and are great to use camping too. They pack easily and are inexpensive to make and to use.

Just remember, like all candles, tea lights and oil lamps, keep them out of reach of children and pets, just to be safe.

You will need:
1 small preserving jar and lid (about 300ml size is good)
1 nail and hammer or a drill and drill bit
1 strip of 100% cotton 10cm x 2cm
150ml olive oil
150ml water

Step 1.  Take the jar lid and using the nail and hammer (or the drill or anything else that will puncture the lid) puncture a small hole in the centre to feed the wick through.

Step 2. Cut your wick. It must be 100% cotton material. Synthetic materials  don't burn very well and will smell terrible; they could produce toxic fumes as they burn. Pure cotton will burn down and you'll need to pull it up as it burns off.

Step 3.  To make the wick roll the fabric along the long edge into a loose cylinder. Soak the wick in olive oil.

Step 4. Run your wick down to the bottom of the jar through that hole. Have about a centimetre of wick above the lid or you will end up with a pretty big flame.

Step 5. Put the water and then the oil in the jar. The oil will sit on top of the water and the jar should be almost full to the brim.

Step 6. Placing the wick in jar, screw the lid on tight.  Light the wick and enjoy the glow of your MOO oil lamp.

Notes:
Olive oil burns clean, without smoke or fumes.
You can add essential oils to your oil lamp if you would like a perfume oil lamp. The aroma won't be very strong, you'll just get a hint of your favourite scent.
You can use 300ml of oil, but the water/oil combination seems to burn bright.

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