Why do hurricane lanterns look like that?

It's all about the air.

Link to Part 2:

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[TechnologyConnections]

Hello! I want to add some _nuance_ to the discussion because of course there's plenty. Kerosene isn't the only fuel that these lanterns are capable of burning, and some options that are available now are less unpleasant for indoor use. And as a matter of fact, one of the things these are still useful for is emergency heat since they're putting out quite a lot. However, *not every fuel is safe to use in them* so my official advice is don't use these lanterns indoors at all. The room I film in is quite poorly ventilated without the HVAC system running so it was a pretty non-ideal situation, but the room smelled like an airport and my throat was getting irritated. It's unpleasant and makes me feel terrible for the millions of people who still rely on kerosene for their lighting fuel.
(also, to be clear, kerosene by itself isn't the problem - kerosene heaters are widely available, but modern designs can burn the fuel much more completely for a safer and much less unpleasant exhaust. These lanterns literally haven't changed since the 19th century)

[DetroitBORG]

The deadpan “Dietz Nuts” joke had me pausing to 😂 😆 🤣

[georgefrankly]

I've never been so adequately humbled by a high end Deez Nuts joke

[Suction_]

"I've always had a fascination for these"

The entire basis of this channel and it's fantastic lol

[frenchiephish]

Heya, have really enjoyed this series. I'm a Chemical engineer and specifically work with combustion processes. For heat output, we actually care quite a bit about preheating combustion air with waste heat because it improves fuel efficiency as you're using less of the energy from combustion to get the air to the flame temperature. Realistically, for light output it probably doesn't make a meaningful difference to the fuel consumption. I'd hazard it was more likely that they Dietz was probably trying to look at air preheat for flame stability, as combustion tends to be better behaved & more stable when heat is already present.

[Wunderbolts]

“My lamp runs on jet fuel” sounds a lot cooler than it actually is.

[tkkim]

His voice, his tone, his tempo, his pauses, his timing, his composure, his usage of physical gestures... The guy's speech skill is near impeccable.

[samueltaylor]

I was wondering how he kept a straight face when delivering the puns about Dietz Nuts, and Bofa Dietz. Turns out he couldn’t!

[Doglife_]

This is absolutely fascinating to me. I can remember my Dad's lantern as he walked home in the summer as he would spend the night at a tobacco barn curing bright leaf tobacco. No flashlight just his lantern. Memories from the late 1940s. No electricity until I was 3 yrs old. I still have 2 lamps and one of his lanterns. Thank you.

[spartanwar]

First he says "Dietz nuts" and then he says "bofa deez lanterns"
I know what you're doing man, i can't handle this lmfao

[scabbynack]

"I will NOT be interested in lamps I will NOT be interested in lamps"
A few moments later:
"Hm wonder how much a hurricane lamp is"

[Sir.Craze-]

"we call ourselves Dietz nuts"
You, sir. Are this decades most important comedian.
I thank you for your continued service.

[alexk]

Used a couple of cheap hurricane lanterns from walmart in deer camp this past fall and they worked great! Bright and steady light outdoors, felt just like electric, and no fussing with brittle mantles of propane lanterns, although those are definitely brighter. One of them did spill inside a tent, so I wouldn't resort to that, but outside, around the bonfire they were great.

[williamfrazier]

I am 76 years old, live on an island 140 kilometres off the north coast of British Columbia and frequently rely on lanterns which, up until now, i have done so in total ignorance. Thank you for this illuminating presentation.

[lucasrose]

Speaking as someone who did industrial combustion for many years, pre-heating combustion air is actually something that is done because it increases the efficiency as well and allows for higher temperatures to be achieved. The reason being is that you don't have to heat the incoming air to the temperature you need which actually wastes heat energy. The reason you want a cold air intake into your car engine however is for the higher density that colder air contains which naturally also means more oxygen because your not trying to heat the engine. If your interested in learning more about pre-heating in combustion systems the term your want to look up is "regenerative combustion burner" as they can explain it much better than I can.

[marsdeimos]

Speaking of confusing names for hydrocarbons, in my language (Czech), Kerosene is known as "Petrolej", which sounds similar to Petroleum (i.e. crude oil), and Petrol, which in America is called Gasoline, often shortened to Gas, though it isn't actually gas but liquid, and we call that "Benzín", which is pronounced exactly like Benzene, but that's a different chemical substance, which we call just "Benzen". It's not to be confused with Benzine, which is another name for Petroleum Ether, which isn't really an Ether, because actual Ethers are hydrocarbon derivates, whilst Petroleum Ether is a petroleum fraction with a low boiling point, which is the real reason why it's called Ether - it's on a basis of similar physical property, rather than chemical similarity.

In German, where Gasoline is called "Benzin", Benzene is known as "Benzol", but in Czech "Benzol" actually means BTX, which is a mixture of Benzene, Toluene and Xylene. Regular Kerosene, like the one used in lamps is called "Petroleum" or "Petrol" in German, but aviation Kerosene, i.e. jet fuel, in German is "Kerosin".

In Czech, we also call diesel fuel "Nafta", which sounds like Naphtha, but isn't the same thing, Naphtha is actually a name sometimes used for White Gas, which isn't gas but liquid, isn't white but clear, and can mean three different things (see wikipedia), but most common one is a fluid used in camp stoves, lanterns or lighters or as a solvent. Closest thing to Naphtha we have in our language is "Technický benzín" (literally 'technical gasoline'), but don't confuse it with normal gasoline, because if you put it in a gasoline engine, it's not going to like it.

Naphtha, or White gas, also shouldn't be confused with White Spirit, a.k.a mineral turpentine which, surprise surprise, isn't really white or spirit, and is definitely not a turpentine (a distilled tree resin). We call it "Lakový Benzín" (literally 'varnish gasoline'), except it's not really a gasoline either. It's more like a paint thinner. If you want to know what we call paint thinner in Czech, it's "Ředidlo", which literally means "dilutant". Mind you, there are many different types of "Ředidlo" which I'm not going to list here...

Interestingly, in Poland (which is right next door from us), Kerosene is called "Nafta", and diesel fuel (remember that is what us Czechs call "Nafta"), is known as "Olej napędowy" (literally "driving oil"), or colloquially "Ropa", which in Czech actually means crude oil, but is sometimes used as a derogatory name for diesel fuel. Crude oil in Polish is "Ropa Naftowa". In case it wasn't confusing enough already...

Edit: i've had to make some corrections here and there because the nomenclature across languages is such god awful mess, I got lost in it myself. But at least we can make fun of it :D. Thank you for all the likes and replies.

[AWhinyKid]

Experience from living in extremely rural Papua New Guinea in 2017-18. Improvements in batteries, LEDs and solar panels has pretty much eliminated kerosene lamps in the last few decades. People in my village grew up using kerosene lamps but the only one I ever saw was retrofitted with and LED bulb and just used for aesthetics. Everyone that saw it offered to help the owner set it up correctly because the LED was far dimmer than the original kerosene.

[ThioJoe]

How am i just now learning i didn’t actually know how a freakin candle worked. Knew about the wax fuel but not the curling part.

[quintinflower]

"we call ourselves Dietz nuts"
"Bofa deez lanterns"
perfect

[oromain]

"We call ourselves Dietz Nuts"
that hit me like a fucking truck