Good question...

Think if you are completely off grid, & don't have solar, or as a back-up then yes, lighting by gas is relavent...

It's bit of a pain to store & stop the glass breaking, other than that quite reliable.

Up-top the light makes a nice "keep your coffee warm" spot....

i like my gas lanterns, at night sitting by the fire a cold one in the hand and with thegentle  hiss of burning gas in the background. You cant beat it.

You still get the gas lantern bags. White and purple in colour.

Unscrew the top of the lantern and remove the class.

Tie the lantern bag to the gas stem of the lantern properly above and below the gas holes in the stem.

Puff the bag so that it is away from the stem and not right up against it.

Posision the glass and screw back the top.

Attach to gas bottle, open gas and light the lamp through the gap between the glass and top.

Close the gas to allow the  bag to burn by it selve. It will become totally white.

After the bag is completely white open the gas again and light the lantern again.

Adjust the gas and the ring setting below the lantern for oxagen to get the best brightness.

I still have a 100cp and 300cp gas light and used them until rescently where there was no 220V.

I have since aquired self contained battery powered LED and Flourecent lanterns. Where there isn't any 220V, I charge them from the car cigaret battery. Where there is 220V I use 220V lead lights and LED strip lights off the caravan battery. Elswhere, we use head mountable LED lights "nerd lights".

The gas lanterns are fragile and cumbersome, so, they now stay at home. Maybe they should go to Hospice.

Each one to his own. Low voltage LED and Flourecent lighting has become so cheap, light weight and are so energy efficient, that it does not make sence any more to use gas lighting. But each one to his own.....the comforting/memory lane hissing in the background may be enough to stay with them.

I must admit, the gas lamps give a much more pleasant warm light and in winter can warm up a tent nicely. LED lights tend to give a glare in the eyes and normally give a very white light. We have one which has a diffuser and can give warm white/orange/red light. Not the brightest one but, my favourite.

Why I continue using my gas light, it reminds me of the fishing trips with my late grandfather(he passed away in 1974) when I was a laitie. Also the early trips with my parents through Moz and the then Rhodesia in a boy scout white canvas tent with our old canary yellow Opel Kapitan station wagon.

My folks had a yellow Taunus Station waggon and a Jugens 14 footer wit gas lights (1972) on the walls.

Like that, but just canary yellow...use to boil going up any mointain pass.

Skies Wonga, vir die thread-kaap

Photos as promised, you will note tharpt the lamps can be set to either have 4 x small LEDs or full blast light.

Chargers include car, solar and 220v.

Studdybear wrote:

Still love our gas lamp. Gives a nice warm light and hiss sound makes certain that you know you are camping. Have 2 x 100 Candle power and a 300 Candle power on an extension for those big gatherings. We the only ones in our camping group that uses one and seems everyone is impressed and always end up sitting by the gas lamp under our tent than the LED's under theirs.

Without saying it directly, you have actually confirmed that without anyone knowing it they have shown that the gas lantern gives that invisible camping feeling and you are drawn to it like a moth to light.

Gas lantern gives to camping the same as a campfire does.

You won't realy miss it until its there.

Reg so Leon.

Wonga, the choice of lantern is yours. Try to buy a reputible brand, like, National Luna, Osram, Lenzer, Penz or Lumeno to mention a few. Look for one that is dimable and if it is a torch/head light, look for one that can olso focus the beam. Needless to say, buy 300 or more lumens. For obvious reasons, buy more than one lantern if it takes recharable batteries or a spare battery. Try to buy either replacable standard battery type (AAA or AA) or if rechargable batteries are used, then see if the battery is readily available and at a resonable price. Because the lanterns are not used often, the batteries tend to go flat and then they fail. If not used, charge them once a month.

I am not one for solar panels to charge things. These panels are still very expensive and bulky and my car has a 160Amp alternator (2048Watts) which charges things chop chop. A charged lantern battery lasts much longer than what my car is stationary. But that is just me.....

steamer wrote:

That's a damned nice looking set Johan.
I've got a couple of cheapie lamps that take rechargeable AA & AAA batteries.
Also, from Mica I got 2 Small size hurricane lamp type Solar LED lanterns that are dimmable.
They have worked extremely well, & we mostly sit out under the stars with one of them on dim. Only about R 100 each.
I also inherited a 4 lamp set up with a gate type 7A.hr battery, solar panel & about 5m each cable for the lamps.
It seems to have been a Michelin give-away at some stage due to the logo on it. Also simple and effective.

John, even though I agree, I beleave the more practical LEDs lanterns (also at a quarter the weight) are a better choice. We only decided on that set during the load shedding to be used at home aswell.

Wonga, you have the gas lantern, why not use it?

Any gas supplier will stock those gas lantern spares. As Leon pointed out, the little "bag" must be burned to a white ash, then it is at optimum point of light.