www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Lamps and wicks

When I pray I like to burn candles, the large five or seven day votives in blue glass generally, in a small corner of my home where I have a table with a bible, crucifix, images of Christ and Mary, etc. But, having come across some things online I have been intrigued by the idea of using oil instead of a candle. So, I was wondering if somebody here could clue me in on some basic technical stuff regarding such a practice.

I have seen several varieties of wick holders available, but don't know one from another. One seems to use small pink wax coated wicks and floats on the surface of the oil. Another, usually labelled as associated with Mt. Athos, which also floats seems to use a cotton wicking. The last, a Russian style I believe, apparently sits on the rim of the glass and uses a cotton wick as well.

What are the differences between these? Does the first with the small wicks work as well as the second? And how does the floating variety compare with the last? And what kind of wicking works best with the last two?

Also, none of the sites I have found give a size on these. How wide does the container have to be to use one of them? I would like to avoid very large styles. The five day votives I use currently for instance are really way too big, and I hope to move down in such an area.

Many thanks for any help.

God bless,

Patrick

Dear Patrick,

I prefer the floating variety - it's really cool!

You just place the pink wick into the little wooden thingy and then let it burn up the oil slowly.

It is also very traditional from an Eastern point of view.

I sometimes use the oil that burns before icons to anoint myself and others - if they can still long enough . . .

Anyway, have a great wick-end!

Alex

Dear Alex,

Many thanks for the suggestion. Could you clarify for me if the floats you use are large? How many inches or so are they across? Just curious about what kind of actual container I will have to use. Again, thanks.

God bless,

Patrick

Dear Patrick,

I got myself a lamp approximately ten inches tall and about, I would say, six inches across at its mouth - nothing more than that and you could probably get away with something smaller.

The little wooden floats are, what, half an inch all around?

And they have a little hole in the middle for placement of the wick.

Just fill up the lamp or votive candle holder with oil - and then you are really burning with gas!

Alex

Alex,

Is it more safe to put a bit of water in with the oil one is using? I know the first time I put up a lampatka, it was a shattering experience to put in mildly!!!!

Your Bro in California,
Brian

Dear Brian,

Yes, one has to be careful.

Some do put in water and it is probably best to do so.

I still can't figure out why some of my lamps shatter the way they do.

Perhaps it occurs when my reflection appears in the glass?

And what do you have against Escriva Balaguer?

Alex

SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU!
SLAVA NA VIKI BOHU!

Hi gang!

I use a small glass bottle with a brass stopper. I bought it at an Arab store in Virginia. The cotton wick comes thru brass stopper. I fill the glass bottle with oil, insert the wick and stopper and flame on! The bottle is small, I've seen similar ones at various craft stores where they sell candle making supplies.

Don't know what kind of oil I'm burning. It's not olive oil but something called Arabia Lampen Olen. They had it in the corner with the ikons, lamps, chotki etc. It doesn't give off any fumes when it burns.

Hope this helps....

mark

Dear Alex,

Many thanks for the further information. I have to say that those sound about perfect at a half inch, and would surely allow me to use a smaller lamp than you have. By the way, how much oil do you put in something that size? Surely you could put in a quart without coming close to filling it.

And I am glad that y'all mentioned the shattering thing. I will have to be careful about that.

Mark, I have seen similar items as you use for sale in the local craft store. It consists of a heavy brass stopper with a rather thick wick of some fiberglass type of material passing through. You can fit it on any bottle you like as long as it has a standard bottle neck opening. Those which I have seen are meant to burn liquid parrafin (sp?). Perhaps what you burn is something similar since one of the benefits of that fuel is that it is suposedly free of fumes, leaving no stains or marks above the lamp.

But as for me I just don't know if I could get used to a flame naked up on top like that. I kind of like the look of the light shining from out of the container. I also didn't know if it would properly burn something other than parrafin which is not what I wanted to use. But I may still pick one up and see what it is like.

Many thanks to all for the help.

Patrick

You can buy thicker glass which is specifically meant for lampada. St. Isaac of Syria Skete www.skete.com [skete.com] has both the lampada and the replacement glass for these and some floating cork-base wicks. Part of the equation is what kind of oil you burn, some burns hotter than others. There are lots of lampada from Greece on e-bay also.

St. Isaac also has some of the floating wicks.

I almost forgot something. Getting old, I guess...

I prefer the Old Believer style wicks that are centered in the glass by two guys that rest on either side of the glass with the float suspended in the middle. Eastern Christian Supply in California carries these.

Diak,

You say that the wick is centered by guys and also floats. How exactly does that work? Does that mean that the guys are flexible and can allow the wick to move lower?

And also which oils do you find burn cooler? Just curious for the future.

Many thanks,

Patrick

Pure virgin olive oil is the best, but not the most inexpensive. The paraffin oils you can buy at the hobby stores are much cheaper, but burn much hotter. It is traditional for Eastern Christians to use natural materials (beeswax, olive oil, incense, etc.) in prayer as much as possible, not only because of their purity, but by our "offering" of God's gifts back to God with prayer.

Dear Diak,

CIX!

I prefer the Old Believer-style wick holders too. One never has to worry about the heat cracking the glass when the flame goes too low, because the metal holder keeps the flame at that height all the time. Of course, the drawback is that when the oil goes below a certain level, the flame goes out because the wick cannot draw the oil up any more, but my Dukhovnik assures me that is a sort of safety feature. How ingenious!

Padraig,

The Old Believer-style wick holders are basically a thin flexible strip of metal that is held over the rim of the glass. the metal has a hole in the centre to hold the wick upright and keeping the flame level. When the wick burns down, one has to trim it and pull it upwards... does that make sense?

My two kopecks!

in Domino,

Edward

Diak,

Many thanks for the info. I wanted to use something like olive oil myself, and had tried to avoid the paraffin lamps for that reason. I had no idea that it burned any hotter and that reinforces my interest in olive oil.

Edward,

That makes perfect sense. Thanks for the clarification. Y'all have made it much easier to consider the products out there.

God bless,

Patrick