Carol Tripp on sun 5 jun 05
I was at a craft fair on Friday and a woman who bought five of my oil lamps
at Christmas stopped by my table to tell me about one of my stoneware oil
lamps. ( My lamps are shaped like bottles with a stopper having a hole
through which is threaded the fiberglass wick.) She said that she had to
stop using the lamp because the flame burned all over the top of the stopper
- not just the wick was on fire. She said that none of the people she gave
my lamps to complained to her so she assumed it was just her lamp. As you
can imagine, this raised the hair on my head and I gave her another lamp
with apologies. (She wasn't fishing for a freebie either because she didn't
want to take it.)
I am going to try to get the lamp back from her so I can see for myself. I
was thinking that it might be a problem with the hole in the stopper being
just a tad too big so I experimented with a stock lamp with a less than
tight-fitting wick and I couldn't get anything but the wick to flame. Does
anyone have any thoughts about this?
Best regards,
Carol
Dubai
Where the flintless white glaze I made with Clayart help for the Dubai Int'l
Art Centre is so well-liked that the batch is nearly finished. Temps are
up, the flametrees are in full and glorious bloom and the normal high summer
humidity hasn't arrived yet.
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Cindy in SD on sun 5 jun 05
Dear Carol,
I had an oil lamp that did this. It had a widely flared lip which
retained the oil when the lamp was filled. I thought it looked kind of
cool. I wonder if your customer got oil in/on the wick holder? When this
happened to me, the lamp continued to burn in the same way long after
the excess oil should have been consumed. Maybe just having the flame
there helps to pull the oil out to the sides. When I relit this lamp, it
did the same thing. I didn't try to clean up the lip because I liked the
effect. The lamp was an outdoor one, and placed in a spot where it
presented no danger. I never had another lamp that did this. Weird.
Best of luck with your mystery,
Cindy in SD
Louis Katz on sun 5 jun 05
In my opinion:
Your clay is porous and is acting as a wick I think. I had this happen
in 1974 or so at a summer camp. Almost burnt down a building. It
scorched the ceiling. If your stopper is porous and unglazed this is
possible and maybe likely to happen.
I think this represents a significant fire hazard. I would not be in
the business of candle holders or lamps. Sorry to say it sounds like
you need a recall.
Louis
Not a safety expert.
On Jun 5, 2005, at 10:46 AM, Carol Tripp wrote:
> I was at a craft fair on Friday and a woman who bought five of my oil
> lamps
> at Christmas stopped by my table to tell me about one of my stoneware
> oil
> lamps. ( My lamps are shaped like bottles with a stopper having a hole
> through which is threaded the fiberglass wick.) She said that she had
> to
> stop using the lamp because the flame burned all over the top of the
> stopper
> - not just the wick was on fire. She said that none of the people she
> gave
> my lamps to complained to her so she assumed it was just her lamp. As
> you
> can imagine, this raised the hair on my head and I gave her another
> lamp
> with apologies. (She wasn't fishing for a freebie either because she
> didn't
> want to take it.)
>
> I am going to try to get the lamp back from her so I can see for
> myself. I
> was thinking that it might be a problem with the hole in the stopper
> being
> just a tad too big so I experimented with a stock lamp with a less than
> tight-fitting wick and I couldn't get anything but the wick to flame.
> Does
> anyone have any thoughts about this?
>
> Best regards,
> Carol
> Dubai
> Where the flintless white glaze I made with Clayart help for the Dubai
> Int'l
> Art Centre is so well-liked that the batch is nearly finished. Temps
> are
> up, the flametrees are in full and glorious bloom and the normal high
> summer
> humidity hasn't arrived yet.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's
> FREE!
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Louis Katz
WIKI site http://www.tamucc.edu/wiki/Katz/HomePage
Rose on sun 5 jun 05
Maybe the top of the lamp has fuel on it that is being seeped from the
wick. That would cause it to burn across the top. A tight wick and a flat
surface may cause this to happen. Just a guess.
Rose
John Hesselberth on sun 5 jun 05
On Jun 5, 2005, at 11:46 AM, Carol Tripp wrote:
> I am going to try to get the lamp back from her so I can see for
> myself. I
> was thinking that it might be a problem with the hole in the stopper
> being
> just a tad too big so I experimented with a stock lamp with a less than
> tight-fitting wick and I couldn't get anything but the wick to flame.
> Does
> anyone have any thoughts about this?
Hi Carol,
I am assuming your stopper is ceramic. If that is the case you may have
a very narrow gap someplace that is allowing capillary action to draw
oil up between the stopper and the neck of your lamp. This would only
happen, though, if the oil lamp were filled right up to the top. I
think you could stop it by pouring out 1/2 an inch or so of oil. Just
a thought.
Regards,
John
John Hesselberth
http://www.frogpondpottery.com
http://www.masteringglazes.com
claybair on sun 5 jun 05
Carol,
Did you ask her how she filled the lamp, what oil she used and how full she
filled it.
I suspect she may have over filled it or filled to overflowing and
the residual oil was burning around the rim.
Definitely get the lamp back so you can experiment with it and make sure
there
isn't a flaw where oil might leak out.
I stopped making them when I had trouble with leaking. That was a long time
ago...
early in my career as a potter. The clay was likely not vitrified.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Carol Tripp
I was at a craft fair on Friday and a woman who bought five of my oil lamps
at Christmas stopped by my table to tell me about one of my stoneware oil
lamps. ( My lamps are shaped like bottles with a stopper having a hole
through which is threaded the fiberglass wick.) She said that she had to
stop using the lamp because the flame burned all over the top of the stopper
- not just the wick was on fire. She said that none of the people she gave
my lamps to complained to her so she assumed it was just her lamp. As you
can imagine, this raised the hair on my head and I gave her another lamp
with apologies. (She wasn't fishing for a freebie either because she didn't
want to take it.)
I am going to try to get the lamp back from her so I can see for myself. I
was thinking that it might be a problem with the hole in the stopper being
just a tad too big so I experimented with a stock lamp with a less than
tight-fitting wick and I couldn't get anything but the wick to flame. Does
anyone have any thoughts about this?
Best regards,
Carol
Dubai
Where the flintless white glaze I made with Clayart help for the Dubai Int'l
Art Centre is so well-liked that the batch is nearly finished. Temps are
up, the flametrees are in full and glorious bloom and the normal high summer
humidity hasn't arrived yet.
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Tom at Hutchtel on mon 6 jun 05
We had this problem on a lamp that is wood with a glass insert bottle. Not
only burned all over the top, but would draw oil even when not lit. The
maker changed to hemp wick and that cured it, but my theory is that the wick
was too constricted going through the bead and that tighter constriction
increased the capillary action. Which would possibly fit your theory that
one lamp does it, and another not.
Tom
PS I have yet to see a mid-fire lamp that does not seep without sealing.
This has been discussed and explained in depth before on the list.
Ron Roy on mon 6 jun 05
I remmeber reading somewhere - that the firemen in America would like to
see all ceramic, glass and wood candle stick holders banned.
It seems the ceramic and glass holders crack sometimes and can cause a
fire. Needless to say - the wood ones are a bad idea to start with.
Perhaps anyone making lamps or candle holders should at least recommend
they not be left unattended.
RR
>I was at a craft fair on Friday and a woman who bought five of my oil lamps
>at Christmas stopped by my table to tell me about one of my stoneware oil
>lamps. ( My lamps are shaped like bottles with a stopper having a hole
>through which is threaded the fiberglass wick.) She said that she had to
>stop using the lamp because the flame burned all over the top of the stopper
>- not just the wick was on fire. She said that none of the people she gave
>my lamps to complained to her so she assumed it was just her lamp. As you
>can imagine, this raised the hair on my head and I gave her another lamp
>with apologies. (She wasn't fishing for a freebie either because she didn't
>want to take it.)
>
>I am going to try to get the lamp back from her so I can see for myself. I
>was thinking that it might be a problem with the hole in the stopper being
>just a tad too big so I experimented with a stock lamp with a less than
>tight-fitting wick and I couldn't get anything but the wick to flame. Does
>anyone have any thoughts about this?
>
>Best regards,
>Carol
>Dubai
>Where the flintless white glaze I made with Clayart help for the Dubai Int'l
>Art Centre is so well-liked that the batch is nearly finished. Temps are
>up, the flametrees are in full and glorious bloom and the normal high summer
>humidity hasn't arrived yet.
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
Kathy Stecker on tue 7 jun 05
Talking about candlesticks etc that can start fires-I had the flat section at
the top of a pedestal candlestick snap off, so I just rounded the edge off
with some sandpaper and glazed intending to use the cylinder to stick a big
candle in. When someone mentioned that if the candle burned all the way down the
table might light on fire because of the open cylinder bottom, I suspect they
were correct. Broke it and tossed it out. But I do have a lovely candlestick
that is for a stick candle that is open on the bottom that was made by someone
else - so I wasn't the only one who perhaps hadn't thought things through.
Kathy Stecker
Winter Springs, FL
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