Well, folks, I gave up on the use of oil lamps when I discovered how expensive lamp oil is to use. For $20 or so, I could buy enough lamp oil to keep one lamp going for about ten days — or about two months’ worth of vigil lights!
And yet I’m not thrilled with the quality of vigil lights that I can get on a moment’s notice, so the experimentation with oil lamps continues (and you can follow the action on Pinterest).
After a little thought, I thought I’d start simple: A pinch of herbs, a slug of olive oil, and a floating wick in a decorated glass.
I was a little nervous about the herbs in the oil catching fire — but the foil-covered cork keeps the flame above everything else, and the herbs find their own level below the surface of the oil.
I’m not really pleased with the way the wicks tend to drift off-center. They’ll never lean against the glass and crack it, because of the cork float — but it’s less elegant than you and the spirits deserve. So I’ll be experimenting some more.
Did you use water at the bottom of the glass? This is the tradition, in order to prevent accidents!
I know this is an old post but I am so enjoying reading this blog, and anyway if you haven’t figured it out by now or if anyone else is still struggling with a similar issue…
Lehmans sells parts for making your own olive oil lamps. It looks like a little spring that holds the wick, on a stem, with a circular base, and a loop that extends above the level of the oil for adjusting the placement, all bent out of a single length of wire.
I was looking at those for a long time. I finally found nice little wick supports in several designs at Eastern Christian Supply.