I also use my lamp collection for actual lighting on a romatic evening or when the power grid goes down. For practical purposes, this lamp is more durable than many other kerosene/oil lamps. The pictures speak for themselves--the chimney can't fall off and won't be easily cracked. In comparison to other more common chimneys, the glass in this one is thicker. Also, as you can see from the photo, it's encased in a cage. The fuel is stored safely in the base and will not leak out (unless you invert the lamp, perhaps).
The base screws off and the fuel is poured in, then the bottom of the wick is fed into the hole in the top of the base and the base is screwed back on. Once that's done, the fuel is safely inside a steel can screwed to the bottom of the lamp (the base). Unfortunately, there is no rubber gasket around the filler hole (which I would prefer to have). I still have not had any oil leaks with it. The glass is held in place by an aluminum ring at the top of the lamp and it's held firmly by a steel spring. This allows the glass to be raised for lighting the wick, then lowered down and held in place to completely encase the flame.
The worst part of this whole lamp in my opinion is the ring at the very top of the lamp. It looks like it's supposed to be a ring that you could attach some line to in order to hang the lantern. The ring is VERY soft and is also split. Any attempt to use this ring to bear the weight of this lamp would be a disasterous failure. If you replace that ring with something more reliable (like a key ring) you may be able to hang this lamp. To tear this down for cleaning, etc. (field strip) you really only need your bare hands. With one small phillips head screwdriver, you can completely disassemble this lamp into it's many parts. It's a pretty simple design.
I have found that if you hold this lamp around the base, you can carry it around the house without getting burned, leaking any oil, or damaging the chimney. Like I said, for using around the house during a power outage, this one is reasonably safe. Unfortunately, due to the small wick and the rippled, decorative glass it's not exceptionally bright. With the correct fuel (kerosene or Lamplight Farms Medallion lamp oil--NOT the Ultra Pure candle oil!) this can be about as bright as 2 candles.
*NOTE: After lighting, keep the flame small (the size of a birthday candle flame) and let the glass heat up for 5 minutes before turning the flame higher. This will help you avoid cracking the glass.
It's not as nice as having a Dietz or Feuerhand lantern in your hand during a blackout but it's also about $10 less expensive than those brands.
Mine was a gift but I'm considering buying a second one. If you're on a budget and you'd like a reasonably durable oil lamp, this might be a good choice. It may not be as bright or reliable as a battery powered portable lamp, but it's certainly less expensive to use.
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Twice, when my lamps were lit the glass broke. To keep that from happening, the flame must be tiny.
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