Oil Lamp Conversion for the UCO Candle Lantern. Easy DIY Build Using Recycled Materials.

Hi Folks, thanks for watching! Just thought I better add this in case people started asking me for empty Paslode fuel cells! I can’t send them out in the mail I’m afraid. Sorry! 😁

I like this mod/hack because having dual fuel supplies is always a big +, the longer burn time of the lamp oil is a benefit too. Now I just have to find the right materials to cobble one of these together myself!

Well done, Sir!! I love the UCO candle lantern, it's been a staple in my gear and all my friends since I was a teenager. Mine has been everywhere. Best candle lantern memory: Canoe camping in the Boundary Waters with my Brother and 4 others. Knife Lake. We got rained on so badly, and it was summer, but we all got almost hypothermic. We camped on an island and had a good sized fire to warm up. We set up 3 tarps overlapping and all slept underneath. We all had candle lanterns, so 6 to be exact, and we strung them around our tarps on the tie-outs. It was a glowing, blue, orange, green tarp Shangri-La!!! At about 1 AM we heard a crashing sound in the bushes, so we all got up to investigate. A bull moose was 10 yards from our tarp shelter and proceeded to amble straight through our camp site and into the lake to swim away into he night. Sick!!

I’m going to try this. I converted my uco’s using small bottles of vodka. They work perfectly but I like this idea which allows the use of the original equipment. Thanks 😊

What an excellent idea! Now if I can just find the candle lantern that I bought back in the nineties. Mine is made of brass and will have a nice patina by now. On with the hunt!

Brilliant idea, I love the uco lantern they've been around since 71'. Never cared much for the fact of the consumable candles of somewhat odd size! Have looked around for a candle mold and short of making your own there's not too many options. The liquid parafin should give a much brighter flame as well.

I think a big part of your conversions or builds are your tool! And how you build! And the challenges of living with a Maker! I’m a quilter and have been known to steal ties and other clothing for the perfect piece of cloth!

Excellent idea. Now I need to convert my "Bushlites"!

I think, rather than glue to hold the wick holder together, I'd silver solder it. I find this to be a very cool project, Thank you for the great ideas.

I chuckled when Tom went off calling, "Daaad!" How many of us have experienced Dad appropriating parts to make something else?

That’s brilliant…going to do this over the winter…

Great idea - I would just leave the brass pipe an inch longer to hold the wick by friction or use a vice to crimp it in a more controlled way. Would be perfect with a sealed screw-on cap to carry it full oil.

I've had my candle lantern since the mid 90's. Love giving old gear an upgrade! Brilliant Simon, brilliant. Thanks so much for your time.

Awesome DIY project! Suggestion: Instead of emptying and filling the canister each time, you could put in a screw in place of the wick for transport and carry the wick separately or even have a wick compartment on the side of your lamp. Cheers!

Your make it series is so helpful to me.I’ve copied your buck saw case,canoe trolley,zebra billy can mods,waxed canvas bottle bottle pouches and now I’m going to copy your UCO oil insert.thank you Simon.

I like this idea. I had recently switched to a solar lantern for sustainability, but I really like the idea of an oil lamp. I've been thinking about this and I have two humble suggestions for improvements and two ideas you might try if you have the time to fiddle with it some more: 1) Get a small bolt of the right thread and an o-ring. You can then remove your wick and seal the reservoir for travel. Just keep your wick in a baggie in the upper part of the lantern. 2) Use cooking oil for fuel (I like olive oil). You will not get as much light, but you have a backup source of oil for cooking, and a backup source of lamp fuel in your cooking kit. 3) Braided jute twine makes a good wick. You could separate some fibres out as needed before braiding and find the perfect thickness to get the most out of the inside diameter of your brass tube. A thicker wick will give you more light, heat tolerances, permitting. 4) A piece of aluminum can, cut to fit the full height and 3/4 of the circumference of the glass can slip in between the glass and the metal of the lantern's top. Polishing the can's inner surface reflects more light out where you want it, costs nothing and doesn't shine light everywhere for everyone to see. If you want all round light, you can slide it down, inside the lower part of the lantern. This also packs way better than the razor sharp reflector sold by UCO. I have been using beeswax candles in my lantern, but am going to start looking for a suitable container for this project now!

Fantastic result! You realise there’s a nice little Etsy business there. I’ll buy the first one. Whenever repurposing pressure vessels I was advised that the last vapours can sit inside almost indefinitely, and at a suitable low saturation to make it explosive not flammable, so it was advisable to fill the vessel with water before proceeding. Just a thought.

On a side project, I used a cut down length of wick, placed it on its side drenched in cooking oil in a cat food stove and here is an excellent simmer stove. I'll usually carry 2 of these stoves as a backup for a twig stove, and this allows to preserve some fuel over time. Your tutorial game me the idea since I recently mod my UCO lantern and thought to myself : well, if I tealight doesn't throw enough heat, this will surely do !

just like to say, i did this today and followed every step Simon said...and it bloody worked. one down, 7 more to go for me, but im so impressed that i actually finished it and i never have to pay £6 for 3 candles for under 27 hours use...here i can use paraffin, lighter fluid, veg oil etc. its just priceless

Thank you , Simon . 🐺 Loupis Canis .