Can you buy paraffin at a reasonable price?

[Caecilius]

I was thinking about getting a tilley lamp to use in the garden. A bit
nostalgic I guess, as I used to have one back in the 70s.

You used to be able to get paraffin easily and cheaply (esso blue or
the pink stuff). But now it seems quite rare. B&Q sell it, but they
charge crazy prices for it: about seven pounds for four litres - more
than derv!

Is it possible to get paraffin in the UK for a reasonable price? I'm
guessing that it should be something like 50 or 60p per litre as there
would be no duty on it.

 

[Bob Minchin]

I was thinking about getting a tilley lamp to use in the garden. A bit
nostalgic I guess, as I used to have one back in the 70s.

You used to be able to get paraffin easily and cheaply (esso blue or
the pink stuff). But now it seems quite rare. B&Q sell it, but they
charge crazy prices for it: about seven pounds for four litres - more
than derv!

Is it possible to get paraffin in the UK for a reasonable price? I'm
guessing that it should be something like 50 or 60p per litre as there
would be no duty on it.

Try a local family owned filling station, the type that fills the car
for you. Our local one does paraffin but I don't know the price. I use
it as a lubricant when machining aluminium and a gallon lasts me years.
You could try scrounging a bit from someone with light oil heating.
That should have minimal duty and only 5% vat on it.

prices here http://www.heatingoilshop.co.uk/price.php

 

[meow2222]

You could try scrounging a bit from someone with light oil heating.
That should have minimal duty and only 5% vat on it.

Heating oil & paraffin are both 28 second oil.

I dont know if they'd also run on diesel, 35 second oil.


NT

 

[Fredxx]

Heating oil & paraffin are both 28 second oil.

I dont know if they'd also run on diesel, 35 second oil.

I didn't realise that was the difference. I do run mine on diesel for
convenience of supply, but never been happy with it.

 

[John Williamson]

I was thinking about getting a tilley lamp to use in the garden. A bit
nostalgic I guess, as I used to have one back in the 70s.

You used to be able to get paraffin easily and cheaply (esso blue or
the pink stuff). But now it seems quite rare. B&Q sell it, but they
charge crazy prices for it: about seven pounds for four litres - more
than derv!

Is it possible to get paraffin in the UK for a reasonable price? I'm
guessing that it should be something like 50 or 60p per litre as there
would be no duty on it.

You could try your local canalside boatyard. Avoid chandlers,they're
generally worse rip-off merchants than B&Q.

 

[Caecilius]

Heating oil & paraffin are both 28 second oil.

That's useful to know, thanks.

I dont know if they'd also run on diesel, 35 second oil.

I think diesel might be a bit too smokey and soot up the mantle and
lamp glass.

 

[ss]

You could try your local canalside boatyard. Avoid chandlers,they're
generally worse rip-off merchants than B&Q.

About 6 years ago I bought a gallon of paraffin and then it was about
the same price as petrol, only source I could find was a local garage
and at the time I thought a bit pricey as it used to be so cheap. I
bought for the same reason as I had some old camping stoves and tilley
lamps and a paraffin iron and I wanted to see them working, all was ok
until I tried firing up a blowlamp ....I panicked thinking it would blow
up and chucked it into the drive and it landed under my wifes car
all ended well though.
I was going to sell them off on ebay but with energy prices going the
way it is I will just hold on to them for now.

 

[SteveW]

I was thinking about getting a tilley lamp to use in the garden. A bit
nostalgic I guess, as I used to have one back in the 70s.

You used to be able to get paraffin easily and cheaply (esso blue or
the pink stuff). But now it seems quite rare. B&Q sell it, but they
charge crazy prices for it: about seven pounds for four litres - more
than derv!

Is it possible to get paraffin in the UK for a reasonable price? I'm
guessing that it should be something like 50 or 60p per litre as there
would be no duty on it.

You can make life easier for youself (although it means paying duty) and
get a lamp where the fuel is easily available. I bought one from a
camping shop many years ago - it looked just like a Tilley lamp, with
hand pump to pre-pressurise, vapouriser and mantle, just the same but it
was designed to run on unleaded petrol.

SteveW

 

[SteveW]

You can make life easier for youself (although it means paying duty) and
get a lamp where the fuel is easily available. I bought one from a
camping shop many years ago - it looked just like a Tilley lamp, with
hand pump to pre-pressurise, vapouriser and mantle, just the same but it
was designed to run on unleaded petrol.

Ah, just found it. Coleman do them.

SteveW

 

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

Is it possible to get paraffin in the UK for a reasonable price? I'm
guessing that it should be something like 50 or 60p per litre as there
would be no duty on it.

Anyone with 28sec home heating oil has it in a 1000L tank.

 

[Caecilius]

You can make life easier for youself (although it means paying duty) and
get a lamp where the fuel is easily available. I bought one from a
camping shop many years ago - it looked just like a Tilley lamp, with
hand pump to pre-pressurise, vapouriser and mantle, just the same but it
was designed to run on unleaded petrol.

Coleman fuel, aka "white gas" seems to be more common in the US.
That's pretty close to petrol I think, although the idea of using
petrol in a lamp seems scary to me as I've always used paraffin.

Good idea though. It may be easier to get a coleman fuel lamp and use
unleaded. Probably doesn't need so much pre-heating with the meths
burner either.

 

[polygonum]

Coleman fuel, aka "white gas" seems to be more common in the US.
That's pretty close to petrol I think, although the idea of using
petrol in a lamp seems scary to me as I've always used paraffin.

Good idea though. It may be easier to get a coleman fuel lamp and use
unleaded. Probably doesn't need so much pre-heating with the meths
burner either.

Having had a Coleman stove for many years, it is so much more convenient
not to have to deal with two fluids (meths and paraffin).

Unleaded is OK but doesn't, IMHO, burn quite so cleanly. The critical
difference between white gas and petrol, when I first used such a stove,
was that most petrol was leaded. And that was a "BAD THING".

 

[meow2222]

get a lamp where the fuel is easily available. I bought one from a
camping shop many years ago - it looked just like a Tilley lamp, with
hand pump to pre-pressurise, vapouriser and mantle, just the same but it
was designed to run on unleaded petrol.

SteveW

pressurised types have an awful safety record ISTR


NT

 

[harryagain]

Having had a Coleman stove for many years, it is so much more convenient
not to have to deal with two fluids (meths and paraffin).

Unleaded is OK but doesn't, IMHO, burn quite so cleanly. The critical
difference between white gas and petrol, when I first used such a stove,
was that most petrol was leaded. And that was a "BAD THING".

It was a BAD THING because you would be breathing the fine lead oxide
particles.

 

[news]

I was thinking about getting a tilley lamp to use in the garden. A bit
nostalgic I guess, as I used to have one back in the 70s.

You used to be able to get paraffin easily and cheaply (esso blue or
the pink stuff). But now it seems quite rare. B&Q sell it, but they
charge crazy prices for it: about seven pounds for four litres - more
than derv!

Is it possible to get paraffin in the UK for a reasonable price? I'm
guessing that it should be something like 50 or 60p per litre as there
would be no duty on it.

It might be worth ringing up these people

http://www.paraffinsuppliers.co.uk/

to see if there is a supplier within easy reach of your location.

 

[polygonum]

It was a BAD THING because you would be breathing the fine lead oxide
particles.

I felt no need to explain the absolutely obvious to anyone with a couple
of brain cells that are not totally plumbic.

 

[Huge]

I'm sure if you go to an old Ironmongers they will still sell it.

Our doesn't. Or rather, they do, but prepackaged in 5L drums and it costs
more than diesel.

 

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

It was a BAD THING because you would be breathing the fine lead oxide
particles.

It was a BAD THING for Coleman stoves and lanterns because the lead
formed whiskers which affected the clean burning.

 

[cheap tools]

Just checked out the paraffin price in B&Q. it used to be about £5 to £6 before but now gone up to almost £8.