Lighting



Amber flame flickers
A small luminous circle
Soft darkness beyond



We've used a few different light sources over the years.  At first, we stuck to kerosene lamps and candles; and, after I became accustomed to doing things in the limited light, I liked them.  The light that they give off is warm and appealing.  There are two drawbacks to them, though.  First, they give plenty of light close to the source but not enough to do any detail work even a few feet away.  Second, and even more important, the price of both oil and candles has increased until it costs an unreasonable amount.

We found a 12-volt lamp that worked fairly well, but it drained the battery 'way too fast.  Lately, we've started using a propane light.  The quality of the light isn't as nice as the lamplight, but it's not too bad, and the one lamp illuminates the whole room.  We still supplement it with the candles and oil lamps sometimes, but we're finding ourselves better lit at a quarter the cost using propane.

The propane tank is stored outside (because I'm paranoid about leaks), and the gas is piped in to the lamp.  One twenty-pound tank lasts about six weeks during the darkest part of winter.  In summer, we cook with it on hot days, and it still lasts about three months.



The propane light