VAPOURISED PARAFFIN

For many years, lighthouses created light by the combustion of vapourised oils such as paraffin. The principles are:

• Storage tanks somewhere on the station - in the yard or in adjacent buildings;
• Feeder tanks inside the tower close to the light;
• Pressurising system - usually a hand pump - to create pressure in the system that delivers a supply of fuel to jets or nozzles. The fuel exits the jets in a fine aerosol form, an intimate mixture of fuel and air, which is much more combustible.

During the development of this method, there were many variations on design intended to optimise the light generated compared to the fuel consumed. (Economics has long been a major consideration in the operation of lighthouses. They had often been built for profit by entrepreneurs and the balance of expenditure on fuel and keepers wages had to be weighed against the possible income from light dues.) Besides the supply of fuel to the wicks, this had to be achieved by the supply of the right amount of air for optimum combustion.

Additional material

A magnificent photograph of the recently renovated vapourised paraffin light source at Vlaming Head Australia.