>I need help figuring out why the wick (hemp rope) isnt burning.
>
My experience:

1. Your wick is too high above the oil for the capillary action of oil going up the wick.

2. You probably didn't salt your wick. All commercial wicking is soaked in salts.

Wicking you buy so commercial wick typically uses two different salting chemicals but if you're making your own wicking you can just regular table or salt water from the ocean. Salt keeps the wick from burning out on you too quickly and results in a normal burn for candles and oil lamps. It makes vastly better wicks plus a warmer light.

What I typically do for oil lamps:
- Make wicking. I soak cotton cloth or string or paper towel, whatever I'm using I soak that in salt water and let it dry. If I'm impatient I put the wicking in a tray in the oven at 200F...
- I clean out a glass jar.
- Then I put a wick in the jar that is supported by a coil of wire, which also has a handle that comes up to raise and light it or replace the wick. So the wick is sitting in the center of the oil in an open jar. If the wick is heavily salted it will stand up without wire, but still needs wire at the base and a handle is useful.
- Then obviously I put in oil and cap the jar when not in use. Olive oil is nice, but I've used vegetable oils as well or wax making a candle.

For an oil lamp, the advantages of that arrangement is I don't have to worry if the wick is too far above the oil, I don't have to worry about the cap overheating and damaging the glass or anything like that. Also similar setup works for making candles. Important takeaway, whatever your lamp design, it will work better if you salt your wicks. Try it and you'll understand.

Sidenote: I suspect all modern methods for producing medieval Rush lights are probably wrong. Old books suggested boiling the rushs but I but I think they left out they meant boiling in salt water, as salt would vastly improve the burn quality as well as prevent mold.

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I improvised and made an oil lamp from spare bs at my place, and I need help figuring out why the wick (hemp rope) isnt burning.i just made it, so…

I improvised and made an oil lamp from spare bs at my place, and I need help figuring out why the wick (hemp rope) isnt burning.
i just made it, so…