All right, some background: I bought a teakettle-and-warmer set off of eBay. The seller claimed that the set was from 1908, but didn’t know what fuel the burner used. The bottom of the kettle was covered in black scoring, so I assume it wasn’t alcohol. I took some pictures of the burner so you could give me a better analysis.
As should be obvious, the “wick” piece is removable. It appears to be a metal cylinder with one end capped. It’s filled with a fabric-esque wick material, and is wrapped in a different sort. The burner has an extendable cylindrical shield that can be raised to envelope the sides of the wick-piece completely.
Almost certainly the fuel was lamp oil, which would have been readily available at that time. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding some. Nearly any flammable fluid should work, with varying degrees of success, in a pinch. Alcohol would probably burn too hot, but kerosene would probably perform well. You could probably even use any of various kinds of vegetable oil, though they would be a bit smoky.
It looks like something that would burn lamp oil and the details for that seem to fit. You can buy lamp oil at some supermarkets and stores like Wal-Mart or Target.
Have you ever seen Tiki torches burn? You fill up the resovior and let it soak into the wick. Make sure the wick isn’t too dry when you light it because that just makes a smoky mess.
Light it. Lamp oil will smoke but maybe it will be managable.
Seems that even in 1908, whale oil must have been accessable, and likely what was used. From what I gather about whale oil, is that they used it for nearly everything, and it was a wonderful, nearly smoke free product.
I’d be careful of what kind of fuel I used, try using it without it being near food to see what it is like. I’ve been around oil lamps, and I can’t stand the smell, it permeates the atmosphere. I’d be afraid it would flavor my tea.
A samovar has a little pot on top for tea concentrate. (Tea is brewed very strong, and it is diluted with the hot water in the samovar about 10:1.) I’ve heard the Russians traditionally use dried pinecones instead of coal, which gives a piney taste to the tea that they apparently like.
Well, I suppose a mildly piney taste for some things wouldn’t be too bad, I don’t mind the taste of pine needles. Applewood or maybe hickory might be nice for some things, but lamp oil? Yick! I wonder if it was whale oil? I don’t think whale oil would give a bad flavor, if any flavor at all. I wonder if there is a special product made today, that can be used in such instances?
Paraffin is candle wax, the kind that isn’t beeswax or tallow. You wouldn’t put it in an oil lamp, however you can use paraffin candles to keep a teapot warm. Appropriately enough, they’re called “tea candles” and can be bought at drugstores.
Paraffin is mixture of various high-weight waxy hydrocarbons, sometimes used as a candle wax additive to make them glossy. But, paraffin oil is another name for kerosene.
I doubt you could use this in your tea warmer, (probably burns too hot) but apparently there is an odorless alternative to kerosene. The reason I spoke up at all, is that even “odorless” lamp oil smells bad to me, (burning or not) and I would not want to use it in close proximity to food I was going to consume. (But then again, I can’t eat food that has been around a smoker for very long either.) Try the lamp oil and be certain you can tolerate it at the least.
