Petromax is a brand name for a type of pressurised

paraffin lamp A kerosene lamp (also known as a paraffin lamp in some countries) is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. Kerosene lamps have a wick or mantle as light source, protected by a glass chimney or globe; lamps may be used on a t ...

( US: kerosene lamp) that uses a

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

. They are as synonymous with the paraffin lamp in

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

as Tilley lamps are in Britain and Coleman lanterns are in the United States.

History

The Petromax lamp was created in 1910 in Germany by

Max Graetz Max Graetz (1861-1936) was the President/CEO of the Ehrich & Graetz firm in Berlin. He was also the main inventor. Between 1900-1916 he invented the Petromax lantern. Ehrich & Graetz was a big metalworks firm until the Second World War. See als ...

(1851–1937), who also named the brand, on the basis of a spirit lamp that was already well-known. Graetz was president of the firm

Ehrich & Graetz The Ehrich & Graetz metalworks was a factory established in 1866 in Berlin by Albert Graetz (1831–1901) and the tradesman Emil Ehrich (died 1887) under the name "Lampen-Fabrik Ehrich & Graetz OHG" (E&G). The logo of the firm was two seahorse-l ...

in Berlin, which developed the lamp, and also the primary designer. He had wanted to create a lighting system fueled by paraffin, which was then a new product. Graetz invented a process to make a gas out of paraffin; which has a very high caloric value and could make a very hot blue flame. Graetz then designed a pressure lamp, working with vaporized paraffin. To start this process, the lamp was preheated with methylated spirit (denatured alcohol), in later models with an integrated blow torch called "Rapidstarter" running from the paraffin tank directly. In a closed tank, paraffin was pressurised with a hand pump. The heat produced by the mantle was then used to vaporize the paraffin, which is mixed with air and blown in to mantle to burn. Around the year 1916, the lantern and its name started to spread around the world. The name Petromax derives from "Petroleum" and "Max Graetz". The design was such a success that it still is being used to this day. The name Petromax has become synonymous with paraffin pressure lamps in many countries. The design of the lamps was later used to create a cooker based on the same principles. In many countries "Petromax" is a registered Trademark, e.g. for the US by Britelyt Inc. or for Germany and some other European countries by Pelam International Ltd. The Petromax design has been often copied, today such as by Tower in China, Lea Hin in Indonesia or Prabhat in India.

References

External links

Short history of Petromax and Graetz
{{Artificial light sources Lighting brands Oil lamp

History

See also

References

External links