Q&A for How to Make an Oil Lamp

If your shoelace is 100% cotton, it should be fine as long as your remove the aglets on the ends of the laces. You can try twisting it with a thin wire to give it a bit more support.

You need to make sure the wick is soaked for at least 30 minutes; the wick should be cotton; and you will need to pull the wick out from the jar since, like a regular candle, the wick is used up when it burns. You may also have tied the wick with the wire too tight, preventing the oil from being pulled up past that point.

You might want to try making your hole (in the lid) a bit bigger. If the wick you are using is pinched at all it won't allow the oil to flow to the top. Also, make sure the gap between the top of the wick and the oil level is not too big. The bigger the gap, the harder it is for the oil to get to the top.

No. At that high of a temperature, canola oil releases a toxin that is similar to the exhaust that comes from your car.

Yes. Any lipid can be used as lamp fuel, including nut oils, seed oils, tallow, lard and ghee. When my oils have gone rancid, I reserve them as lamp oil fuel. Note that food oils like these have a high viscosity, so a wick should not extend higher than 1/2 inch from the surface of the oil. Unless the wick is too large, which causes smoking, the effort will not produce toxins. Also, the canola oil-toxin issue is a myth.