Made in China, my little oil burning insert cost me less than three quid and took a fortnight for delivery to the UK. The insert is made from turned aluminium and comes with a silicone gasket for the main body. There is no gasket between lid and body. Small and large sizes are available and I purchased the smaller. Dimensions are 46.5mm tall, 28mm diameter. Various colours are available, mine is gold coloured. I purchased mine specifically to use in a UCO candle lantern, but with a great deal more care, it could be used free-standing. If used in that way, the flame can be extinguished by putting the cap on top.

The inserts come without wicks but that was no problem as I already had some spare wicks knocking around for my zippo lighters so used one of those, trimmed as necessary. I used some old lamp oil with added citronella that I had knocking around. Citronella also has the modest ability of discouraging mozzies, so adding to a possible appeal of using this candle alternative around camp or garden in the summer months. The wick has to be adjusted so that barely any is poking out of the metal oil canister, otherwise it will smoke a great deal. If allowed to smoke excessively, not only will it create a fug, but will also burn through the oil too quickly and soot up the glass chimney.

The insert has quite a small 10ml capacity and will only burn for up to three hours with a full fill and small wick. This is far less than the standard nine-hour candles from UCO or their more expensive 12-hour beeswax candles. If that isn’t a long enough burn time for you, use one of the larger and taller inserts also easily available on AliExpress and eBay that burn for far longer.

Don’t expect too much from this type of lantern. It is never going to rival anything an LED can knock out. However it does provide ambiance and a modicum of heat. Use it in a tent with great care as modern materials don’t mix well with flames. Also, lamp oil is slippery stuff that will get everywhere if not stored and poured with care. I have read various reviews from other users of these little replacement inserts. I especially liked a comment from one user regarding the associated danger of using one of these without due care in a tent- “A good tent burns at a rate of one hundred American dollars per second“. You have been warned!

• UCO Candle Lanterns, old school light and heat
• UCO Candle Lantern accessories
• UCO Candle Lantern- servicing