Do you remember when I found this adorable electrified antique oil lantern on one of my small antique hauls?  Well, I have several old oil lanterns in our home decor room that I have collected throughout the years.  One was my grandma’s that I got after she passed.  A few of the other ones were found in the hoard at the house on Winchester Street when we cleaned it out.  I have used them within my decor several times but haven’t had them out since we moved here.  When I got the electrified one a few months ago, I decided that I needed to know how to do that to the rest of them.  Because, in my opinion, they are way more functional.  Believe it or not, it is SO EASY.  Here is how to electrify an antique oil lamp.

How to Electrify an Antique Oil Lamp

First off, I took apart the one that I found a few months ago and cleaned it.  I ran soapy water on the inside to get it nice and sparkly.  I added a silicone lightbulb and placed it within my fall decor on the kitchen countertop.  And absolutely love how it looks.  That is what got me thinking about the other ones I have.

So I did some research to see how to convert them.  The first oil lamp that I wanted to electrify has been in my stash for awhile. And I truly cannot remember where I found it. It is funny because most of the time, I remember the time and place that I find treasures, along with how much I paid, etc.  I remember being some place and telling Deb that I had to have this one because the shape was the cutest one I had ever seen.  And, knowing me, I didn’t pay much for it. But, that is it.  It is now erased from my memory bank.  Ha!

In my research…

I found that there are three sizes of oil lamp “collars” which is the part that needs converted.  FYI – I am no expert, but in my research, I found that the most common sizes are the number 1 and 2.

• Number 1 size has an opening of 7/8″

• Number 2 size has an opening of  1 -3/16″

• Number 3 size has an opening of  1 -13/16″

All you do is unscrew the old top that holds the wick, which is the same place you would pour the oil into the lamp base.  And then you screw on the electric adapters.  The adapters have a piece attached to it that holds the glass dome of the oil lamp.  It is THAT simple.  You can obviously use whatever light bulbs that you want, but I love the little night light bulbs.  We leave them on 24/7 because of the ambiance it gives our home.  And, at night, most of our big lights are off but we can still see while walking through the house.

I shared this little project over on TikTok and Instagram and I had a lot of people say they were going to try this.  Let me know if you do.  It takes 2 minutes to do, looks really cute, and you get to use something that you most likely already had.

Click here for the supplies to electrify your antique oil lanterns.