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Lamp oil UK: match the bottle to the lamp you already own

Updated: 23 October 2026

You already have the lamp, the torch, or the diya, and the amazon.co.uk results all answer to lamp oil UK. That phrase covers four liquids, and the wrong one soots the glass, smells through the room, or sits in the font while the wick chars. This guide sorts the families first. The five bottles are lined up in the [lamp oil comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/lamp-oil). Peter F. updated this page on 23 October 2026 from those listings and public UK sources. We did not burn the oils in a lab. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Named skips for each job are on the [best lamp oil](/hub/diy-supplies/lamp-oil/sub/lamp-oil-best) page.

You already have the lamp, the torch, or the diya, and the amazon.co.uk results all answer to lamp oil UK.

Our top picks

CUQOO CUQOO citronella oil, 6 x 1 L

Best overall

CUQOO CUQOO citronella oil, 6 x 1 L
7.0/10about £25.99
View offer
Clearell Clearell indoor paraffin, 5 L

Best value

Clearell Clearell indoor paraffin, 5 L
6.6/10about £19.95
View offer
Generic Dheepam lamp oil, 1 L

Alternative

Generic Dheepam lamp oil, 1 L
5.7/10about £8.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Four fuels share the name
  2. 2.What UK rules change on the bottle
  3. 3.Where the five amazon.co.uk bottles sit
  4. 4.Price is the last check

Four fuels share the name

Start with the lamp, not the search box. An indoor decorative lamp wants colourless, unscented lamp oil that a cotton wick can lift. A garden torch can take scented citronella if that batch still pours and climbs. A diya is a small ceremonial burner, not a reason to buy a 5 litre heater can. A hurricane lantern, often a Feuerhand type, wants the thin clear fuel its maker names. The hurricane lantern fuel page applies that list to a storm lantern. In the UK, paraffin is the household name for this kerosene-type fuel. It is not paraffin wax. Citronella torch oil is n-paraffin plus a scent. Ceremonial oil here is a 1 litre mineral-oil listing or a blend of five unnamed oils. Class C1 is the BS 2869 grade for flueless heaters. Crown Oil names wick-fed lamps as one use, with a published minimum flash point of 43°C. Barrettine's premium C1 page says that can is not for lamps or torches. The lamp manual wins when it names a fuel.

What UK rules change on the bottle

Decorative-lamp fuels with an aspiration hazard follow a UK packaging rule set out by Business Companion and earlier by SI 1999/2084. A scented torch oil and a small black bottle of indoor lamp oil are not the same product, even when both say lamp oil. There is a colour exemption when the paraffin is Class C1 and meant only for heaters. BS EN 14059 is a standard for the lamp, not a grade of the liquid. We did not have the CLP labels for these five ASINs, so this page does not call any of them non-compliant. Read the bottle you receive. If the child warnings are missing on a fuel sold for a decorative indoor lamp, stop and check rather than guess. Fit a carbon monoxide alarm where oil is burned indoors.
CUQOO CUQOO citronella oil, 6 x 1 L

Testsieger

CUQOO CUQOO citronella oil, 6 x 1 L
7.0/10about £25.99
View offer

Where the five amazon.co.uk bottles sit

The two CUQOO listings, B092FLZ886 and the 6-pack B0BGLGD71W, are scented citronella and share 4.3 from 2,148 ratings, one pool. Reviews praise garden burners and also describe thick oil, soot, a weak lemon smell, and lamps that would not stay alight. Litres per bottle are not split on the smaller listing. Dheepam B0BR5Z5SKT is sold for diyas as purified mineral oil, 4.0 from 13 ratings. Six texts include clean burns in clay and brass, and one that says the oil does not burn. Two texts mention a scented blend. B0DB1S7Y5T is two 500 ml bottles of five unnamed plant oils, with one rating and no review text. Clearell B0DTYZH29P carries BS 2869 Class C1 for heaters and lamps, 4.3 from 21 ratings. Reviews do not call it odourless, and one rejects it for indoor oil lamps and candles.

Price is the last check

Sort by family, then by pounds per stated litre. Clearell is about £3.99 a litre, the CUQOO 6-pack about £4.33, and the CUQOO title about £6.50 if 2 litres is the whole pack. The Dheepam 1 litre at about £8.99 sits near specialist clear oils off Amazon at roughly £6 to £9. The five-oil pack is about £13 a litre. Those bands are a rule of thumb from this capture, not a live price check. Bird Brand at £9.35 and Barrettine indoor at £5.55 are specialist bottles outside these five rows.

Common questions

What oil do I put in an indoor oil lamp?
Use a colourless, unscented lamp oil unless the lamp maker names another liquid. In the UK that is refined paraffin sold for lamps, often in a small dark bottle with the child warning. This set has no Bird Brand or Barrettine indoor bottle. Clearell is C1 paraffin for heaters and lamps, and reviews dispute the smell indoors, so read the manual before you treat the 5 litre can as table-lamp fuel.
Is paraffin the same as lamp oil in the UK?
Paraffin is the household name for kerosene-type fuel, which is the family indoor lamp oil comes from. Heater paraffin, citronella torch oil, and a small unscented lamp-oil bottle can all be paraffin and still behave differently in a wick. Match the label to the lamp. An American paraffin oil page is not UK law and not these listings.
Can I use Class C1 heater paraffin in a decorative lamp?
Only if that lamp's instructions allow it. C1 is the BS 2869 grade for flueless burners. Some suppliers name wick-fed lamps, and Barrettine sells a premium C1 it says is not for lamps or torches. Clearell's title says heaters and lamps, and one review says the smell rules it out for indoor oil lamps and candles. The class on the can is not a lamp approval.
Is citronella oil a lamp oil?
It appears in lamp-oil searches, and the CUQOO bullets name oil lamps as well as torches. In this set it is scented n-paraffin for outdoor burners. UK rules limit perfume in decorative-lamp fuels that carry the aspiration hazard, and reviews describe thick, smoky batches. Use it in an outdoor torch that accepts scent. Do not treat the insect line as a test.
What should I buy for a diya?
Buy a small ceremonial bottle, unless you already know a 5 litre heater can suits the diya. Here that is Dheepam's 1 litre at about £8.99, with a thin mixed sample, or the two 500 ml five-oil pack if you want that blend and can accept one rating and no review text. The 1 litre listing is the one with texts about clay and brass lamps. Neither is hurricane-lantern fuel.
What must the label say about children?
Business Companion says those fuels must warn you to keep filled lamps out of the reach of children, and that a sip, or sucking the wick, may lead to life-threatening lung damage. They also belong in a black opaque container of no more than 1 litre, without perfume or colour, with a colour exemption for C1 meant only for heaters. We did not capture these five labels. If oil is swallowed, do not induce vomiting, and use 999 or NHS 111.

Related pages

Citronella oil or lamp oil

Lamp oil

Best lamp oil UK: the right bottle for the lamp you own

How to fill an oil lamp and light it without smoke

Hurricane lantern fuel: what a storm lantern can burn

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Shelf prices are from the stored captures, not a live re-check on 21 October 2026. Updated 23 October 2026.

  1. Business Companion: candles, diffusers and oil heaters (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK: kerosene general information (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  3. SI 1999/2084 decorative lamp fuels (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  4. HSE: biocides scope (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  5. NHS: poisoning (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  6. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: oil lamps (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  7. Barrettine indoor lamp oil label (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  8. Barrettine premium paraffin (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  9. Feuerhand: fuel for a storm lantern (retrieved 23 October 2026)