Citronella oil or lamp oil: patio torch or indoor lamp
Updated: 23 October 2026
You are choosing citronella oil or lamp oil, often with a scented CUQOO bottle in one hand and a clear paraffin in the other. They are not substitutes. Citronella in this amazon.co.uk set is an outdoor fuel with a scent, and it is the wrong default for an indoor decorative lamp. Clear unscented lamp oil is what a glass lamp is built to lift. Peter F. updated this page on 23 October 2026. The five bottles are in the [lamp oil comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/lamp-oil). We used those listings plus Business Companion and the Health and Safety Executive. We did not count mosquito bites. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are choosing citronella oil or lamp oil, often with a scented CUQOO bottle in one hand and a clear paraffin in the other. They are not substitutes.
You are choosing citronella oil or lamp oil, often with a scented CUQOO bottle in one hand and a clear paraffin in the other. They are not substitutes. Citronella in this amazon.co.uk set is an outdoor fuel with a scent, and it is the wrong default for an indoor decorative lamp. Clear unscented lamp oil is what a glass lamp is built to lift. Peter F. updated this page on 23 October 2026. The five bottles are in the lamp oil comparison. We used those listings plus Business Companion and the Health and Safety Executive. We did not count mosquito bites. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Fuel type | Scented | Stated use | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  CUQOO CUQOO citronella oil, 6 x 1 L | Citronella n-paraffin | Yes, seller | Outdoor torches | 7.0 | about £25.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  CUQOO CUQOO citronella oil, 2 L | Citronella n-paraffin | Yes, seller | Lamps and torches | 6.6 | about £12.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Clearell Clearell indoor paraffin, 5 L | C1 paraffin | No scent claimed | Heaters and lamps | 6.6 | about £19.95 | View offer |
On this page
They are not substitutes
Citronella oil here is n-paraffin plus citronella extracts, sold for torches and also described, in the bullets, as suitable for oil lamps. Clear lamp oil is colourless paraffin without a perfume, the liquid a cotton wick should draw so the flame burns vapour instead of cotton. The split is scent, thickness, and where you light it. A patio torch in moving air can live with a lemon note and a little soot on a metal cup. A table lamp under glass cannot. The soot stays on the chimney, and the scent stays in the room.
UK rules draw the same line for decorative-lamp fuels with an aspiration hazard. Business Companion says those fuels must not contain perfume or colour, and they belong in a black opaque container of no more than 1 litre, with the child warning. A scented torch oil is a different product from that indoor bottle, even when search results mix them. A colour exemption exists for Class C1 paraffin meant only for heaters. That is not permission to perfume an indoor lamp.
If the lamp is indoors, choose a clear unscented fuel and use the lamp oil buying guide before you chase a price. If the burner is an outdoor torch, citronella matches the job, with the review limit below. Fill height and wick trim are on how to fill an oil lamp.
What UK buyers reported
The CUQOO pool is 4.3 from 2,148 ratings, shared by the about £12.99 listing titled 2 litres (B092FLZ886) and the about £25.99 pack of 6 × 1 litre (B0BGLGD71W). Praise clusters on garden burners and on price. Complaints cluster on a thicker batch that smokes, a short burn, a weak lemon smell, soot in glass burners, a Feuerhand wick that burned down, and oil too thick for bamboo torches. Several reviewers say an earlier batch was thin and a later one poured like engine oil. The star average did not retire those texts.
If the cotton cannot lift the liquid, the tip dries, the wick chars, and the flame dies or smokes. A buyer who wanted gel fuel found this oil will not burn without a wick. Gel cups and wick lamps are different hardware.
Clearell, B0DTYZH29P, is the clear paraffin in this set: a stated 5 litres at about £19.95, about £3.99 a litre, titled as BS 2869 Class C1 for heaters and lamps. Reviews do not call it odourless. People report a smell from the can and on lighting. One review says it is not suitable for indoor oil lamps or candles. One heater user reports no odour once it is burning. Clear here means unscented on the label and petroleum rather than citronella. It does not mean a proven quiet indoor lamp. Barrettine's indoor lamp oil is the type this contrast points at, and that bottle is not an ASIN in the table.
The repellent line is a claim
CUQOO's bullets call the oil an insect repellent and use 100% natural. Those are seller sentences, not a UK test of mosquitoes on a patio. The Health and Safety Executive treats a product that repels a pest as a biocidal product in Great Britain, and under the EU biocidal products rules in Northern Ireland, even when it does not kill. Business Companion says there is no compelling evidence that citronella candles work as repellents, and insect pictures can mislead if the product is not an authorised repellent. Buy this oil only if you want scented outdoor fuel and the torch can burn it.
We did not capture the CLP labels, so this page does not call the CUQOO bottles illegal. If the bottle you receive is torch fuel, keep it outdoors. A faint lemon smell is not a reason to bring a thick oil inside.
If you still want the scented oil
Stay outdoors. Take B0BGLGD71W at about £25.99 when you want six stated litres at about £4.33 a litre. Take B092FLZ886 at about £12.99 when you want the smaller titled quantity and you accept that litres per bottle are not stated. Same review pool, same 2,148 ratings. Neither pack includes a wick in the captured text. Both say wait 5 minutes and do not leave a lamp unattended.
Skip citronella for indoor glass, when the oil you trust is as thick as engine oil, or when the hardware is a hurricane lantern. Do not thin a thick bottle with kerosene. That mix is not on these listings, and it is not a Feuerhand instruction. Empty a cold lamp and change fuel.
Indoors, the only unscented petroleum fuel here is Clearell's C1 can, and only if the manual allows it. If the manual asks for low-odour lamp oil, the smell reviews are the reason to look outside this set. The hurricane lantern fuel page covers a storm lantern, where fragrance oils are on the refuse list.
Common questions
Can I use citronella oil indoors?
Not as the default for a decorative oil lamp. CUQOO is scented, the UK rule on aspiration-hazard lamp fuels excludes perfume, and reviews describe soot and thick batches in glass burners. An outdoor torch matches the title on the 6-pack. A bullet that also says oil lamps does not override the smell, the thickness, or your manual. Opening a window does not turn torch oil into indoor lamp oil.
Will it keep mosquitoes away?
Do not expect that from these listings. The repellent line is seller text. Business Companion says citronella candles lack compelling evidence as repellents, and the Health and Safety Executive treats repellents as biocidal products. We did not test bites. Buy the oil as torch fuel, or do not buy it. A lemon smell, strong or weak, is not a mosquito count.
Why did my glass lamp soot up?
Either the flame is too high, or the wick is burning cotton because it cannot lift the oil. With CUQOO, reviewers report soot, smoke, and oil that poured like engine oil, including in glass burners. Lower the wick if you are sure the fuel is thin clear lamp oil. If you poured this citronella and the glass blackened quickly, treat the oil as the cause, let the lamp go cold, and empty it.
Is CUQOO the same as clear lamp oil?
No. CUQOO is citronella n-paraffin, scented on the seller's description. Clear lamp oil is unscented and colourless, which is what indoor wick lamps are usually specified for. The shared 4.3 from 2,148 reviews the citronella listings, not a clear indoor oil. A pale colour in an older batch does not make the scented listing the same product.
Which pack, 2 litres or 6 × 1 litre?
Choose the 6 × 1 litre at about £25.99 when you want a stated litre size and about £4.33 a litre for outdoor torches. Choose the about £12.99 title when you want less oil and you accept an unclear split inside the 2 litre wording. The review pool is the same. The 6-pack is more of the same liquid, not a thinner one, if the batch matches the listing you read.
Is Clearell the clear alternative in this set?
It is the unscented petroleum option: a stated 5 litres of C1 paraffin at about £19.95 for heaters and lamps. It is not odourless in the reviews, and one buyer rejects it for indoor oil lamps and candles. Use it when the manual asks for C1 and you accept a paraffin smell. If you need a small bottle sold only as low-odour decorative lamp oil, Clearell is the wrong shape of product even though it is clearer than citronella.
Related pages
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.
- Business Companion: candles, diffusers and oil heaters (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: kerosene general information (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- SI 1999/2084 decorative lamp fuels (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- HSE: biocides scope (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- NHS: poisoning (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: oil lamps (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- Barrettine indoor lamp oil label (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- Barrettine premium paraffin (retrieved 23 October 2026)
- Feuerhand: fuel for a storm lantern (retrieved 23 October 2026)