A gas post lantern (I assume you mean natural gas) like any other gas appliance may be turned off with a valve and turned on when you want and relit.

They use very little fuel.

Don

One thing you might consider is that gas lamps give off very little light. At our previous house, we had one on either side of the front door and had recessed lights on the porch for the times when we needed significant light. Ours burned all the time and did not use a lot of fuel, and they really added a lot of ambience.

We had Bevolo lamps, which are really well-constructed, are supposed to use less gas than mass-manufactured lights, and were not much more expensive than the big-box store lamps.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Bevolo in New Orleans

I personally wouldn't install one of these attached to my house, maybe in the yard. Seems like a good way to burn down a house.

Gas is a very expensive source of light and a waste of a limited resource.

Gas lamps can either use an open flame (dim light) or a mantle (decent light).
Neither will start a fire under normal use since the flame is enclosed in the fixture.
Gas is far from a limited resource. We can make allthe methane we want, it just costs more than extracting it from the earth.
The reason for the rn up in gas prioces is the EPA rukles for electric generators. A cleaner fuel is cheaper to use (less stack scrubbing equipment is needed) so natural gas is being used to run electric generators.

Brick is right, they are very safe. The flame is about the size of a pilot light and completely enclosed. These lamps are on just about every building in the historic districts of New Orleans, giving off beautiful, efficient light for very little dough. North Carolina is a significantly warmer climate than the frigid north so you burn much less fuel to begin with. Don't let these factors stop you.

FYI - you can get (for extra $$) electronic ignition accessories. This permits you to turn the lamp on and off with a standard switch.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gas Products Company

My husband wanted gas lanterns badly. We currently have electric lights on both sides of the front door. Many many homes in our neighborhood have gas lanterns though. we were told the price to run the gas line and do a whole house gas line check (which is required in our town code) would be about $1200 (for both lights) but that is exclusive of the light fixtures themselves. We saw gas lanterns that were $600 and up. I didn't want to wait to order them and it seemed like such a hassle. That being said, every time I comment on a cute house on our neighborhood walks, my husband comments that it's always the ones with the gas lanterns.

Also, most of them don't put out a lot of light and they do burn all the time. A famous baseball player who had them here had his flame turned up too high and his house did catch on fire or explode or something. That's the story anyway.

I would worry about having gas lanterns attract vandals and curiosity seekers, who would damage them or start a fire.

Question: Do exterior gas lanterns work in the Northeast...Philadelphia to be exact. I love the look but just wondering why you can't use them up North.

Boston's Beacon Hill is all gas lamps.

I just found some gas lights on the Home Depot website and they start at 239.00 there, which is way less than what Ive been seeing them for…now all i need is to figure out how to get the gas line to the front door of my house??

Gas lanterns don't burn constantly nor do you want them to, it can do damage and shorten their lifespan over time. If you want more info you can check out the French Market Lanterns Knowledge Base located under customer service on their website, they are very informative when it comes to gas lantern questions.

Is this a change since 15 years ago? lol

I have originals from Philadelphia PA

Incredible...