# How (not) to pre-burn a mantle



## yuandrew (Jul 1, 2006)

I'm heading up to Yosemite tomorrow for a three day camping trip. Anyway, I went and picked up a Coleman Northstar lantern since I didn't own a gas light myself. (I'm also bringing my River Rock 2aaa, a Magled 2D, and my uncle has the River Rock lantern and some other lights I can't remember right now) 

So just a few minuites ago, I decide to pre-burn the mantle it came with but unfortunately, I must have not done it right since I sucsceeded in makeing a gaping hole in the side. I pre-burned the mantle by lighting it with a burning match all the way around.

Is there a certain way I should handle my next mantle and pre-burn it so I don't get the big hole I have now? I did test it out in the yard without the glass and it is bright enough to light the place up except for the hole in the mantle where there is a large flame shooting out.

Anyway, once I'm there; are there any good places I should check out?


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## Topper (Jul 1, 2006)

Well you do not want to use that one,big holes are a no no. Did you touch the match head to the mantle? I have 3 propane lanterns and have used Coleman mantles and other cheaper mantles and normally do not have any problems. Make sure the match does not touch the mantle and just light one small spot on the bottom and let it slowly smolder up and around by it self. That should work fine. I have one mantle I know is at least 16 years old I bought the lantern before my son was born and I have never had to change it. One of my double mantle lanterns crumbles one mantle darn near every time I put it in the car just one side for some reason. I always keep several packs of mantles around just to make sure.
Hope that helps.
Topper


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## VidPro (Jul 3, 2006)

what he said, plus
i never preburn a mantle, untill i get where i am going to use it.
its like trying to keep a hunk of ASH suspended in mid air 
i always straighten and globe out the mantle before burning it, because once it is ash, its stuck there. i make believe that if i get it all in the shape that it will end up in,after burned, then there will be less stress on it.
by preshaping it, i have not gotten holes.
at any rate bring an extra, no 2 extras 
and again like topper said, dont try and start it with a match all around, light one area, that way as it shrinks to fit it will do so more evenly


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## rider (Jul 3, 2006)

Some manufacturers are now selling apparently non-flammable mantles made in China, among them Century and Coleman.

After ruining several mantles (and I have been using mantle lanterns for decades and know what I'm doing), I found some US-made Coleman mantles and some Austrian made GAZ mantles for the Century lamp. Both of them burned as expected and seem plenty durable.

I have also not been able to find ANY certification that the Indian and Chinese mantles are thorium free (directly contacting the manufacturers has not helped). No reason to expose yourself to radiation if it's not necessary. Most European and US-made mantles that I'm aware of are not radioactive.


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## Tom_Dunn (Jul 3, 2006)

A few years back Coleman sold "Gold Top" heavy duty mantles, and they actually were! I suspect thats why they quit making them.
On a similar note, I just recieved a old single-mantle Coleman, shipped to me from Arizona. No special packageing, just a box that had held two 1-gallon cans and newspaper packing. I was in disbelief to find it arrived, USPS, with the mantle intact! Previous owner said it's been on there for years!


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## cy (Jul 3, 2006)

best way to pre-burn a mantle is not at all. light it at the camp site. 

when you ignite mantle, light lantern normally. if you let burn for at least 30 min or longer before turning off. mantle seems to be more stable. 

most importantly transport lantern in protective case, lined with soft rags. that's how I transport my coleman lanterns and my mantles last a long time.


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## yuandrew (Jul 4, 2006)

Well, I'm back from camp and I figured it out; I might have accidently brushed the mantle with the match on my first attempt. Even then, it did stay intact from the time I left my house to the time I reached Housekeeping Camp. I took my bad one off and got a new one on and pre-burned successfully on the second try.

Haveing said that, the NorthStar did a great job of flooding the area with light for the last three nights. I think I got around 8-10 hours on one can of gas; mostly on low with maybe an hour or three on high. The last use was just last night and it kept going for a good hour and a half from the time I lit it at 8:45pm to just a few mins past 10 when it started to flicker then flare a bit before finally going out. I put a spare tank on and used it until 11:30pm

The MagLED 2D worked great as well for looking in the food lockers and for trips to the bathroom as well as for spotting out other campers and animals. I also used it to walk down to a small "beach" along the Merced river near our camp site on Sunday night and it had plenty of side spill for walking as well as a good hotspot for locating others. There were some people, probably climbers camping out on the side of a cliff to the right of Upper falls that night as well; I noticed a white LED light up on the cliff and shined the MagLED towards it then flashed the light a few times and whoever was up there flashed a light back at me. I think they were around a good 2 miles away.


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## Steelwolf (Jul 7, 2006)

The Northstar is a beaut. I've got the petrol/whitegas version. I still have it somewhere. Worked great for all those overnight fishing trips. It typically lasted the entire night on a setting just under full. And it was the brightest thing ever.

I don't use it much now, since I don't go overnight fishing anymore. It doesn't seem worth the trouble with the pre-heat and the long cooling time and the very expensive mantles. And I always seem to bust a mantle every other trip, so the cost builds up very fast. Whenever my local camping shop had a sale, I'd go in and buy as many mantles as possible.


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## cy (Jul 7, 2006)

my mantles have been going strong for the last 4+ years. 

key to making your mantles last is how you pack your lantern. And how you transport them. 

both my lanterns live inside a protective hard shell case with soft rags cushioning shocks.


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## cogit8r (Jul 10, 2006)

Please be cautious when pre-burning a mantle. Many foreign made mantles contain small amounts of radioactive thorium. It probably won't hurt you if you breath the smoke, but why take the chance? See here:


http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/9601/msg00135.html


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