Holes in Coleman Mantles

Good morning everyone,
Just wanted to mention as I dont know if I am crazy, or have the coleman 21 mantels taken a nose dive in quality?
I have been playing around with mantles as I have had two new projects, a Coleman 220 from Canada, Coleman 220e and 220h I have had forever as well as the Coleman 159x pressure lamp.

The 220H has mantles on it that I put on YEARS ago, probably in the late 90's. They were still good, and I just put fresh fuel and lit it up.

I had an extra pack so I put one on the Coleman 200, then ordered some new Coleman 21 mantles from Amazon for the 220E and the 159x pressure lamp.

I have had nothing but problems.

The *new* mantles are terrible. I have had holes or unclosed seams that develop holes. I have had them disintegrate and the only thing I am doing is lighting the lantern, looking at it run...shut it down and hang the lantern on a nail in the garage. Matter of fact the 220H has hung on the same nail for years...never an issue.

Same on the 159x pressure lamp. Fell apart as there was a hole in the mantle. I tossed 2 packs on the 159x just trying to get a mantle to not have a hole in it (most were unclosed seams)

So I went to order something else to see if they are the problem or if its me (dont think its me) I dont think its me at all actually as I went to a sporting goods store to see what brands they had other than coleman. They had other mantles pretty cheap and were according to the girl working there "as good as the coleman 21 mantles"

So I brought those home and tried them, and that was a relief that I was not crazy. They have held up just fine and didnt start with any holes. I have lit the 220E with those mantles like 5-6 times over the weekend, no holes develop or were there from the beginning and since I tied them, they haven't moved at all.

They didnt have these other mantles but had another brand so I am going to try those out too.

Thoughts??

 

Do you still have the plastic packing for the Coleman #21?
Are they the green packs or red packs?
What was the other brand which you had tried and survived intact without developing holes?

 

I can only point to two threads from a while ago.. one has a video but they are both worth reading.. if you type in the titles in the search bar you can find them

 

@MYN Yes I do!!!
Here is what I have. From left to right:

Red bag (had two of these with holes already right when I installed them)

White smaller bag (later replacements from Amazon and made sure not to get the red labels but these had a seam hole and a regular hole as well)

Larger white bag (older bag from the 2000's that I've had forever and hadn't used... But now looking at them it's a bigger more rubbery bag than the new really crinkling bag on the new product)

Last bag on the right (stansport from sporting shop... They're holding up normally with no holes or seam rips)

 

@podbros thanks man .. Looking now.

I'm ordering a different brand and they're coming Wednesday. Hopefully they work

 

Yes - I too have switched away - unless I find "older" ones. My now go-to is the Peerless 2C-HG. These seems to last ages, and put up with a bit of knocking about.
I get them from a NZ company SINGLE-TIE MANTLES - Just Mantles

 

@podbros the exact same that was on the video. I literally light the mantle and watch holes develop. Thanks...thought I was crazy.

@Fireexit1 Yep thats the brand I bought. In my old gear I had some baggies from Joshua Tree National Park store that were made by "Century" but I dont think they make those now, but do remember seeing Peerless before a long time ago and dont remember anything special that was bad (bought them...lit them...used them...worked) so I got those.

It was pissing me off actually because I just bought them and figured it was fine.

If you look at this photo you can see that there are two different mantle sizes going on here because when I lit these one developed holes and I was out,so I used a sock tied mantle (not the clip one) and it was a completely different size.

 

Side note...all the mantles that have failed on me so far have the same logo in the bottom right "easy light" with the arrow, and they're made in india.

 

Yes some Indian made mantles are good others not so. I guess the increased margin to Coleman was too much to resist.

 

There had been numerous issues on some batches of both Coleman and Peerless mantles. Developing holes, tearing apart too easily, etc.
On the Coleman green/white packets, I've yet to experience issues, except for a slight yellowish hued light. Some had bad experience on a particular batch a while back. Same goes for the red packs. However, it seems they have improved on that. Perhaps, it could be an older problematic stock? On recent reviews over at the Coleman Collectors Forum and elsewhere, there had been some excellent results obtained from using the red packs(improved later versions). Some had even mentioned close performance comparisons with the older, iconic Coleman Silk Lite mantles.
The initial batches of Peerless from India had similar issues as well but had since improved on their products after numerous complaints from users Worldwide.

 

@MYN so based on that...the general consensus is that it looks like I got an older batch.

I'm curious if there's a brand that just makes decent mantles that haven't changed anything lately on. Something constant.

Some of those articles mentioned other brands... If the ones I ordered don't cut it I'll try something else.

As for the older Coleman mantles I had .. I've pumped and lit all three lanterns I have with them and so far they're holding (usually the lighting stage is where they're breaking up) I guess it's too much to take a lantern down from a nail and pump it.. Light it and shut it down in my garage on the bad mantles. Never hard that happen before...

 

That'd be hard to guess unless you contact the actual manufacturers. The older established brands would be good to get hold of.

 

I have had sucess with older clear/white/green coleman ones, as well as the (Canadian ?) clear and gold packets. The current Peerless ones are made by Auerlicht india and have had no issues with them. The solid green coleman ones have fared a little better than the cheap chinese "testers" I buy. I have never had the red ones.

 

@MYN Agreed. In the state its in if I was to go on a trip with the wife and took a lantern along, its better to take a few packs of mantles than just one.

@Fireexit1 for me I based on the packaging I will probably steer very clear of any of the Coleman marked crinkly bag made in INDIA for now. The older style in the larger bag made in USA (bag feels like a plastic sandwich bag and doesn't make a crinkly sound) are fine so far. I have started up one of my lanterns with the 21A's from america enough times (over 20) to satisfy me that they are fine. Not a problem yet.

Just for some laughs for you though...a canadian 200 lantern I have chews through the bad mantles really fast. If a mantle is going to make a hole or fall apart its usually on the first light or when the lantern is started with a bad mantle. The bad mantles do not last more than 5 starts before dissolving.

Im curious about the peerless mantles coming tomorrow.

 

@Remus1956
Since you're in the US, perhaps it might be easier to get your Peerless mantles from American Mantles. There are the authorized distributors over there and certainly trustable. I believe they do have the radioactive ones as well.
The Peerless are no longer made in the Philippines. All of them are currently made in India by Indo Auerlicht.

 

I did notice a relationship between rust on the insde of the air tube(s) and blowholes in mantles. I suspect tiny bits of rust get propelled against the mantle. Sometimes I find bits of rust trapped in them.

 

@MYN Yes! Thats the plan today actually. I am going to stop at a hardware chain store that on the website sells "american mantles" and its come up in a few of the posts I have read. Im going to try them later on tonight.

@Fireexit1 hmmmmmmmm. Now you make me want to check! I am pretty good about cleaning things up with vinegar and on the lanterns I have mentioned they have all been soaked in it and brushed clean in water and heated dry (did in a toaster oven) But yeah...regarding stoves when I clean the same way I see the occasional sparks flying from the burner now and again.

 

That point about "Rust Bullets or Bombs" seems an interesting one. Hadn't thought about that much.

 

Ok so...
@MYN I went out to get the American mantles. They're a dollar cheaper than the Coleman 21a tie type...and they're plenty here.
Interesting... They're like silk lites in the sense that they're big net weave (if that makes sense) and seemed to be tough.
Took the stansport mantles off the 220e lantern and had the wife tie on the new ones to test. The stansport took 29 starts (pumped the lantern cold...used a lighter with the globe off to light...and ran for 5 minutes on a timer)

They're great mantles... They're a little yellow but I think it will get brighter after time.

Now waiting on peerless tomorrow haha

Old stansport mantles


Wife tying the knots (I hate doing it haha)


American mantles on left, old Coleman 21 (American made) on the right


American mantles


Coleman 21 (American made)

 

Great to know @Remus1956
You've got a reliable source there. If you prefer whiter light, then you might want to try out some thorium(radioactive) mantles. The older Coleman Silk Lite mantles were thorium but no longer produced. They were coarse-weave mantles. They were some of the best for the Coleman.
The mantles from USA and the older classics from elsewhere usually have stouter tie-strings.
A lot of generic, non-branded ones from China have tie-strings that are less manageable. They are less expensive by a large margin. Quality Control would be a gamble most of the time. Sometimes, they're fine, other times, they're simply intolerable.
Most wouldn't complain much, since they're almost 'dirt-cheap', and nothing much to loose.
Nice that you've got a wife to sort out those delicate work for you.
The generic mantles that we usually purchase online from China have some of the most incredibly difficult-to-handle tie-strings for those with 'fatter' fingers .

 

Thanks for all the photos and the testing.. It must be so frustrating to watch a mantle tear open a hole even as it is burning in ?

A yellow ish light can be a good thing..

The Stansport mantles looked ok as well?

I just seem to have clumsy fingers.. hopeless with any sort of string or thread so would welcome an ‘insta-clip’ or ‘happy mantle’

 

@MYN I have some of the silk lites somewhere in my garage actually. When I googled them I remember the packaging. Now that I know theyre no longer made I will probably hang them up and look at them (I think I would have only a couple if I did have any)

The american mantle were BIG as in wide. When installing them and tying the knot we had to move the materials around to evenly spread out the sock. Its not an issue though, but dont remember having to do that with the older Coleman type.

I see the chinese mantles all the time on Amazon...I dont know maybe...but this whole testing thing for mantles is just me wanting to find a brand of mantles that doesnt dissolve or get holes after 5 lights. The reviews on the chinese ones are decent though

Yeah the wife doesnt have a problem helping me out with the mantles or fuel for stoves, but I secretly think that she's smart and figured if she gets me fuel for stoves I will cook dinner on the stoves (IE she can sit and watch anime on the couch) haha

Later today I will get the peerless mantles...and will install them on my 159x coleman lamp to try out. I will put some photos up later.

 

@podbros No worries! YEAH MAN...imagine lighting a mantle and watching it just pop a hole without even putting fuel to it. Weird
I dont mind the yellow light or white light...as long as there is bright enough light at camp for cards and cooking haha. The yellow light is easier on my eyes actually but as of this morning the american mantles are burning whiter.

Yeah...surprise surprise but the stansport mantles were good to go for me actually. They're longer and more grape shaped but took a screwdriver to jab them off the lantern. I would not have an issue with them and the light was decent. No holes after almost 30 lights (I think I did 29 lights on them)

Well I hate the string type and have a hard time with them. Wife figured it out fast. She pre-tied the string on a pen marker about the size of the jet. She put the marker to the jet and just slid it up. Straightened it all out and cinched it up. That was her 2nd mantle in her life and she figured out a system haha.

 

@MYN @Fireexit1
Ok... so mostly positives and not so much a negative but I'll get to that.
The peerless mantles came in late but I had time to test.
The surprise to me was that they're made with Thorium and I can't understand why when it was not listed in the description. I managed to dig up my very small supply of silk lites and those will send my meter through the roof but I'm comparison the thorium in the peerless were not as strong but strong enough I would not want to make tea with them haha.

The only negative is the quality...and it's not too bad but the socks were more open on the top and so when you tie them there's more material to adjust around. Also how they threaded the strings through them was crooked but worked. The thread itself was different than the others and seemed to want to break up in your fingers in fibers but they didn't break and tied on ok.
They're bright and seem to be really sturdy but as I said it was late when Amazon delivered them so I got about 2 lights on them before going to bed. I tapped a wrench on the side of the handle to see if they would break but they didn't and looking at them this morning they look good to go to me at least...

Peerless thorium mantles compared to silk lites (radioactive)



Label on the peerless



Warming up (used a preheat cup to light the mantles and preheat generator)


Chernobyl (hahahaha)

 

Looks good from where I am sitting. The peerless ones are available either thorated or yttrium(ed) ? Anyway - keep testing !

 

@Fireexit1 yeah but how can you tell unless you have a radiation meter? The listing on amazon just states they are mantles haha

 

Nice setups.
Great to have a counter meter to measure and verify that it is radioactive.
What were the readings of the Coleman Silk Lites and the Peerless 2C-HG?

 

And honestly, at this point my order of preference is from best to worst...any of these are better than the current coleman products.

 

@MYN I have a house full of weird stuff...haha
Silk Lites - 0.5 MR/HR
Peerless - 0.3-0.34 MR/HR

Adjusting the 10th scale my meter has a check source for 3.3 for calibration (cal date 2019) and its dead on.

 

Great to know. @Remus1956
I did check the radioactivity of some of my Peerless(24-A) mantles a while back. I have both the radioactive and non-thorium ones.
The thoria ones were made by Indo Auerlicht, India. The Yttrium(I guess) or non-radioactive ones were made in the Philippines, probably by the Gasman Mantle Manufacturing Corp.