New style of Chinese mantles

hi everyone.

A new style of 'Fabric lantern mantles' are now available on eBay. They're Chinese made and 'cheap as chips' as we say in the UK so of course I have ordered 20 to test. Here's what they look like...







The ones I found were roughly £3.50 for 20 in postage. When they arrive I'll give them a go on a couple of different lanterns, both kero and WG and post the results.

 

Hi Colin,

Thanks for posting this and I'm looking forward to seeing your results.

Cheers,
Norman

 

Yes, Colin, I would like to see, too. Don't think I'll be purchasing any since I have loads and loads of #21 Coleman, Tilleys, and Bialaddins. I bought them in bulk when the opportunity came around over the years but I would still be interested in the quality of these. At that price you could afford to use them for testing before you attach a good, expensive mantel.

 

Hi Colin,
will you be so kind, to share the link to that offer, pls.
Per pn.
Many thanks.

 

Here's a link to the mantles I've just purchased. I had to search for a seller who posted to the Scottish Highlands but for any other place in the UK or Europe there are more options.

 

Thanks for posting the link.

 

Hmm eBay text tells, those are non radioactive.
Seems the china mantles in red are non radioactive.
While the free colored are active...

 

I have tried these and found them to be bright despite being non radioactive. They also seem fairly durable. Can't beat the price. Mine arrived in blue Anchor packaging.

 

I have been using the green ones since someone reported on them a year or two ago, the listing for these looks the same other than the color. Interesting.

 

That could have been me!

The Chinese green sock type originally came in Butterfly branded plastic packets but the last two orders arrived unbranded and were no longer individually wrapped. They still work OK though. Looking at them photos, they seem identical to the green sock types so it'll be interesting to see what turns up.

 

It was Colin, I checked. The green topped ones I got were all Butterfly packaged and have been very good runners for me, I have quite a few left. I couldn't help myself, went and ordered a few of these pink topped ones to try out, scheduled to arrive near the end of January. That will give me something to look forward to in the cold, dark, slow winter.

 

That's about as cheap as you would get for smaller quatities.
They are definitely worth buying whatever the outcome. In most cases, they burn well enough although I've had a rare batch that probably missed the chemical dip process and crumbled apart like cigarrete ash when lighted.
The tie cords are lighter and thinner compared to the standard modern Coleman no.21.
In my case, similar(probably same) Butterfly-branded ones burn somewhat whiter than the newer Coleman no.21 but considerably cheaper. At this point of time, I don't think you'd get any current production mantles at that kind of price from anywhere else except China.

 

It’ll be interesting to see the test results.
Cheers
Pete

 

The tie cords are often weaker than regular mantles and you need to be careful when tightening them!

 

It would be difficult to compare some. You need to measure the radiation level,
put them the same way on
the same burning lantern, same pressure etc.,
measure the light output with a light meter.

But you can find all the lantern collectors easy on a map ;-)
Map | Gammasense

 

*UPDATE*

The new style Chinese mantles arrived today.



These were the pink topped ones at the bottom. I have showed the previous green topped Chinese mantles for comparison.



They are maybe 10% smaller, with a much thinner, stronger tie cord.

I decided to fit the new mantle onto a 335 (339 conversion) that had been working very sucessfully with a green top.





The thinner tie was harder to fix on but much stronger.



I used the meths (denatured alcohol) to burn in the mantle and added 30 pumps to pressurise the fount.



With roughly 1mm of meths left I opened the control valve to inflate the 'sock' and then slowly opened the valve. These are bright mantles!

They are smaller than the green top variety but no less bright although I would say the illumination has a slightly more yellowish hue.



One small hole is visible in the weave but it doesn't seem to affect the burn or the light output.

After a short while I opened the valve all the way.



As you can see, the new pink top mantles work well and would probably suit the smaller, one mantle lamps such as the Coleman 200, 249 or 282.

Overall I'm very pleased with them.

 

Colin these new mantles look good thank for sharing your results.

Cheers,
Norman

 

Thanks for the update, the photos look good. Hopefully mine will arrive before too much longer.

 

@ColinG
Thanks for the update, I’ll try to get some of these. The earlier link you provided was good however I got a message saying that the seller doesn’t export to Australia........ Go figure ..... I’ll search around.
Cheers
Pete

 

I also noticed that they seem to be more flexible without breaking. A used mantle feels softer as well. This is compared to the Peerless.

 

Good light there, Colin.
I am guessing those pink tops are non-radioactive if they glow with a slight yellowish hue. That's in general but there are always exceptions.
I do notice that the Yttrium types are somewhat stronger or more flexible than the Thorium types, at least when we're comparing those from the same manufacturer. A second, third or more opinions are always welcomed nevertheless.

 

Indeed, if anyone has any thoughts about these new mantles, it would be good to get a few more opinions.

 

That is a mighty fine lantern. Thanks for the information on the mantles. My 335 runs the Peerless 24-A well. I will have to try these.

 

I spotted these too a while ago and they arrived today from China after about 3 weeks from ordering. It takes that long to get them. In the packet I also found some huge ones called ‘butterfly mantles’ - see photos. Look at the size of the buggers! Does anyone know what kind of lamp they’re meant to fit on? Street lamps perhaps!

 

Alex

It should tell you on the package what size the mantle is. Looks like from the photo it says 500-600 cp? Then its for a Petromax type lantern.

 

Hi Alex, I have 'quite a few' (ahem - hundreds) of those Butterfly mantles and they work very well. They are rated 500/600cp but I keep them for use as double tie mantles on Bialaddin, Vapalux and Tilley as described in this post here. I created a diagram about how to tie double tie mantles here.

The pink top 'fabric mantles' from China seem to be somewhat similar to the Coleman #21 and would probably work well on lanterns that take the smaller type of 'sock' design.

Hope this helps.

 

Another observation is the amount they shrink. I’ve had the 300 to400 cp mantles touch the base of the lantern before lighting. After the first use they look about the same size as a 2C HG mantle.

 

Those mantles, much like a lot of mantles coming from China are very hot. They made my Geiger counter sing, much more so than Thoriated Peerless mantles did. Either the Thorium they are using is very old and a large amount of daughter isotopes are present or it is poorly refined and contaminated with other radioactive isotopes.

I had a quantity of these, but they have been disposed of as even when in a metal container which was stored inside a cardboard box I was still getting a significant CPM rate from them at three feet.

Use them at your own risk.

 

Well I've tested some of the radioactive U-shaped green ones as well as the other more bulbous types. They're not exactly the same with each other. Here are some pictures of my actual tests a taken a couple of years back:-

 

Oh wow. Should we be buying/ using them then? What dose are we talking about here when we handle one or use a lantern with one of these fitted? I know bananas are also radioactive because of potassium 40, but the dose (BED = banana equivalent dose) is tiny. Is there a credible exposure risk over time in your opinion?