Hello I borrowed a geiger meter this weekend. Normal use is to measure radiation from imported timber coming Russia. In manual it says it measures x-ray and gamma radiation. I have no knowledge in this area but thought it could be interesting to try on some mantles. I'm not sure of the magnitude of the unit (sievert), but perhaps some could tell when normal value in room was about 230 (day after it was 180, could be when all mantles etc had been removed). I measured by holding 5 mantles just infront of device. I got a little surprised that the "normal, not so old" optimus mantles got these high values. Normal value - 230 Butterfly 500 (kina) - 231 Butterfly 300 (hongkong) - 607 Keros - 863 USA mantle - 246 Santrax 500 - 1180 Radius 300 - 1780 Primus 6175 - 1090 Primus 6177 - 1500 Petromax 500 - 680 Optimus 250 - 1290 Optimis 350 - 1440 Optimus 350new - 1230 Aida - 231 View attachment 17693 The device itself View attachment 17694 Measuremt method View attachment 17695 Normal value in room View attachment 17696 View attachment 17697 Value primus 6177 Also tested Aida mantles and they did not show any radiation at all, just as promised on their bag. Best Regards Joakim
See this article: radiactivity in mantles. If you have an xray exam you add to your body 50 mrem/day and if you smoke 20 cigarettes / day you will receive 100 mrems / day. 1 Sv = 100 rem so you need 2000 xray exams to achieve 1 Sv. Chernobyl: 7 Sv; the helicopter pilots died after a few days. Your test is interesting but I guess there is a problem with the units and I guess they should be mSv or perhaps microSv.
Hi. I looked for something else, here the interesting part: For incandescent gas mantles, the estimated dose to a person using only gas lanterns for light would be 2 mSv/yr (200 mrem/yr); the dose to an individual who uses portable camping lanterns would be 0.1 mSv/yr (10 mrem/yr). And here the whole Nureg 1717: US Nuclear Regulatory Commision. Look at the point 3.4
It was a surprise to me too, but if you read the article, it seems that more than the halfo of the mantles sold (or produced?) within USA are still radioactive. It seems that it is not forbidden but it was an initiative of privates to make their mantles last longer. I also got the impression it is not dangerous at all: you could got the ashes from your lamp, mix them with the salt and to add the mixture to the salad and even so it would be less dangerous than a cigarette. No doubt: even if not dangerous, I'd prefer to buy a non radioactive mantle.
I've a typed and photocopied set of instructions for military Vapalux and Bialaddin lanterns. It specifically tells the squaddies that they're not to eat the mantles. Like you would...
I buy Peerless mantles made in the Philippines that are thorium coated. The warnings for PROPER handling are plastered all over the box and on the back of each package. Here's the box. Bob
There was a European chain saw manufacturer,that stated in their safety practices "Never rest the chain bar in the groin area" Makes sense to me!
Absolutely true - I'll see if I can locate a copy. I have several which came in the spares kits for a batch of ex-military lanterns...
How about a comparison of the level of radioactivity vs brilliance... I think the more thorium, the brighter the mantle.
Hi all: Here is my 1954 Geiger counter with a reading on a 50's? Coleman mantle. As you can see it reads in different units than above posted device.(MR. per HR.)Anyone know the translation? There is a window in the case next to the mantle. I removed the headphones as it was sounding like a machine gun. Mike... See detection window next to mantle
Hi all/Juan: Here are two additional mantles. The meter is set to it's most sensitive setting. Even though the meter needle is reading high on this setting, the amount of radiation is harmless. Mike... This is a modern Coleman mantle showing almost no radiation. (ambient range) This mantle is a vintage "Sun Flame" showing the needle off the scale. More so than my vintage Coleman Silk lite posted earlier.
Baja: Using Coleman mantles only, I have compared thorium mantles to modern ones many times over the years. When Coleman first switched to non thorium coated mantles I felt the older thorium type were quite brighter. Today however I think the new mantles are just as bright when I run them side by side. I have even tried them together on a two burner lamp and to my untrained eye they look the same. Mike...
Does anyone know if the V42 mantles for Vapalux/Bialaddin contain Thorium? Do the base-camp custom-made mantles for Tilley lamps "164Pro" work okay on Vapalux/Bialaddin lamps? They are supposed to be Thorium free.
I think the simple answer is that the older ones will and the newer ones won't. Some years ago, I had a chat about this with Peter Sunderland, the then Works Manager at Bairstow's, and he told me that after the Montreal Protocol in 1987, mantles had to be non-radioactive. The Vapalux non-radioactive ones have a green stripe down them. I did subsequently look up the Montreal Protocol on Google or Wiki or something, and I seem to recall that it made me doubt whether radioactive mantles would fall under it's remit - hmmm... Whatever, I wouldn't be worrying overmuch about glowing in the dark or growing another head etc. Just don't eat them and you should be OK. Mind you, I wouldn't want to be carrying a few in my trouser pocket for the next 15-20 years either... I dont think the pre-tied Tilley and Vapalux mantles are interchangeable because the burner spigots are different diameters.
The "Montreal Protocol" was established to deal with chloro-florocarbon refrigerants. Mostly is was a BIG ploy by the chemical companies to jack up the prices and force consumers into costly refrigerant retrofitting. I know, I worked in that industry for 30+ years. I didn't know that they "added" radioactive lantern mantles to that legislation. Must be in the "fine print". Bob
Yes, as I said, Bob, when I looked up the Montreal Protocol afterwards, I wasn't convinced it would cover radioactive mantles, so it threw into doubt a lot of the other things I'd been told by the same gentleman. But my impression of Mr. Sunderland was that he was an engineer, first and foremost, and being a historian of Vapalux and Bialaddin lamps and lanterns trailed well behind that. For instance, he told me that Willis & Bates had produced around 5000 Vapalux donut lamps - a figure I was quite happy to believe at the time because of who he was. Maybe he was just having a little fun at my expense, seeing what he could get another daft lampie to believe! Unless there really are 4995 donuts out there, just waiting to be found...
Hi, just to let you know, I have successfuly used Tilley mantles of both thorium and non thorium types in my bialaddin/vapalux 320's. They are a bit tight at the bottom, but they do seem to run well. I don't think, however that Vapalux mantles will run on a Tilley, as they will be too loose at the bottom.
