Apart from way too big or way too small, for any lamp, what makes a mantle the right one or the wrong one ??
1. Does the mantle form a coherent shape on the burner? 2. A further consideration would be the eventual shape: does the mantle convey sufficient heat to the generator/vapouriser to maintain fuel vapourisation. 3. Another is the hue of the light emitted from the mantle. My preference is for white light, not the yellow or red hues that some mantles emit. I’m sure there are many others. Cheers Tony
I'm with Tony I only prefer the white light mantels. The yellow-ish mantels just don't seem quite right to me. Other than that I try to find mantels that were made in the mid 1980's, I find these to be of a better quality, than the one's made nowadays and I don't mind using these one's up, as I have plenty of them. Pre 1980's I try to save as they are even better quality, and of course I want to keep them in my collection due to the age factor. I have used some of these older one's as a special treat to myself. Then there is the old saying you get what you pay for. Some companies make or made better mantels than others, my favourites are: Tilley, Kayen, Kookaburra, and coleman all depending on the dates above and in which country they were made in. I hope that make sense.
One that forms the optimum shape and optimises/maximises the light output at normal running pressure on the chosen fuel I would say. Alec.
