Mantle shenanigans!

Sourcing double tie mantles at a reasonable price seems to be getting harder, although Phil from SA will always come through for me if I need some good quality mantles for my 'special' lamps - the ones that deserve something that bit better. For single ended mantles I have used Butterfly 41s and found them to be (very) cheap, bright and reliable. Anyhow, I found a source of double tie mantles on ebay at a price that I couldn't ignore and bought 10x for less than £2! Great.... except when they arrived this morning they were Butterfly 41s again! There's absolutely no point sending them back although I might get in touch and mention the trades descriptions act... maybe not, but a thought occurred to be, single tie mantles are just the same as double ties but with one end sewn permanently shut... surely I could work with that?

So, I unpicked the machine-sewn end and pondered how I might thread some cotton through the weave when I remembered bag ties - the ones that come with rolls of plastic bags. We have loads of the things knocking around in kitchen drawers as they never get used. Surely I could use one of these to fix the small end of the mantle onto the lower end of the burner.... which I did. The ones I have use paper to cover the wire which burned off when it was lit, at least I assume it did. The result is, I now have a ready supply of mantles for my Tilley, Bialaddin and Vapalux lamps! Yay to me!



Butterfly #41 straight out the packet


The inner machine stitched end


Ready for the stitches to be carefully unpicked


Et viola!


The bag tie ready for fixing


I've still got quite a few beside these!


And the end result happily incandescing on my PL53!

 

There are some mantle bargains out there for the adventurous. In general, the older they are, the better the quality.
I just use the spare pieces of mantle string to tie the bottom end on. If they are too short, knot a few together

 

That's a damn good idea, Phil!

 

Colin, good to see you thinking outside the square.
It will be interesting to see how the ties perform over time.

 

Why would you say that Phaedrus42?
Present day technology could not match those of yesteryears? Or something else?

 

Not the technology which for mantle production has not changed much, but the quality. Mostly because of manufacturing to a price point rather than to a quality standard I suppose.
I have old stock mantles from the 1940s and 50s made by Veritas, Coleman, etc. that are at least as bright and durable as the best modern Peerless or Auerlicht ones I have used, and much better than anything else I have tried.

 

Very good idea , colin

 

ColinG, do you mind posting a full image of the Butterfly mantle plastic packing here?
Seems to be a different make of Butterfly mantle you've got there.
Thanks.

 

Colin

You might experiment with using a 500cp mantle as well if you happen to want a brighter lantern. The more flexible or elastic the 500cp mantle the easier and better for use. I don't unravel the fabric at the bottom of the mantle I just take a razor blade and cut across it.

 

Here is a photo of the individual mantle in it's plastic wallet and the outer packet (in white). I order them in packets of 10 from eBay direct from China. How do the ones you buy differ?

 

Hanzo, as you can see from the photo, the butterfly mantles are rated 500-600cp, but I was reading a post somewhere on this site which stated that neither the size of the mantle or its rating affect the output, which sounds odd but apparently it's true. It's all to do with pressure and fuel throughput so it said... I think.... but can someone else fill in the technical details!

 

By the way, I should point out that I tied the small end onto the burner by pushing it through the larger opening in same way that Peerless double-tie mantles work. This gives a much better rounded shape after it's been burned off and used for the first time.

 

Ahhh I see, I don't doubt the theory ,it maybe the mantles I'm using making the difference. They are vintage Petromax 500cp. They made the lanterns much brighter than the double ties . The member here I learned this from also said how his PMAX mantles worked a lot better than double ties. The vintage PMAX are available here in America through a hobbyist who sells them. I'll use Peerless or Butterfly for my actual 500cp lanterns but the vintage PMAX for double ties which again makes me think that they maybe really well suited for the task.

 

ColinG, here's what I have. I put the two different makes of Butterfly mantles side by side. Both Made in China, both rated at 500-600CP as stated on their packets.
Spot the difference?
The one on the right looks exactly like yours. Its not thoriated and thus ,non-radioactive.
The left one has what I believe to be the real Butterfly logo. Its thoriated and radioactive and burns brighter(from my numerous testings).

 

I can see the difference! I don't think we can buy thoriated mantles in the UK so maybe there are different versions made for different markets or perhaps the ones I buy are just fakes! If they are fakes, they seem to work well for me, although they won't be as bright as thorium coated mantles.

 

So, Hanzo, you sometimes use double-tie mantles on a Petromax? For me that would be a waste as I have to pay more for then, hence my experiments with untying the sewn ends of the butterfly mantles.

 

The non-original (non-thoriated) mantles are almost as bright as the thoriated ones but the light is somewhat less 'white'.
Colin, the manufacturer for the 'non-original' Butterfly mantles also makes thoriated ones. I have some which are U-shaped instead of bulbous, similar to the Peerless or the older Coleman Silk Lites.

 

If you could send me a link for the Chinese eBay seller of the U-shaped mantles I'd be very grateful.

 

No, I don't use double ties on P'Max lanterns just the vintage P'Max mantles in place of double tie mantles on Tilley or Vapalux lanterns.

 

Ahhhh, I understand now!

 

[Hot Item] Radioactive Gas Mantle 500/600c. P

Colin, I couldn't find the address of the seller which I obtained my mantles. But I believe they came from the above.
Only thing is, they are wholesale, which the MOQ(minimum order qty) could be problematic.

 

I think 1000 mantles might be a few too many!!!!!!!

 

You'll be lucky if that's not 1000 or 10000 DOZENS, which I normally see.

 

Depends on how many lanterns you have and how often you light them.

 

I'd say, the cost of 1000pcs is not exactly too hefty a price, considering its bulk purchase.
The real problem is about getting 1000pcs of radioactive stuff through the customs.

 

My thoughts exactly!

 

That's about 10 dozens in a box.
Imagine trying to get more than 80 of those boxes through.

 

Good tip Colin. I bought 50 of these mantles believing them to be double tie and was wondering what to do with them.

 

I'd settle for just one box!

 

If only I could get 2 of those boxes, I'll send one to you, Colin. I'm having some difficulties in obtaining them, just as you are.