This is the second lantern from my friend in Canada. It's got a flint igniter but I took it off to fit two new mantles. It works extremely well as you can see although I bust one of the mantles putting the igniter back again - you can even see the hole!! Doh!
I replaced the mantles and tried the igniter having burnt them in first. Now I know why it's called a whoomph stick!
Be sure to retract the igniter after you light the lantern. They really don't like being left next to the burning mantle. I have them installed on several of my goto lanterns. Especially the one designated for post hurricane duty. It eliminates the need to hunt for matches if everything has been scattered about by a storm.
There's a learning curve to using the whump stick with a minimum of whump. I start spinning the sparker as soon as I hear the gurgle of fuel/air mix. Wait a bit too long, and not only do you lose finger hair, but the whump will blow the flames out--or maybe just suck all the O2 out of the globe area, same result. And, as Reese points out, pull the whump stick back to its resting position after lighting. The heat of the mantles can cause the "flint" to break down or ignite with a nice pop. The lanterns that live in my van all have whump sticks, just in case. I prefer to pre-heat the generator when possible/practical. BTW: Did you know there's a spare flint hiding under the knob of the sparker?
It should slide in and out parallel with the shaft. The part that mounts to the lantern frame base is a sleeve. If it won't budge, try some penetrating oil and heat to get it broke loose.
I checked the igniter - AKA whoomph stick - and it had a few problems. The wire key had been sheered off inside the keyway and was preventing the nain shaft from sliding up and down but that was an easy fix. Next, the flint tube that is fixed to the 90deg bracket was loose (looked like a force fit or interferrence fit) and fell off when put under any sideways movement so I did some micro-soldering to keep it in place. Since I did that I figured I might as well do the same to the main shaft as that seemed to be a force fit too. Having added a flint it works brilliantly. All in all, this is a great lantern and will probably be my go to lantern in an emergency as I don't have to fins a match or lighter.
