Hi friends, Some members have been posting about different behaviour of seemingly identical lanterns. Many ideas have been offered to explain these differences,(different J-tubes, mantles, fount pressure,etc.) I'd like to offer one more. Over the years I noticed a difference in the ceramic nozzles and was wondering if that can affect performance in any way. On modern (mostly Chinese) nozzles, the holes in the nozzles are pointing straight down, while on old ones, the holes are splayed out. It is obvious the "modern" ones are easier and cheaper to make, but surely there must have been good reason to make them the "old" way? Anyone having any thoughts about this? Stay safe, Wim
This is interesting. Yes, I do noticed this every now and then. One of the most convincing means to visualize the difference is to test/operate the lantern without the mantles attached. **All other operating parameters or combinations remaining identical along the tests. The only difference should be the type of ceramic burner caps(straight holes or splayed/angled holes), not the size of the burner caps. From my observations in the past, the most obvious one was that the overall lenght of the flame and the directions of the individual flamelets. With the pressure being held at a specific reference point: The flame from a straight-holed burner would extend further down towards the lantern's baseplate or fount. Whereas, the flame from a splay-holed cap would be somewhat more diffused/spreaded out. I guess its easier to break the mantle during initial startups by the fuel-air surge with the straight-holed version. On other occasions, I found that the splay-holed version produced a brighter/whiter glow from the upper and mid sections of the mantle while bottom (tied end) of the mantle would at best, glow with a bright yellow. I think the splay-hole version is more suited for traditional bulbous mantles(Petromax-styled) while the straight-hole type is more appropriate for U-shaped mantles like say, the Coleman no.21, etc. Other members might have different observations.
@Wim I think you’ve hit on something there Wim. Hope all’s well with you my friend. CV must have played havoc with your re-enactments - gives you time to ponder on issues such as you’ve raised I suppose. On that issue, I’m still doing this: John