Has anyone found a good substitute for Coleman #21 mantles in the UK ?

Hi All owing to frequent re-builds and general knocking about I am going through these at at an eye-watering rate. My 288 seems to blow small holes in them after 5 or so light ups.

I was wondering if anyone has found a reasonable substitute for Coleman #21 mantles in the UK ?

Apart from the expense they seem to be getting harder to find as well.

cheers
Chris

 

Good? Not really, but if you want to preserve your stocks of Coleman #21, the Butterfly sock-style mantles will do for testing. They're a bit variable but they're cheap.

 

I have ordered 20 unbranded from China/ebay 6x8cm for less than the price of a pair of #21s in some shops. We wait and see.
Chris

 

FYI there are two slightly different unbranded sock style mantles from China, pink tops and green tops. The green tops are larger, pink tops smaller but there seems to be a number of different manufacturers. @Norman has had success with the pink tops but nothing but trouble with the green tops whereas I have had exactly the reverse experience!

 

I bought a box of the Coleman #21 mantles a few years ago for a very small sum. Almost half of them had holes in them from the very start. It seems Coleman had at least one batch of lousy mantles! My guess is these are nowadays made in China or India, bigger profits for the owners of the Coleman name. So, if you can find some cheapo's that perform reasonably well, go for them!

 

I had similar problems with my Coleman 21 mantels, blowing holes through them or even worse, holes show up before you even light the damn things!
Several years ago I called Coleman and complained about the p... poor quality but they didn't seem a bit interested, simply send me more lousy replacement mantels!
I'm afraid Coleman has fallen along the wayside like a lot of other companies. Seems a shame to drag the name of a good company thru the barnyard but they're willing to do it.
Peerless is a good one, I've used them and for the most part they work pretty well.

 

Can you source Peerless mantles in the UK (or given Brexit) Britain? If so, Peerless 2C-HG mantles are a substitute for Coleman 21s.

Tony

 

the future = junk

 

I have not found peerless mantles for sale in the UK. There is no UK distributor on their website. I see glowing reviews of them on the internet.

 

I've heard that the quality of Peerless mantles has got worse recently... has anyone purchased some recently? What are they like now?

 

Peerless mantles for Tilley, Bialaddin, Primus, Coleman, etc.

Always worked for me! Not used any 2C-HG yet so can't comment but DT140s for my Tilleys are fine.

 

I'm also looking for a substitute for Coleman 21mantles.
Lit my lamp yesterday with two new Coleman string tie mantles, checked it today and both are holed.
The Chinese ones I see on e bay say they are 8cm X 10 cm that seems a bit big , anyone know a better source.

Just wondered if enough people are looking for them could we set up a bulk order for peerless ones and split the packaging costs?

 

I've ordered #21 from Old Coleman Parts (OCP) in the States and from Canada using ebay in the past. OCP stock the Peerless as well.

 

@rayw There are 6x8cm ones on Ebay too. Often you have to drop down the colour to get a different size. The colour seems variable as is the use of English so read carefully.
my few older Canadian made ones hold out. Newer USA ones don't seem so durable.

 

I've found that the Chinese 10x8 mantles tend to blow out the bottom on first light-up. The remedy is to tie off the bottom, inside the mantle, with a spare piece of mantle string and then cut off the excess material. This technique makes them quite versatile as you can shorten them to fit a variety of lamps and lanterns. I've successfully used them on Petromax 250, Coleman 241, 242, 214, 201 and 249. I'm sure they would work satisfactorily on the Coleman double mantle lamps and lanterns too.
They last well and are quite bright, being thoriated. And they are cheap as chips.

 

can strongly recommend these; incredibly bright.
100pcs Laterne Hülle Für Kerosin Druck Laternen fargo 300/400 C.P | eBay

 

It says no shipping to gt britain

 

@podbros

A bit pricier 100pcs lantern mantle for kerosene pressure

 

@rayw I got some of those and although they shrank, they were still too big as a replacement for Coleman 21s. They look similar to these and the strings were even shorter
20Pcs New Camping Gas Lamp Lantern Ma...

Horrible things they are too, I can't speak lowly enough of them. The ridiculously short strings make it nigh-on impossible to tie them on even if you are an expert at tying fishing flies. Save yourself a lot of hassle and pay double or even trebble for proper mantles.

 

I've had mantles from justmantles.co.nz , he has a good selection of different ones and will post worldwide, well worth checking out his website.
Regards ian

 

+1 for justmantles.co.nz . The owner Mark Strachan is a stand-up guy and will give good service.

 

Looks like an order to NZ then

 

I have had exactly the same experience with the pink tops (6x8cm)... difficult to tie the short strings, splitting multiple times and holing before they've even been lit!

The green tops (10x8cm) have worked out extremely well for me but @Norman has had exactly the reverse.

The Fargo mantles are very good I'm told but I think you have to buy them in bulk which is one helluva risk to take in one hit. Of course, if anyone wants to join in a consortium and buy maybe 25 each between 4 of us I'd be interested.

 

I've not any issues with broken Coleman #21 mantles upon start up so far. They are not really inexpensive in my area.
My only complain about them is that they don't glow as white as the thoriated mantles I have.

 

Hi folks

I have had good success with the green topped mantles although the string ties re rather weak. This shows a comparison of the light difference between an el-cheapo and a modern Peerless mantle.

https://www.colemancollectorsforum....&sid=c5d04a5e0314c7065c63e686332e8414#p222620

Funny, I never thought about tying off inside at the base of the mantle which obviously saves having to rethread the weak string tie.

Regards Jeremy

 

Well I looked at some of the options and I still need to finalise the calculation but it seems if I send for 100 mantles from Germany or NZ and 3 other people were in need we could all have 25 mantles for more or less £1 each ( or just below ) allowng for postage, this would keep me happy for a while.
I would be willing to make the order online and post on to the others if I could find 3 people who would be happy to go with me and pay when they receive their package.
Anyone interested? if so I will check and get a better estimate before making any move

Peerless 22A Mantle 2 Pack Yttrium

100pcs Laterne Mantle für Kerosin Druck Laternen Fargo 300/400c.p. | eBay

 

Note that the Fargo mantles might be too big for a direct substitute for a Coleman 21. They form well on 250cp plus burners with large burner caps such as Coleman 236. See one in use here:

Kynoch (early 1920s)

Tony

 

Note that the Fargo mantles might be too big for a direct substitute for a Coleman 21. They form well on 250cp plus burners with large burner caps such as Coleman 236. See one in use here:

Would this be a better option?
Peerless 2C-HG Mantle 4 Pack Yttrium

 

@rayw

If you look back up the thread, you will see that I have already identified Peerless 2C-HG mantles as a substitute for Coleman 21 mantles.

Cheers

Tony