Making mantles last

NickB,
After everything has cooled down, remove the glass and spray the mantle with hairspray. Makes them last a lot longer.
Hope this is useful.

Have heard the above works, also when you pack it in the car try to pack it central, not right in the back of the car. More central in the car is less suspension reaction. If that makes sense. On a ship, the middle of the ship is the best place to be if you suffer from sea sickness as there is less rolling motion.
Cheers Krakka

Always repack your mantle in its original packing box , and sit it on top of something soft.

The only solution I can offer Nick, is to replace the gas lantern with a Versalite, or the EvaKool Torpedo 12 volt fluro.

I experienced a similar problem to you. The original mantle seemed to last ages but subsequent ones, not very long.
Maybe it had something to do with more off road travel where corrugations have a higher impact.

I changed over to 12 volt lighting and haven't broken a mantle since:-))

Bill.

We now have converted everything to 12V lighting however I used to be able to get mantles to last for weeks of travel by packing the lantern standing upright. I used the original box and simply took the lantern off the bottle and placed it in the box upright, the box was packed so that it would not move (in with clothes, towels and bedding) however I am sure it was the standing upright that ensured the mantle stayed intack.

See how you go.
David

Have been through all this for years . The only solution that I have found is to buy Companion branded mantles & they will last for weeks on the roughest roads that you can imagine. Kookaburra brand rarely last a night & if you have a glass will break them as soon as a hole appears in mantle . Definaetely reccommend the stainless steel mesh instead of glass does cut back on light a little but fantastic.
Cheers

Hi nickb,

If a mantle lasts for more than one day on my trips then I'm on a winner.

I always pack one mantle per day.

Cheers

Cheers for the quick replies!

It was packed lying on its side so maybe that was the problem. I already have some 12V lights, I wanted to try the gas lantern. Seems to put out heaps of warm coloured light.

What is the reason for changing the glass enclosure to a mesh enclosure? I have been told my glass enclosure won't last very long and I should expect to change it occasionally because they are a consumable item.

Will have to try the Coleman brand mantles, not sure which brand the camping shop provided me with.

Cheers
Nick

We cut off a section of PVC water pipe that just fits over the lantern glass, leave mantle on,wrap all in bubble wrap, pack into original box & store upright in camper trailer storage boxes - sounds excessive but have done WA - Qld -WA return on all types of roads & not broken one! In fact present mantle so old can't remember brand. Cheers

Nick,
about 20 odd years ago I did a trip to cape york with a few other cars. Each night we would get out our lanterns and mine was the only one that had survived the day. None of us could work out why, we looked at storage packing, etc and even tried putting their laterns in my car to no avail.
Then one night I was watching them put in a new mantel and light it up and I said "dont you burn them first?" as thats what I was told to do. "No, whats that?" they all said. So I showed them that you attach the mantel and light it with NO GAS on and let it smoulder away until the whole thing has burnt (may need to do this a couple of times.) Then once it had cooled down it is ok to light.
I have no idea why this works, however this was the way my father showed me how to do it and it seems to work. Their and my mantels still broke , however they lasted a hell of a lot longer than one day.
Cheers Tony

Nick B. I pack my gas lamp upright in an old plastic flower pot after wrapping it all in foam first. Hair spray seems to help. It's very important to buy the proper mantle for the lamp too.The cheapies don't last, fall apart, especially if they're the string tie type, the string snaps. Also the cheap ones stink when burning in. I read an article some years ago about the cheap imports from India being quite toxic. The above works for me. Cheers.
Roger B......

Regarding the hairspray.

We did our central trip for almost 4 weeks over all sorts of terrain and road conditions.
Old 242b coleman lantern, sprayed mantle with hairspray before pre burning it.
Lasted the whole trip.
Been doing this since the Tilley lamp days, and have had a great run out of mantles, far better than those who dont do this.

Cheers

Trains

The guys using the hairspray usually tie down the Lantern with there fishnet stockings !