I was going through some of my Dads camping gear and found these old mantles. Most of them are still sealed in their original packages but there are a few that have been opened. Also, you can see in the photo there are a couple beat up packs.
I'm guessing all of these date from the mid/late 80s to early 2000s. Through the years they were in and out of his truck on camping trips and/or stored in his barn. Overall they look to be in good shape but I am curious if mantles deteriorate or lose effectiveness from being stored in a truck or barn over the years.
My friends don’t call me “Lantern/lampie Levi” for nothin’,if they did call me that.
Looking for bday lanterns 8/38, 8/41,
10/25, and 8/07
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“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing everyday” -A.A. Milne
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I have some on one of my Quicklites that came in the Quicklite packaging--so '30s at the latest. They work just fine!
As long as they don't get wet, they seem to last forever. The salts that cause the mantles to glow are water soluble and can wash out if the mantles get wet. I've had to toss a few packs because of this, but if you just want heat, they put out some pretty good IR.
It's priceless until someone puts a price on it. Walk a mile in a man's shoes before you criticize him--then you're a mile away, and he has no shoes. Texan's last words: "Y'all--hold my beer--I wanta' try sumptin'." Timm--Middle of nowhere, near the end of the road, Oregon.
Those mantles look like they were stored properly and are healthy. I doubt you'll have any issues.
Save the Silk-lites for lanterns that run flawlessly so you don't waste them. The Gold Top came out after they did away with thorium and were advertised as stronger. I think that's just marketing fluff so it would appear that these were an upgrade since they had stopped using thorium. I have some Gold Tops, but haven't tried any myself.
-Jim
Flammable liquids, open flame, what could go wrong?
Not all of them have indefinite shelf lives.
I've seen some that actually become pretty fragile(unburnt) despite being decently stored.
I guess its the chemicals used eventually degrade the fabric. As a result, they cannot be stretched much without tearing apart.
Having said that, they're still as good as they should be, if you could manage to tie them to the burner caps and get them burnt-in as usual.
I agree with the above comments. Kevin and MYN hit it on the head IMO, some just become fragile. Often it's the string that becomes most fragile.
I had an open bag of newer Coleman mantles get wet from a leak in my garage roof. I let them air dry and they worked as advertised. Oh, the roof was repaired shortly afterwards.
Chuck
"...Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil days to come." Isaiah 57:1-2
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Thanks for y'all input. Looks like I can light em' up and rest easy. It's interesting about what happens if they get wet - in that case they may or may not work, maybe depending on how long or how much water? And then some older mantles become brittle? Wonder if that is some kind of chemical reaction leaching into the mantles from the plastic packaging. Just guessing, maybe prolonged exposure to sunlight over the years perhaps.
Then the Gold Tops-
JimL wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:17 pm
Save the Silk-lites for lanterns that run flawlessly so you don't waste them. The Gold Top came out after they did away with thorium and were advertised as stronger. I think that's just marketing fluff so it would appear that these were an upgrade since they had stopped using thorium. I have some Gold Tops, but haven't tried any myself.
I noticed that the oldest looking package says "4 Times Tougher" on the bottom then on the newer packages it doesn't say that. So maybe your right Jim and Coleman backed off. Comparing the weave of the fabric there doesn't appear to be any difference between the Silk Lites to the Gold Tops. In either case one would think they gotta be tougher then the new mantles that are on the market now.
I bought an old kero AGM model 3470 that had a coarse unfired mantle tied on. It probably has been there for decades. Dusty and didn’t look like it was going to make it. After the fettle I gently burned it in and it’s still on today. I don’t know what brand it was.
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Jason not looking for any more Bday gpas. Honestly, if you have a 10-72 don’t let me know about it. Coleman 275 Appreciation Syndicate #0214 Coleman Slant Saver #56 Coleman Quick Lite Crew #31
I once picked up a lantern with a parts safe. When I removed the safe there was water inside. The pack of silkies inside was soaked and rust stained. Who knows how long they had been in there. I took them out and set them aside to dry. A couple of months later I decided to try them out. They burned in and filled out nice, but the color was yellow with brown spots from the dirt and rust stains, but the longer they ran they better they got. After a couple of hours of run time they were nice and white, still in service to this day.
John H.C. Lanterns dealer Coleman 275 Appreciation Syndicate #2001 A Turd's Odyssey Canadian Blues #028 Coleman Slant Saver #31 Looking for 6-56 and 6-58 Birthday lanterns. There's been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about.
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