Lantern - Modern Fueled Lanterns

Modern Fueled Lanterns

All fueled lanterns are somewhat hazardous due to the danger of handling flammable and toxic fuel, danger of fire or burns from the high temperatures involved, and potential dangers from carbon monoxide poisoning if used in an enclosed environment.

Simple wick lanterns remain available. They are cheap and durable, but provide little light and are unsuitable for reading. They require periodic trimming of the wick and regular cleaning of soot from the inside of the glass chimney.

Mantle lanterns use a woven ceramic impregnated gas mantle to accept and re-radiate heat as visible light from a flame. The mantle does not burn (but the cloth matrix carrying the ceramic must be "burned out" with a match prior to its first use). When heated by the operating flame the mantle glows incandescently. Such lanterns are very bright, and can easily be used as reading lights. The heat may be provided by a gas, by kerosene, or by a pressurized liquid such as "white gas," which is essentially naphtha. For protection from the high temperatures produced and to stabilize the airflow, a cylindrical glass shield called the globe or chimney is placed around the mantle.

Manually pressurized lanterns using White gas (also marketed as Coleman fuel or "Camp Fuel") are manufactured by the Coleman Company in one and two mantle models. Some models are "dual fuel," which can also use gasoline. These are being supplanted by a battery-powered fluorescent lamp models, which are safer in the hands of young people and inside tents. Battery operated lanterns are produced by many manufacturers including Coleman. Liquid fuel lanterns remain popular where the fuel (see portable stove for a discussion on fuel) is easily obtained and is in common use.

Many portable mantle-type fuel lanterns now use fuel gases that become liquid when compressed, such as propane, either alone or combined with butane. Such lamps usually use a small disposable steel container to provide the fuel. The ability to refuel without liquid fuel handling increases safety and additional fuel supplies for such lamps have an indefinite shelf life if the containers are protected from moisture (which can cause corrosion of the container) and excess heat.

The leading manufacture of kerosene mantle lamps in the United States is the Aladdin Mantle Lamp Company, which has long produced an extensive line of utilitarian and decorative mantle lamps. A specialized cylindrical wick with a central airflow tube satisfies the high and uniform heating demands of the mantle.