How to Use Lantern Mantles

Handle a lantern mantle with care after you prime it.

A lantern may use mantles to provide a bright source of light. When new, a mantle feels like a soft piece of fabric. After you prime a mantle properly, the chemicals in the mantle fabric cause it to become hard and brittle as it hangs inside the lantern chamber. Use lantern mantles carefully to ensure that your lantern provides the light you need. Although fragile, a lantern's mantle can give off light when you need it.

Things You'll Need

• New mantle
• Scissors
• Matches

Instructions

1. Attach the new mantle to the lantern where it fits over the mantle frame. Some mantles tie on to the mantle frame and others have tabs that attach to the mantle frame. Tug on the mantle lightly to make sure you attach it firmly. If you see strings from tying on the mantle, clip them off with a scissors.

2. Light the mantle with a match and allow it to burn completely. The flame will consume the mantle fabric to turn the mantle into a crisp material. When the mantle finishes priming, the flame will extinguish.

3. Allow the mantle to cool completely. The lantern will be ready to burn after the mantle cools.

4. Strike another match to light the lantern. While you hold the flame to the mantle, light the lantern by opening the gas flow and pressing the ignition button or turning the ignition lever to the "Ignite" position.

5. Remove the lit match after the mantle ignites and adjust the strength of the light with the adjuster on the lantern.

6. Extinguish the lantern by stopping the gas flow by turning the ignition lever to the "Off" position.

7. Allow the lantern to cool completely before putting the lantern away.

Tips & Warnings

• The Coleman company advises that the mantle will become stronger after the first time you light the lantern after priming. After the mantle heats and expands into a permanent shape, it should be stronger.

• Never touch the primed mantle with your finger -- the crisp mantle material is extremely fragile and you can easily break it.

• Handle the lantern with care when it contains a primed mantle. Even jostling or bumping the lantern can cause the mantle to break after you prime it.

References

• Coleman; How to Light a Coleman Lantern With a Mantle; April 2010
• Coleman: Instructions for Installing and Lighting a Mantle; May 2010
• Soto Outdoors: Compact Refill Lantern