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Here’s a package from Amazon.

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Here’s a Geiger counter.

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[Geiger counter clicks ferociously]

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Neat!

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Well now, it’s time we finish up talking
about the light sources of old

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which make their light by burning stuff.

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00:00:16,700 --> 00:00:20,873
We last talked about gas mantles and a bit
about the towngas industry.

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You can check that video out with the links I put
in the places.

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00:00:24,419 --> 00:00:25,805
Like that one.

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00:00:25,976 --> 00:00:27,181
Or the description.

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Maybe even a pinned comment.

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Ya know it really forces my lute when people
don’t read pinned comments.

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Anyway, I teased that we’re gonna talk about these things.

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These Coleman lanterns,
as we often call them over here,

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are a kind of pressure lamp.

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Other parts of the world might call them something else, like Tilley.

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Or Petromax.

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Or Reginald.

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Remember that we need to burn a fuel with
a Bunsen flame to make use of a gas mantle,

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00:00:55,364 --> 00:00:58,316
and that means we need the fuel to be a gas.

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Coal gas, natural gas, and propane at atmospheric pressure

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are all vapors so… job done.

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00:01:04,805 --> 00:01:08,505
But if you want to carry your gaslight around with you,

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and it's before the days that bottle propane was available,

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you’ll want to use a liquid fuel like kerosene or gasoline 
for their greater energy density.

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And now you have a problem.

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Several, actually.

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First, how do you deliver fuel to where it
needs to be burned?

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A gravity-fed fuel tank is an incredibly bad idea here

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because of how hot these lanterns get.

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Don’t put the fuel above the fire, is what I’m saying.

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But liquid fuel won’t just find its way
up a tube without a little help.

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So, we’ll give it a little help.

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These are called pressure lamps because using
them is anxiety-induc -

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Wait.

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That’s not quite true.

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They are pretty anxiety-inducing, actually
- especially this one, but -

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they’re called pressure lamps because they have a pumpy bit
which is very fun.

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The fuel tanks of these lanterns are sealed.

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Look at the fuel cap and you’ll see there’s a rubber gasket.

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00:02:09,112 --> 00:02:12,312
Across from the fuel cap is the pumpy bit.

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To use it, you give the metal piece here a
turn in the counterclockwise direction which releases it,

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00:02:17,745 --> 00:02:22,040
hold it so that your thumb covers
the little hole on its face,

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00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,044
pull it out and start pumping.

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What this is doing is forcing air a little bit of air into the
tank with each stroke.

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If I unscrew the fuel cap you can hear it
escape.

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00:02:33,791 --> 00:02:35,331
[hissing]

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00:02:35,673 --> 00:02:40,186
The point of doing this is to force the fuel up
into the burner.

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A pocket of compressed air above the fuel
will put a downward force on it,

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00:02:44,816 --> 00:02:49,213
and with the help of a dip-tube collecting fuel from
the bottom of the tank,

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that will result in fuel being delivered to the top.

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About 30 or so pumps and the lantern is ready to be lit.

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It helps if you stare at the camera intensely.

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[stares at the camera, intensely]

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Then you simply close the pump by turning
the stem clockwise,

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push it in,

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light a match, and….

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I am not lighting this one indoors.

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The fuel that's in here is strikingly similar to gasoline,

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and in fact this model can actually run on standard automotive unleaded fuel.

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So we’re taking this outside.

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OK, the tank is under pressure, there’s fuel in it,

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and we’re ready to go.

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To those of you who are used to Petromax and
Tilley lamps it’s going to seem like I’ve skipped a step here,

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but I haven’t.

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Coleman lanterns have a huge advantage compared to those two

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thanks to their fuel which I’ll explain shortly.

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But to light this you simply light a match,

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stick it into the globe right below the mantle,

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prepare for calamity,

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and open the fuel valve.

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This next part may be interesting.

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When the lantern is cold, small amounts of
liquid fuel are getting shot into the top of the burner.

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Because this fuel isn’t that far off from
gasoline it will vaporize pretty quickly

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and so we get fire.

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But it’s not working quite right, as you can see.

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It’s sputtering, the mantles aren't very bright at all,

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and there’s...

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fire... Like a lot of fire.

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But after a short period, the thing calms
down and the mantles get very very bright.

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This lantern is significantly brighter than
the propane one we saw earlier.

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This one.

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Why is unclear, though I have a theory.

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So, why did it behave like that at the start?

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Why didn’t it just light like the propane lantern does?

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Well, it has to do with the tube traveling
up the center of the lantern.

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That’s what Coleman calls the generator,

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and it’s a critical piece to the proper function of the lantern.

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To understand why, we should take this apart.

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And, through the magic of buying two of them,

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I have an already-taken-apart one right here!

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These are really quite simple devices.

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Almost astonishingly so.

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Although the fuel valve does more than you might expect.

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With the globe, burner, heat shield, collar, all that removed

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00:05:16,306 --> 00:05:21,919
you can see that this is really just a tank 
with a valve and the generator.

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00:05:21,919 --> 00:05:25,400
At the top of the generator is a small orifice.

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This is where the fuel actually comes from.

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00:05:28,129 --> 00:05:30,802
In fact, I’m feeling brave enough to show you that.

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Just a wee bit of gasoline, no biggie

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00:05:33,933 --> 00:05:37,148
(yes biggie, don’t do this yourself).

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Now you might think that the valve just lets
fuel up into the generator

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but that’s only the third of it!

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It also cleans the tip of the generator when
you move it back and forth

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thanks to a clever little pokey contraption inside,

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and it contains one of Coleman’s signature innovations -
the fuel and air valve.

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That’s why this lantern may seem astonishingly
easy to light to some of you out there.

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When cold, there's a valve inside the tank that allows some of the 
pressurized air at the top into the generator.

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That air has a lot of evaporated fuel in it,

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so the lantern can actually start running on this fuel-air mixture.

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But that’s not enough to keep it going.

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The reason it sputters so much and takes a
while to become steady

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is that the generator needs to get hot before it can do its job.

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That job?

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It’s to boil the fuel.

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Yep!

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So what if we have a liquid fuel?

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We can just get it stinking hot and now it’s a vapor just like town gas!

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The generator travels up right through the
center of the two mantles

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because it uses the intense heat they give off to boil the
fuel that’s being pushed into it

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by the pressure in the tank.

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After that point it’s no longer liquid fuel
spritzing out of here,

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but instead a stream of vaporized fuel.

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Then, push that into the burner 
through the hole that you can see there, hopefully...

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and it will combine with fresh air entering from this tube below.

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Now you have the perfect flame
for making a gas mantle glow nice and bright.

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Pretty neat, huh?

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Pressurize the tank to move the fuel into this tube,

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then boil it to make it a vapor.

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Simple yet effective.

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Here’s another example of the same idea.

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This camping stove has essentially the same exact
fuel tank as the lanterns,

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but look at the generator.

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Here, it travels over the stove’s burner
before bending back down below to supply it with fuel.

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The fuel tank sends fuel into the generator from here,

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then it’s boiled as it passes over the burner,

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and comes out as a vapor from below.

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Lighting this stove is a wee bit terrifying
as, just like the lanterns,

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it starts burning a bit of liquid fuel and makes lots of fire.

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But as that fire heats the generator, the
fuel supply becomes purely vapor

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00:08:08,753 --> 00:08:11,877
and we eventually get a clean, blue flame.

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00:08:11,877 --> 00:08:14,957
Take a listen to what it sounds like as the
fuel starts to boil.

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[whoosh of flame igniting, followed by a hissing and crackling]

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00:08:25,971 --> 00:08:37,288
[crackling diminishes and steady whoosh takes its place]

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This stove, by the way, is burning actual
automotive gasoline.

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And it should be noted that Coleman made table
lamps using this technology,

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not just lanterns.

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Compared to the Aladdin lamp this could be
considered superior,

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although there’s a complication which we’ll discuss shortly.

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Just about the worst part of this approach
is the noise.

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It’s fairly loud on its brightest setting,
with a pronounced whooshing sound.

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00:09:07,382 --> 00:09:09,364
[a pronounced whooshing sound]

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00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,811
It’s not that different from an ordinary
stove burner, but it’s not quite the same either.

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Definitely its own noise, 
probably due to the boiling fuel.

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00:09:18,723 --> 00:09:22,353
Meanwhile the Aladdin lamp is completely silent.

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00:09:22,353 --> 00:09:26,312
Now of course, this won’t even work without the
tank being pressurized,

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and as the volume of fuel in the tank drops as it’s used up,
the pressure in the tank does, too.

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So periodically you need to get some pumping
action going again otherwise the lamps will dim over time.

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00:09:38,790 --> 00:09:43,458
But it’s not something you need to attend
to constantly - perhaps every half-hour or so.

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Even less on lower brightness settings.

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00:09:45,847 --> 00:09:51,758
This also means you need to ensure the fuel
cap is tight and also that the gasket isn’t damaged.

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In fact you need to make sure everything is
tight because with the tank under pressure,

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leaks will happen wherever a fitting is loose.

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Ask me how I know.

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00:10:01,901 --> 00:10:05,929
Alright, so now let’s talk about the fuel these lanterns use.

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Believe it or not, Coleman’s first lanterns
were developed to run on gasoline,

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but the gasoline of 1903 was very different from gasoline of today.

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Also, dates are really fuzzy because deciding
what Coleman’s “first” lantern

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even is could be arguable.

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But anyway, back then gasoline was considered
this weird byproduct of kerosene production

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(which remember you may know as paraffin).

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00:10:32,243 --> 00:10:38,913
Kerosene was the fuel everybody used for everything,
and this gasoline barely had any market yet.

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Over time, as we know, we found plenty of
uses for this new gasoline,

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particularly in the internal combustion engine.

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But lots of different tweaks to it would soon occur.

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Of course you probably know about the introduction of
lead to reduce engine knocking,

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but even things as simple as different refining methods led to gasoline with very different properties.

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00:11:03,064 --> 00:11:10,053
Over time, this meant that new gasoline was so different 
that it was no longer compatible with older stuff,

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00:11:10,053 --> 00:11:13,602
and eventually an old-school formulation was required.

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00:11:14,485 --> 00:11:15,927
And this is that!

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White gas, which also goes by the names camp fuel, Coleman fuel or simply naphtha

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00:11:21,962 --> 00:11:27,025
(though that term is very, very imprecise in addition to being a mouthful)

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00:11:27,025 --> 00:11:30,627
is basically an antique form of gasoline.

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00:11:30,627 --> 00:11:34,502
The “white” is both literal - it’s perfectly clear and colorless -

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and is meant to suggest purity.

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00:11:36,785 --> 00:11:42,390
Because this is kinda-sorta what gasoline
would be without any additives.

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00:11:42,390 --> 00:11:45,039
Now, could you use it in your car?

188
00:11:45,039 --> 00:11:46,062
Uh, no.

189
00:11:46,062 --> 00:11:48,500
It has an octane rating of about 50,

190
00:11:48,500 --> 00:11:52,734
so it’s not great for use in any remotely modern combustion engines.

191
00:11:53,133 --> 00:11:55,415
Unless you want to tell a knock knock joke.

192
00:11:55,415 --> 00:11:57,791
But it’s great for these lanterns.

193
00:11:57,791 --> 00:12:02,344
A volatile, high-energy fuel but without any modern fluff.

194
00:12:02,344 --> 00:12:04,366
It simply doesn’t need any of that.

195
00:12:04,366 --> 00:12:10,684
This model, and other dual-fuel models like
it, is able to run on standard automotive gasoline.

196
00:12:11,140 --> 00:12:15,867
And as a matter of fact, most any Coleman lantern *can*,

197
00:12:15,867 --> 00:12:20,222
but you’ll notice that the generators are pretty different between these two.

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00:12:20,222 --> 00:12:25,841
The dual-fuel model is better able to tolerate
the additives that are found in modern gasoline.

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00:12:25,841 --> 00:12:30,389
I haven’t found what exactly is special
about the generator in this lantern,

200
00:12:30,389 --> 00:12:32,641
other than being a little bit thicker,

201
00:12:32,641 --> 00:12:39,201
but multiple sources suggest that while most Coleman products will function on gasoline

202
00:12:39,201 --> 00:12:41,874
the additives significantly reduce their lifespan.

203
00:12:42,472 --> 00:12:45,040
But now let’s talk about kerosene.

204
00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,705
There’s nothing stopping us from using kerosene in a lantern like these,

205
00:12:48,705 --> 00:12:53,033
except for the fact that kerosene isn’t the biggest fan of evaporating.

206
00:12:53,688 --> 00:12:57,650
Now we’re gonna get to the part that makes
Tilley and Petromax lamps so...

207
00:12:58,591 --> 00:12:59,676
fun.

208
00:12:59,676 --> 00:13:04,209
Coleman made (and I think continues to, though
they’re backordered at the moment)

209
00:13:04,209 --> 00:13:07,285
lanterns that run on kerosene.

210
00:13:08,054 --> 00:13:10,171
Here is one such lantern.

211
00:13:11,482 --> 00:13:19,153
Now, this is, without a doubt, the least user-friendly
product I have ever experienced.

212
00:13:19,153 --> 00:13:26,607
I have no idea why these are still made or
why you would ever want one over a white gas lantern,

213
00:13:26,607 --> 00:13:30,099
unless you had a huge supply of really
cheap kerosene or something.

214
00:13:30,099 --> 00:13:33,112
For those of you in places where white gas
just isn’t much of a thing

215
00:13:33,112 --> 00:13:37,397
I suppose this seems normal to you but to my sensibilities…

216
00:13:37,397 --> 00:13:38,570
just...

217
00:13:38,570 --> 00:13:39,714
Wow!

218
00:13:40,027 --> 00:13:43,252
Let’s now discuss why this is so clunky to use.

219
00:13:43,668 --> 00:13:45,890
Here’s the problem with kerosene.

220
00:13:45,890 --> 00:13:50,000
It has a high flashpoint and doesn’t evaporate quickly at all.

221
00:13:50,655 --> 00:13:56,667
That means the lantern isn’t self-starting
like the ones which run on white gas.

222
00:13:56,667 --> 00:14:01,358
And to start it, you need to not only take this apart,

223
00:14:01,358 --> 00:14:04,680
but also you’ll need some alcohol onhand.

224
00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:06,757
How’s that for convenience, huh?

225
00:14:06,757 --> 00:14:09,015
You not only need the fuel it runs on

226
00:14:09,015 --> 00:14:11,271
but also a different fuel to start it.

227
00:14:11,784 --> 00:14:12,664
Great!

228
00:14:13,063 --> 00:14:16,794
However, and here’s what I consider its one advantage,

229
00:14:16,794 --> 00:14:20,875
because kerosene isn’t quite as volatile as gasoline,

230
00:14:20,875 --> 00:14:26,048
I’m    j u s t   b a r e l y   comfortable using this lantern indoors.

231
00:14:26,048 --> 00:14:29,846
That’s 100% not an endorsement to do so,

232
00:14:29,846 --> 00:14:32,725
and the product itself is being pretty clear that you shouldn’t,

233
00:14:32,725 --> 00:14:38,002
but if this lantern were to leak it’s nowhere near as terrifying as either of these

234
00:14:38,002 --> 00:14:41,513
because kerosene isn’t actually all that flammable on its own.

235
00:14:41,513 --> 00:14:47,282
Except oh boy can things go wrong if you don’t
follow these instructions precisely.

236
00:14:47,282 --> 00:14:50,499
The first time I lit this, there was lots of fire.

237
00:14:50,499 --> 00:14:53,261
So, do not use these indoors.

238
00:14:53,261 --> 00:14:59,175
The only reason I feel comfortable doing it
is because I have lots of practice lighting this now.

239
00:14:59,175 --> 00:15:02,447
And also I have a fire extinguisher ready over there…

240
00:15:03,102 --> 00:15:04,648
this time.

241
00:15:04,648 --> 00:15:08,749
Alright, notice that there’s a little cup
thing at the base of the generator.

242
00:15:08,749 --> 00:15:11,435
This is the pre-heater cup.

243
00:15:11,435 --> 00:15:14,565
Fill this cup with alcohol, set light to it,

244
00:15:14,565 --> 00:15:19,720
and the resulting flame will heat the generator so that it can begin to boil the kerosene.

245
00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:21,035
If this sounds fiddly,

246
00:15:21,633 --> 00:15:23,845
that’s because oh boy is it!

247
00:15:23,845 --> 00:15:25,629
Remove the handle like so

248
00:15:25,629 --> 00:15:26,949
[CLANG]

249
00:15:26,949 --> 00:15:30,398
which is itself quite fiddly,

250
00:15:30,398 --> 00:15:31,501
take the top off,

251
00:15:32,242 --> 00:15:33,689
and remove the globe.

252
00:15:34,515 --> 00:15:35,957
Now comes the alcohol.

253
00:15:35,957 --> 00:15:41,073
You want to fill this cup most of the way full, 
and be careful not to spill!

254
00:15:41,443 --> 00:15:43,805
This looks super easy to pour into, right?

255
00:15:44,375 --> 00:15:49,023
Yeah, the main reason my first experience
with this lantern was so calamitous

256
00:15:49,023 --> 00:15:51,671
was how poorly this went.

257
00:15:51,671 --> 00:15:54,396
Lots of alcohol went where it shouldn’t have.

258
00:15:54,396 --> 00:15:58,704
Using a drinking straw or a small syringe
makes this much, much easier,

259
00:15:58,704 --> 00:16:02,061
especially because you also need to be careful of the mantle.

260
00:16:02,061 --> 00:16:03,727
It’s very fragile, remember.

261
00:16:03,727 --> 00:16:07,742
Oh, and the reason the cup’s insides look
crusty and gross

262
00:16:07,742 --> 00:16:12,741
is that I experimented with using hand sanitizer gel and in fact that works!

263
00:16:12,741 --> 00:16:16,633
The gelling component just leaves this residue
behind, unfortunately.

264
00:16:19,235 --> 00:16:21,826
OK, so you’ve got the alcohol in the cup.

265
00:16:21,826 --> 00:16:22,512
Great.

266
00:16:22,512 --> 00:16:24,083
Now you can light it.

267
00:16:24,482 --> 00:16:29,001
At first it’s going to burn very slowly and
with a dull blue flame

268
00:16:29,001 --> 00:16:31,823
and in fact you may need to re-light it.

269
00:16:31,823 --> 00:16:35,084
But once you know that it's for sure gonna stay lit,

270
00:16:35,084 --> 00:16:37,214
you can reassemble the lantern.

271
00:16:40,801 --> 00:16:44,710
If you haven’t already done so, now you
can start pumping to pressurize the tank,

272
00:16:44,710 --> 00:16:48,279
though you may want to wait a bit if you filled
the cup to the brim.

273
00:16:48,279 --> 00:16:50,847
And now, and this is very important,

274
00:16:51,331 --> 00:16:52,935
YOU WAIT.

275
00:16:52,935 --> 00:16:55,089
You must wait.

276
00:16:55,089 --> 00:17:00,106
If you open this valve too early you will get
liquid kerosene coming out of the generator,

277
00:17:00,106 --> 00:17:03,909
and it will hit the top of the burner and
fall back down into the mantle

278
00:17:03,909 --> 00:17:07,332
and out onto the valve itself through the air intake.

279
00:17:08,130 --> 00:17:09,712
Ask me how I know.

280
00:17:09,712 --> 00:17:12,733
As the alcohol heats up it will eventually
start boiling

281
00:17:12,733 --> 00:17:15,333
- you can see that happening on the surface -

282
00:17:15,333 --> 00:17:20,342
and the flame will become pretty intense, occasionally making it out the top of the lantern.

283
00:17:20,342 --> 00:17:22,922
Still though, you wait.

284
00:17:22,922 --> 00:17:28,134
Specifically, you wait until nearly all of
the alcohol has burned away.

285
00:17:28,134 --> 00:17:32,153
This sounds so easy to do in an emergency, right‽

286
00:17:32,153 --> 00:17:39,200
Anyway, once the alcohol is nearly gone it’s safe
to assume the generator is hot enough to boil kerosene

287
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,882
and you can open the fuel valve.

288
00:17:41,882 --> 00:17:46,062
Vaporized kerosene will be mixed with air
and shot into the mantle,

289
00:17:46,062 --> 00:17:49,223
and the burning alcohol will provide the source of ignition.

290
00:17:49,736 --> 00:17:50,891
And so…

291
00:17:50,891 --> 00:17:52,514
[loud whooshing]

292
00:17:52,514 --> 00:17:55,043
Now we have light!

293
00:17:55,043 --> 00:17:56,878
Quite a lot, too.

294
00:17:56,878 --> 00:18:03,273
It's quite a bit larger than the mantle in these so even though we only has one of them this is perfectly bright.

295
00:18:03,273 --> 00:18:04,803
Maybe even a little brighter.

296
00:18:04,803 --> 00:18:08,320
And of course, the heat from the mantle will
keep the kerosene boiling,

297
00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:12,240
so once it’s lit you don’t have to deal with alcohol again.

298
00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,234
Except for when you need to refuel it.

299
00:18:14,459 --> 00:18:15,881
Super convenient!

300
00:18:16,630 --> 00:18:18,925
Now I’m being overly harsh on it.

301
00:18:18,925 --> 00:18:25,225
I was actually fairly excited at the idea
of using this lantern as an emergency light source during power outages

302
00:18:25,225 --> 00:18:29,796
(though you’ll definitely need a flashlight to help you get it started)

303
00:18:29,796 --> 00:18:34,833
Although it is objectively a terrible user-experience,

304
00:18:34,833 --> 00:18:40,149
there is a sort of romantic, ritualistic aspect to using it that I appreciate.

305
00:18:40,149 --> 00:18:46,322
And I thought it would combine the best aspects
of the Aladdin lamp and Coleman lanterns.

306
00:18:46,322 --> 00:18:52,901
See, I ran gasoline in this lantern and somewhat
to my surprise it was entirely odorless.

307
00:18:52,901 --> 00:18:57,002
No lawn-mower-engine smell or really anything
I could detect.

308
00:18:57,002 --> 00:19:00,885
Just how the Aladdin lamp manages to be odorless
on kerosene,

309
00:19:00,885 --> 00:19:04,298
I figured the Coleman lantern would be, too but…

310
00:19:04,298 --> 00:19:06,672
it’s not quite.

311
00:19:06,672 --> 00:19:13,450
It’s nowhere near as smelly as the Dietz lanterns, so it’s definitely a more thorough combustion of the fuel,

312
00:19:13,450 --> 00:19:16,218
but there is still a smell.

313
00:19:16,218 --> 00:19:21,070
In fact you can see from this carbon buildup
that the combustion definitely isn’t perfect,

314
00:19:21,070 --> 00:19:24,691
although I must admit I don’t know how much
of that is normal

315
00:19:24,691 --> 00:19:28,433
and how much of that is leftover from some of my previous…

316
00:19:28,433 --> 00:19:31,393
mishaps with this lantern.

317
00:19:31,393 --> 00:19:34,907
It’s been burned off in areas closest to the mantle, but

318
00:19:34,907 --> 00:19:37,885
it sure looks like it’s still getting worse everywhere else.

319
00:19:37,885 --> 00:19:41,925
In any case, the odor wasn’t enough to bother
me after a half-hour of use,

320
00:19:41,925 --> 00:19:44,464
and in fact I can't smell it yet

321
00:19:44,464 --> 00:19:47,059
so it’s at least much more tolerable,

322
00:19:47,059 --> 00:19:49,917
and there’s also another quirk going on here.

323
00:19:49,917 --> 00:19:52,701
Notice how if I adjust the strength of the flame,

324
00:19:52,701 --> 00:19:57,021
the mantle seems to alternate between a cooler and warmer appearance.

325
00:19:57,021 --> 00:20:01,261
At its middle intensities the mantle glows
a fairly cool white -

326
00:20:01,261 --> 00:20:03,275
just about that of a tungsten lamp.

327
00:20:03,275 --> 00:20:05,491
But at its full intensity,

328
00:20:05,491 --> 00:20:09,441
although it gets a lot brighter it also gets yellower.

329
00:20:11,037 --> 00:20:13,165
This is unique to this lantern,

330
00:20:13,165 --> 00:20:15,819
neither white gas one does this.

331
00:20:15,819 --> 00:20:20,619
I can only imagine that this is happening
because the air fuel mixture is changing

332
00:20:20,619 --> 00:20:24,019
and the combustion is becoming more and less complete.

333
00:20:24,019 --> 00:20:31,348
And indeed, the amount of odor this thing gives off changes 
depending on whether or not the mantle appears whiter or yellower,

334
00:20:31,348 --> 00:20:34,378
though curiously it seems the odor is stronger

335
00:20:34,460 --> 00:20:38,864
when the mantle is a pure white which is the
opposite of what I expected.

336
00:20:38,864 --> 00:20:41,500
Though I’m honestly not even sure of that.

337
00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:45,265
It’s hard to judge the odor because the
amount of fuel it burns

338
00:20:45,265 --> 00:20:49,697
varies drastically depending on the brightness it’s set to.

339
00:20:49,697 --> 00:20:53,347
And it’s always possible that there’s something
wrong with this lantern,

340
00:20:53,347 --> 00:20:58,701
but I know for certain that this was a brand-new generator when I first used it.

341
00:20:58,701 --> 00:21:06,233
I had to run upstairs and came back down and, uh, definitely there is a smell of kerosene down here but it's honestly not terrible.

342
00:21:06,233 --> 00:21:09,474
But anyway, speaking of mantles that look yellow,

343
00:21:09,474 --> 00:21:12,750
now let's get to that thing I teased in the beginning.

344
00:21:12,750 --> 00:21:14,891
We'll count some Geigers!

345
00:21:14,891 --> 00:21:20,601
For many many years, gas mantles used thorium
salts as part of their chemical makeup,

346
00:21:20,601 --> 00:21:23,080
and thorium is radioactive.

347
00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:28,518
Quite a while ago, Coleman and many others
decided to move away from thorium-doped mantles

348
00:21:28,518 --> 00:21:32,677
and transitioned to the Ytttrium-based mantles that
we have now.

349
00:21:32,677 --> 00:21:38,605
This bothered some folks, as purportedly the
new yttrium mantles produce a duller, yellower light

350
00:21:38,605 --> 00:21:40,528
and also aren’t as bright.

351
00:21:40,528 --> 00:21:43,628
Some people also claim they’re less durable.

352
00:21:43,628 --> 00:21:45,803
I wanted to see how true that is.

353
00:21:45,803 --> 00:21:50,289
While the use of thorium salts in mantles
has largely been phased out,

354
00:21:50,289 --> 00:21:52,151
it hasn't been entirely.

355
00:21:52,151 --> 00:21:54,560
In fact they’ve never been outlawed.

356
00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:56,964
If you know where to look you can find them,

357
00:21:56,964 --> 00:22:00,119
and actually it's not hard to get your hands on them at all.

358
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:06,076
But interestingly although I was expecting
them to be brighter and whiter than what Coleman offers today

359
00:22:06,076 --> 00:22:08,059
based on what people have said,

360
00:22:08,059 --> 00:22:11,210
I found this isn't necessarily the case.

361
00:22:11,210 --> 00:22:12,538
Take a look at this.

362
00:22:12,538 --> 00:22:17,216
This lantern has one original thorium-free
Coleman mantle on the left,

363
00:22:17,216 --> 00:22:21,040
and it has one of these Peerless mantles on the right.

364
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:27,389
These do in fact have thorium in them, as you can see and hear from the Geiger counter.

365
00:22:28,801 --> 00:22:33,832
However, the thorium mantle is not as bright
or even as white.

366
00:22:33,832 --> 00:22:37,654
And in fact the light looks to be a little bit greenish to me.

367
00:22:37,654 --> 00:22:40,360
Why is the thorium mantle not as bright?

368
00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:43,929
Well, I think it's because it didn't shrink enough.

369
00:22:43,929 --> 00:22:48,993
I mentioned in the last video that mantles
don't normally fwoomp like this one did.

370
00:22:48,993 --> 00:22:51,812
In fact the process normally looks like this.

371
00:22:51,812 --> 00:22:55,739
The mantle starts out much larger and flatter
than it ends up,

372
00:22:55,739 --> 00:22:58,788
and as it burns away to leave the ceramic ash behind

373
00:22:58,788 --> 00:23:01,570
it shrinks and forms a tubular shape.

374
00:23:02,254 --> 00:23:05,883
And the thing is, there's some element of
random chance, here.

375
00:23:05,883 --> 00:23:08,209
At least that's what it seems like to me.

376
00:23:08,209 --> 00:23:12,778
I've had some Coleman mantles not shrink as
much as the one you see here,

377
00:23:12,778 --> 00:23:20,220
in fact I think that’s why my propane lantern, which is
supposed to be slightly brighter than the dual-fuel model on paper,

378
00:23:20,220 --> 00:23:20,984
isn’t.

379
00:23:20,984 --> 00:23:26,397
I’ve gone through a few mantles and none
of them shrunk as much as they did here.

380
00:23:26,397 --> 00:23:32,176
So far every Peerless mantle I've tried has
shrunk into this sack-like shape,

381
00:23:32,176 --> 00:23:38,750
so it doesn't stay as close to the burner particularly at
the bottom and thus it doesn't get as hot.

382
00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:41,116
Indeed when I first tried the Peerless mantles,

383
00:23:41,116 --> 00:23:50,469
I put them on this second lantern and it was definitely not as bright as this one with new, standard Yttrium mantles.

384
00:23:50,469 --> 00:23:54,385
In fact, they appeared yellower than the Coleman ones!

385
00:23:54,589 --> 00:23:59,954
It seemed to me that despite everyone saying
yttrium mantles are duller and yellower,

386
00:23:59,954 --> 00:24:01,806
quite the opposite was true.

387
00:24:01,806 --> 00:24:04,096
And just so you can see...

388
00:24:05,179 --> 00:24:11,065
[Geiger counter ticks a bit]
These are the thoriated mantles.

389
00:24:11,834 --> 00:24:15,262
However, I also found this different style of mantle

390
00:24:15,518 --> 00:24:20,967
which is also setting off the Geiger counter so we know it's got some thorium in here.

391
00:24:20,967 --> 00:24:25,172
However it's not really meant for Coleman-style lanterns.

392
00:24:25,172 --> 00:24:29,589
They are open at both ends and I had to experiment
with tying them up

393
00:24:29,589 --> 00:24:32,465
to prevent flames from shooting out the bottom.

394
00:24:32,465 --> 00:24:38,365
But here on the propane lantern I did manage
to get one attached and it shrinked well.

395
00:24:38,365 --> 00:24:41,351
Indeed it is brighter than the other mantle.

396
00:24:41,351 --> 00:24:43,358
And significantly whiter.

397
00:24:43,358 --> 00:24:46,687
So turns out this complaint wasn't all hooey.

398
00:24:46,687 --> 00:24:51,746
Although, even here I can see that the light is a bit greenish.

399
00:24:51,746 --> 00:24:58,049
This is interesting because apparently Welbach’s
first gas mantles were very green in appearance

400
00:24:58,049 --> 00:24:59,880
and people found it off-putting.

401
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:04,639
It took him a while to develop a mantle which
produced a mostly white light,

402
00:25:04,639 --> 00:25:09,410
and I wonder if the thorium salts were primarily responsible
for that green appearance.

403
00:25:09,410 --> 00:25:13,193
As someone who has always preferred warm white
lighting

404
00:25:13,193 --> 00:25:17,814
I have to say that I prefer the way the more modern yttrium mantles look anyway,

405
00:25:17,814 --> 00:25:22,822
not only because they're a bit warmer but because they don't have that greenish cast.

406
00:25:22,822 --> 00:25:27,618
But I think I can understand why phasing out
thorium has bothered some people.

407
00:25:27,618 --> 00:25:33,733
Though I do think that perhaps the poor experience
with the new mantles may have just been teething pains

408
00:25:33,733 --> 00:25:36,170
as the new mantles were first developed.

409
00:25:36,170 --> 00:25:40,987
Maybe early on they had the same shrinkage problems as this.

410
00:25:40,987 --> 00:25:47,406
I want to add that it's not like the risk to the people using the lanterns with thorium mantles is high at all.

411
00:25:47,406 --> 00:25:52,614
In fact you barely need to move the Geiger counter away from the mantles

412
00:25:52,614 --> 00:25:55,705
and it's essentially back to background radiation.

413
00:25:55,705 --> 00:25:59,875
But, consider the people in the factories that make these.

414
00:25:59,875 --> 00:26:05,528
It's probably better if they're not dealing
with radioactive materials day in and day out.

415
00:26:05,528 --> 00:26:09,207
Supposedly the reason Coleman moved away from
thorium mantles

416
00:26:09,207 --> 00:26:14,083
is simply that they feared the need to put a radiation warning on their products.

417
00:26:14,083 --> 00:26:18,711
Seeing as how these peerless mantles are available on Amazon

418
00:26:18,711 --> 00:26:21,966
and they don't have any sort of radiation warning on the crust,

419
00:26:21,966 --> 00:26:23,414
I mean packaging,

420
00:26:23,414 --> 00:26:25,289
I don't think that would've panned out,

421
00:26:25,289 --> 00:26:29,215
but it's certainly understandable to want to avoid it altogether.

422
00:26:29,215 --> 00:26:34,451
And as I said, it's probably better to allow
the people who work in the factories that make these

423
00:26:34,451 --> 00:26:39,082
to not worry about getting cancer
down the road due to handling thorium all day.

424
00:26:39,082 --> 00:26:43,720
Those of you who insist on thoriated mantles might want to think about that.

425
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:47,380
Lastly, let’s talk about the energy efficiency
of these lanterns.

426
00:26:47,380 --> 00:26:48,936
It’s horrendous!

427
00:26:49,135 --> 00:26:51,673
But certainly better than what a Dietz can manage.

428
00:26:51,673 --> 00:26:57,154
I’m gonna calculate this for the propane
lantern since it’s by far the easiest to do,

429
00:26:57,154 --> 00:26:59,640
but I’m sure the others will all be pretty similar.

430
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,499
These propane bottles hold 1 pound of propane.

431
00:27:03,499 --> 00:27:07,138
That contains 6.3 kilowatt-hours of energy.

432
00:27:07,138 --> 00:27:11,508
Now this lantern will run for about 7 hours on its high setting.

433
00:27:11,508 --> 00:27:18,585
So, roughly, it produces a kilowatt of heat
on high, and for that you get 810 lumens.

434
00:27:18,585 --> 00:27:22,736
That is well less than one lumen per watt.

435
00:27:22,736 --> 00:27:28,219
Incandescent light bulbs are literally more than 10 times as efficient.

436
00:27:28,219 --> 00:27:34,096
Even if you want to account for power plant
efficiency, way less fuel gets burned to produce light

437
00:27:34,096 --> 00:27:37,851
using what are now the least efficient light bulbs.

438
00:27:37,851 --> 00:27:43,536
And also, just think about how hot homes with
gas lighting must have gotten in the summer.

439
00:27:43,536 --> 00:27:49,619
To get the same light output as a 60 watt
light bulb you’d be adding about 600 watts of heat.

440
00:27:49,619 --> 00:27:53,954
Imagine summers where every occupied room
is running a space heater.

441
00:27:53,954 --> 00:27:55,976
That’s basically what we dealt with.

442
00:27:55,976 --> 00:28:02,359
Although things do get more complicated specifically
with the use-case of camping or backpacking.

443
00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:04,857
Not the energy-efficiency part,

444
00:28:04,857 --> 00:28:08,678
these will always be horrendous compared to anything electric.

445
00:28:08,678 --> 00:28:13,234
But with the efficiency of light-hours compared
to weight and volume.

446
00:28:13,234 --> 00:28:20,828
Plus, when camping in cold environments, having
a light source which doubles as a heater isn’t necessarily bad.

447
00:28:20,828 --> 00:28:24,066
And that can even be useful in winter power-outages,

448
00:28:24,066 --> 00:28:30,651
although honestly of these lanterns really only the propane one feels safe-ish for indoor use.

449
00:28:30,651 --> 00:28:33,067
And even it says not to do that.

450
00:28:33,067 --> 00:28:36,415
This video’s long enough as it is so I’m
gonna end it here,

451
00:28:36,415 --> 00:28:41,950
but if you’d like I’ll be discussing this more casually on my second channel Technology Connextras.

452
00:28:41,950 --> 00:28:45,939
It may not be out there by the time this video
goes live but if it’s there,

453
00:28:45,939 --> 00:28:47,223
here’s a card.

454
00:28:47,223 --> 00:28:48,307
And if it’s not there,

455
00:28:48,307 --> 00:28:51,270
well you could always subscribe and hit the bell!

456
00:28:51,270 --> 00:28:53,372
AND DON'T FORGET TO SMASH THAT LIK -

457
00:28:54,255 --> 00:28:56,790
♫ pressurizingly smooth jazz ♫

458
00:28:58,072 --> 00:29:01,993
We last talked about gas mantles and a bit
about the towngas industry.

459
00:29:01,993 --> 00:29:03,595
You can check out...

460
00:29:04,849 --> 00:29:06,190
something!

461
00:29:06,902 --> 00:29:08,036
Like, that one.

462
00:29:08,036 --> 00:29:10,000
Or [coughs]

463
00:29:12,492 --> 00:29:14,025
[coughs again]
 Dangit!

464
00:29:14,025 --> 00:29:15,865
I liked how that take was going.

465
00:29:15,865 --> 00:29:19,065
[hoarsely] 
Well now, it’s ti - I’m…did I seriously lose my… [clears throat]

466
00:29:19,065 --> 00:29:20,441
oh my gosh.

467
00:29:20,441 --> 00:29:22,010
Do I need to go get a drink of water?

468
00:29:22,010 --> 00:29:23,307
That sounds pretty normal.

469
00:29:23,307 --> 00:29:25,675
We are goo- doing great.

470
00:29:25,675 --> 00:29:27,145
Absolutely great.

471
00:29:27,145 --> 00:29:30,873
I’ve probably been recording for 10 minutes
and I haven’t even gotten through the first line.

472
00:29:32,897 --> 00:29:35,897
The bloopers were weak on the last one but
they won’t be on this one.

473
00:29:35,897 --> 00:29:39,113
Anyway, I teased that we’re gonna talk about
[clunk] these things.

474
00:29:39,113 --> 00:29:40,545
That was a loud noise.

475
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,746
Actually they are pretty anxiety-inducing actually.

476
00:29:44,746 --> 00:29:46,934
I said actually twice.

477
00:29:46,934 --> 00:29:48,540
That was fun.

478
00:29:48,540 --> 00:29:51,820
The fuel tanks of these lanterns are sealed.

479
00:29:51,820 --> 00:29:55,229
If you take a look [hissing]

480
00:29:55,229 --> 00:29:57,064
I didn’t think it was pressurized.

481
00:29:57,064 --> 00:29:58,892
Light a match…

482
00:30:01,057 --> 00:30:02,454
[disappointment]

483
00:30:02,454 --> 00:30:08,324
After that point it’s no longer fuel spritzing
out the top of here but instead a stream of vaporized….

484
00:30:09,008 --> 00:30:11,513
sh... it is fuel.

485
00:30:11,513 --> 00:30:15,341
Then you simply close the pump by turning
the stem clockwise,

486
00:30:15,341 --> 00:30:16,660
push it in,

487
00:30:18,170 --> 00:30:20,677
[laughs, then released pressure]

488
00:30:21,817 --> 00:30:25,980
[steadfast pumping]

489
00:30:31,337 --> 00:30:34,333
I promise I won't gaslight you anymore.

490
00:30:34,333 --> 00:30:38,458
OK, well I suppose on Connextras.

491
00:30:38,458 --> 00:30:42,890
By that I mean, discuss the effectives of gaslighting.

492
00:30:42,890 --> 00:30:46,759
For camping and junk.