How the gas mantle made lamps 10X brighter

This was a really bright idea.
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[@TechnologyConnections]

Hey! We found what “forced my lute” meant! Back in ye olde chemistry days, lute was a substance used to make seals between your various chemistry apparatus. So, Clayton was probably saying the 330 year old equivalent of “blew the seals” (or indeed, the pressure was sufficient to break the glass!). Oh, and somehow I missed pointing out when the Aladdin lamp was first produced. The trademark was obtained in 1908 and the first lamps went on sale in 1909. Also of note, one source claims lamps made after 1935 were technically side-draft designs, meaning air doesn’t actually travel through the center of the wick. So “central draft burner” as used in my script here might be considered a misnomer.

[@und4287]

Basically sealing putty

[@jacobpoucher]

"did you blow a seal or is that frost on your mustash?" famous youtuber "AVE"

[@Totalinternalreflection]

@@und4287 sulphuric acid is the standard joint sealer in chemistry except where that may interfere or react badly with the reactants or products.

[@tedfort1698]

Well now the post I was about to make explaining that feels a lot less inciteful.

[@Skunkhunt_42]

A "lute" is still a term we use in industrial sampling systems today

[@tayzonday]

Thank you for gaslighting all of us.

[@Ass_of_Amalek]

first

[@sawyerlightsey3709]

A wild Zonday sighting! Such a marvelous creature! Hope you're emerging well from the plague!

[@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts]

Chocolate rain!! Pepperidge Farm remembers!

[@alex0589]

Hay tay

[@Srcsqwrn]

I hope you've been well, and it's cool to see you enjoying the same amazing content that I like!

[@andrew2473]

This series has been illuminating.

[@gates531]

It has brightened my day.

[@MarceldeJong]

Thanks for shining a light on these lamps

[@FloppeyPyro]

It really *shone a light* on the details.

[@N0616JCProductions]

My life just went up a few lumens.

[@joaovitordejesusrocha7346]

Badun tiss

[@Jaymac720]

I’m always stunned by the fact that arc lights, literal LIGHTNING in a tube, was invented before bulbs that just needs to get a filament hot

[@electrictroy2010]

Arcing electricity is easy. But Finding a filament that wouldn’t burn was far more difficult .

[@arthurmario5996]

everything is easy in retrospect. @@electrictroy2010

[@lorscarbonferrite6964]

It is very easy to get a filament extremely hot for a couple of seconds. It's very hard to get it extremely hot for much longer. An electrical arc (especially one of the temperature needed to produce good light) will absolutely vaporize its electrodes over time as well, but it takes much longer for it to do so than it takes for a carbon filament to burn itself out in atmosphere. Even a tungsten filament will rapidly oxidize under the same conditions. The fact that filaments need to be quite thin in order to produce good light (due to light only being able to escape at the filament's surface) certainly didn't do them any favors either.

[@barrycraig1549]

My 92-year-old mother who grew up without electricity knows all about these lamps. Matter of fact there was one left in The Farmhouse and when we had a power failure amazed how much light it puts out

[@methos-ey9nf]

Hard to believe we've gone from burning fuel for light to color-changing wi-fi enabled LED smart bulbs in a single person's lifetime. What's even crazier is that we already take our modern lighting for granted.

[@changsangma1915]

@@methos-ey9nf ....well technically fuel is still burnt to generate electricity to power led bulbs & other appliances. Today World industry is just trying to cut off the fuel usage by turning everything to electrification.

[@VitalVampyr]

@@methos-ey9nf The gap in technology is I assume exaggerated by their rural upbringing. Some notable events of 1931 include the completion of the Empire State Building, the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean, and the invention of the particle accelerator.

[@mrdojob]

I'm a landlord in the UK and occasionally I come across the lead pipes used to feed gas matles from well over 100 years ago still buried in the walls of the houses.

[@awackocrank]

People still use the Alladin lamps on remote ranches and mining claims especially at high altitude because it gets too cold for propane to work, and they don't have or can't start a generator. An alcohol or kerosene stove or heater will also still work at very low temperatures.

[@adnamamedia]

22:45 I really appreciate you fully showing the carbon buildup disappearing. that was very satisfying

[@grumpus27]

ISTR it wasn't always easy to remove a soot spot, it could take a while fiddling with the wick to burn it off because too low and there wasn't enough heat to get it glowing, but turn it up a fraction too high and you'd see the yellow flame licking up the outside of the mantle. I still have an Aladdin of the type we used in the 1970s, but haven't yet had a use for it, Kerosene OTOH is a useful degreaser, I usually have some handy.

[@MrBilld75]

Yeah it was, it was like a movie special effect and very cool.

[@rogerwilco2]

Yes.

[@STho205]

@@grumpus27 have you tried Coleman $1 socks retrofitted to the Aladdin? I went to order new mantles last year and was just shocked ($38 for one). Went to the hardware store, bought a pack of two Coleman aftermarket soft mantles for 2.25. Tied one to the harp base and ring. Sprayed it with my wife's AquaNet till it was stiff and the right shape. Works fine.

[@emdivine]

@@MrBilld75 Come to think of it, it looked similar to the disintegration effects I've seen recently catching up on the Marvel shows. Or rather, Marvel have captured that disintegration effect wonderfully in their CGI.

[@scotthaddad563]

“It forced my lute.” When devices were made that had pipes or other attachments added to them which need to be made air tight or pressure resistant, a paste of some sort was prepare and applied to the joint. This paste was referred to as “luting.” Moonshiners used a paste of barley or rye flour mixed with water.

[@FrancisCWolfe]

Like Fuji 9 luting cement!

[@darktoranaga]

@@FrancisCWolfe It allows you to do your own dentistry, too!

[@Tywno]

Sounds plausible. This means that 'forcing the lute' and 'breaking my glasses' might imply that pressure was building up in the destillation apparatus. The pressurized/quickly expanding gas either forced the joints to leak or simply bust the glass equipment.

[@andrewdriver3318]

@@darktoranaga Fuji 9

[@mrbourdet]

Exactly! See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lute_(material)

[@johncashwell1024]

Lute, In Chemistry: it is a liquid clay or cement used to seal a joint, coat a crucible, or protect a graft. As for "protect a graft", again, in chemistry, it is referring to something like a long, thin, glass tube inserted through a hole made in the side of large glass beaker; the graft being that 'connection'. Whereas, again in chemistry, a "joint" is specifically where two ends are 'joined' together. Thus, the phrase, "...forced my lute", means that it broke through material that sealed and connected the 2-piece glass made item together.

[@zanderdevinci8198]

THANK YOU!!!

[@WMD4929]

There are still a lot (about 1750, I think) of gas lamps in London. They're scattered around Westminster and the city. Others that look alike have been fitted with electric lamps. A team of six people maintains them, which includes winding up the clockwork timer that opens and closes the valve. The mantles come from Germany.

[@evanstj5]

Yes. And the city of Worcester still has them and very pretty they are.

[@electrictroy2010]

San Diego CA has several gaslamps. No glowing mantles though. It’s just pure flame .

[@Biggles732]

​@@electrictroy2010acetylene gas can give an intense Bright light .

[@doomtho42]

For some reason I don’t trust this comment. I just get the feeling I’m being gaslit. HEYO CHECK ME OUT!! How clever is that pun?!

[@lubbock2704]

"But here's a leaf blower" is going to be my consolation response from now on.

[@Chrisfrom_Dallas]

It was a very impressive demonstration

[@doggonemess1]

"I can't get you a kitten. But here's a leaf blower." I'm not sure it works in every situation, but results would be amusing nonetheless.

[@MatthewHolevinski]

@@doggonemess1 And needless to say, that's all that's really important in this world.

[@GregStachowski]

You need a counter for "we'll get to that later" which counts up and then back down as you, well, get to those points later.

[@paulhaynes8045]

Or not!

[@edwardblair4096]

Yeah, the problem with that is when the counter does not return to zero by the end of the video it is visible to all. The way it is now, he has some plausible deniability to say "oops, I forget about xxx" in the comments or another video.

[@timotheatae]

Still waiting on Teletext.

[@joshprado4353]

The Coleman fabric mits reminds me of my childhood. Going camping using the propane lamp. I can still remember the hissing sound and bright light. The moths and other insects buzzing. The smell of the campfire.

[@normajohnson6352]

Please heed the safety instructions! The lamps must be monitored during use. DO NOT light and walk away, as the flame increases as the lamp heats. I did this once, lit, turned flame very low, got distracted, smoke alarms went off and red flame was roaring out the top of the chimney. The lamps are still used in rural areas, by the Amish, they tell me, and mantles, wicks and burner parts are sold in one local hardware. I collect them, they're fun to tinker with, a pain to trim the wicks, but fun to just turn off the lights and watch the lamp run.

[@windyfarmer.6095]

I was raised with aladdin lamps, only 65 years old, we built home made diesel lamps for using while milking cows. My neighbour still doesnt have electric, his mother in her hundreds has moved to a house with electric but she was carrying coal buckets at 99, she couldnt start the generator so had to wait till her son got home, the generator would only run for a while at night. ( We installed electric in several farms when i was young). (In Scotland).

[@ronunderwood5771]

Lehmans in Kidron OH?

[@howardosborne8647]

Norma,I am wondering if the old style Aladdin lamp idea with an incandescent mantle could be adapted to a mantle lamp that uses Bio Ethanol for fuel rather than Kerosene/Paraffin. Ethanol burns much hotter than Methanol and carries far less toxicity issues with its use. As far as wicks for burning Bio Ethanol are concerned I already use homemade wire filament wicks in small bottle type burners. I think there may be some worthwhile experiments in adding an incandescent mantle.

[@markbernier8434]

@@windyfarmer.6095 I never had them as a kid but when I started going to rural areas in the 70's all the types were very common, flat, Dietz and Alladin and the Coleman types. I still have examples of all of them at the ready for the inevitable power failure and the occasional evening just for ambiance.

[@brkbtjunkie]

My grandmother had one in the 80s

[@herminigildojakosalem8664]

As a young boy in rural Philippines, I enjoyed watching my father light our Petromax lantern that had a mantle. I still remember my elation whenever the mantle would suddenly burst into brightness as it got heated and immediately flooded our dark living room with an intense light. Yes, whenever the mantle needed replacing, he would buy one from the town hardware and the new mantle would seem to me like a sock that he would fit over the lamp's burner. I did not quite understand how it worked then and I was just fascinated by it. I brings me happiness, now as old man, to remember these things.

[@Aztesticals]

You have seen such change in this world. I wonder what I shall see. Hope your still being fascinated by stuff

[@herminigildojakosalem8664]

@@Aztesticals Yes, a lot of spectacular events in my lifetime: the first landing on the moon, the first successful heart transplant, the invention of the cellphone and its progress into the smart phone, the internet and how it has made exchange and acquisition of communication so much easier , among other things. When I was young, same sex relations were frowned upon, today it is touted as part of basic human rights. A lot of change, indeed has happened in the world within my lifetime, and yes I am continuously fascinated by it all. Thank you. And yes, (and here, judging by your comment) I am assuming that you are of the much younger generation) you shall see a lot of "change" I am sure one of which shall be the first landing on Mars. Oh, I envy you for by then I shall be dust.

[@Aztesticals]

@@herminigildojakosalem8664 hey don't say that last part. Earliest estimates are within 9-12 years in the Artemis gets the public interested again enough for the fed in the usa to give nasa the funds. You made it this far hold strong and hope. I might not be very religious but il find a prayer tonight to hope you live to see it. It's my dream to see that as well and to be able to go to space one day. Jot as an astronaut but as a tourist.. hopefully by my 50s since I'm 23 now they will have made space hotels and all.

[@herminigildojakosalem8664]

@@Aztesticals You are so young. You have all the time in the world. 9 -12 years? I would be so blessed if I make that. BTW I am now 65 years old, having been born in 1957 and beset with all the ails that come with the age (hypertension, diabetes, vertigo, etc) he-he (hu-hu-hu)

[@Aztesticals]

@@herminigildojakosalem8664 thanks and hey I've had a 108 yo great great aunt. A 101 yo great uncle, 97 yo great grandma, and a good few other family memebers live into their early 90s, late 80s. And our family has a history of high blood pressure and diabetes. And medicine is getting to the point that it actually scares me. But either way I hope you enjoy every last day you got. And let's hope for some incredible things to see in the next 5 years.

[@High-Tech-Geek]

I was blown away 20-30 years ago, taking the family camping, I picked up a Coleman propane lantern and had to figure out how to tie those little mesh bags onto the pipes. I could not believe how bright that thing lit up and never understood it. It was so amazing, it's stuck in my memory to this day. Finally, today watching your video I get it. Kind of. Thanks!

[@Biggles732]

ain't yet watched entire video... Those mantles represent the first commercial use of rare earth elements/lanthanides . A number of the rare earth elements glow brightly at reasonably achieved temperature. Cerium and thorium especially I remember. Thorium was the best performer and no longer used today . A fresh mantle is a cloth impregnated with nitrates of the rare earths and a silicon based chemical perhaps ammonium silicate. After commissioning by burning the installed mantle in situ, the ammonium and nitrate components and cloth cellulose are volatiled away leaving the rare earth oxides within a newly formed silicate solid structure that has formed in the matrix of the previous cloth fabric with some 40% shrinkage .

[@georgenewlands9760]

I was born in a farm cottage that was lit with “Aladdin” lamps (mid-1950s)…if I remember correctly my dad converted a couple into electric table lamps (these were ones with metal fuel tanks, so he drilled holes in them to run cables). They even had lampshades because the original light from the mantle was so white and harsh.

[@robertplace6131]

Farm cottage , Yorkshire 1950s, great comfort in light & heat , also for carrying around the lambing fields ! The mantles were very fragile , like ash , and the light significantly brighter & more useful than a simple flame, The heat emitted was significant, but heated the room , and I think that some were adapted to heating a small cooking pan. Also I read that Thermo-couples were fitted to make electricity , long ago !

[@FM-xs3vd]

When the fragile mantle falls apart it's dismantled

[@f_for_freedom2492]

Makes sense

[@theroomofwall1162]

Good one

[@nzoomed]

And fills the room with radioactive thorium dust...

[@texasgonzo67]

Oh thats soooo bad... totally necessary however, someone hadda say it! 😂

[@nzoomed]

@@soundspark I've been using modern mantles that I thought were safe, turns out they have thorium after putting on my Geiger counter!

[@ashen_dawn]

"... burns cleanly, and is green." Thank you that was fantastic.

[@HadleyCanine]

Looking forward to the follow-up video on the technology that makes it so green.

[@luddity]

@@HadleyCanine copper dust in the glass?

[@Sayntavian]

I still haven't stopped laughing since Dietz Nuts and this just elevated it.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

@@Sayntavian No pun could quite top that one.

[@IAmTheRealBill]

@@HadleyCanine it’s kind of neat though not sure if it’s dedicated video worthy. As memory serves though later called “Vaseline glass” it used to be called uranium glass. I’m sure you can guess why. Indeed uranium glass was a thing, and yes it had uranium in it. Technically the process turned it into more of a ceramic glass. The uranium allows you to temper it at a higher temperature and gives it that opaqueness. On second thought, it could be viable for a dedicated video. There actually is a lot to that process now that I sit and think about it.

[@crossleydd42]

IN the 1960s, there were power strikes in the UK for three hours at a time. I was staying with my aunt in London at the time, in an old house which still had working gas fittings in some rooms, although they'd not been used since the 1930s, when electricity had been installed. With some difficulty, I found a shop still selling gas mantles and fitting them enabled us to continue with gas lighting during the power cuts. It was a pity that the TV wasn't a gas one, too, but we did have a battery-operated radio!

[@FLStelth]

I am familiar with hurricane lanterns and Coleman lanterns, but I never heard of the Alladin variant. I've always wondered about how mantles actually work and what they are made of despite my using them numerous times. Thanks for your thorough and interesting video.

[@jonhohensee3258]

Aladdin

[@Biggles732]

I ain't yet watched entire video... Those mantles represent the first commercial use of rare earth elements/lanthanides . A number of the rare earth elements glow brightly at reasonably achieved temperature. Cerium and thorium especially I remember. Thorium was the best performer and no longer used today . A fresh mantle is a cloth impregnated with nitrates of the rare earths and a silicon based chemical perhaps ammonium silicate. After commissioning by burning the installed mantle in situ, the ammonium and nitrate components and cloth cellulose are volatiled away leaving the rare earth oxides within a newly formed silicate solid structure that has formed in the matrix of the previous cloth fabric with some 40% shrinkage .

[@marcfuchs6938]

I was like "damn this video is long" when suddenly the sentence came "we'll talk about this in the next video". Shows how well his content is produced.

[@BurkenProductions]

You mean dragged out so one has to scroll thru to get thru quickly or not even bother watching anyway.

[@marcfuchs6938]

@@BurkenProductions Erm, what? ......... My content was supposed to say, that the length of the video just flew by, because those were some entertaining 30 minutes.

[@leovang3425]

@@marcfuchs6938 he scored low on any reading comprehension test.

[@andreasproteus1465]

Excessive narcissistic prolixity imitating main stream media demented documentary narration.

[@henningerhenningstone691]

@@BurkenProductions If you don't like the video then why would you torture yourself watching it?

[@noahb717]

As a hard of hearing / deaf person, I really appreciate that you always make sure that your videos have captions. I'm a fellow engineer and I love it when you release new content, even if I already know about it. I've been meaning to post that comment for a while, but figured I would do it on this video that you just released and it already has captions. Thank you!

[@technopoptart]

it is brilliant isn't it?

[@AnonymaxUK]

Proper subtitles also really help when using auto-translate for non-native speakers to follow along, such as my wife :D

[@windy916]

​@@AnonymaxUK As a non-native speaker myself I'm sometimes getting lost when people talk too fast. Unfortuatelly automatically generated subtitles usually derail at the same time, so unless author ads proper ones, parts of the video stay incomprehensible

[@AnonymaxUK]

@@windy916 Auto-generated only works 85% well if the script is good (to give proper context so words that have different meanings will translate properly) and the audio is crystal clear. My wife prefers the English auto-generated ones because the translations of them just add to the confusion. Scripted captions are amazing, and I think there's many KZbinrs who gain an audience purely because of them.

[@marckyle5895]

Same here. Captions are needed with all video that I watch now.

[@robertrobert7924]

I was born in 1947 in the USA. I am familiar with gas lights that were in my Grandmother's Victorian home. They were converted to electricity before I was born. I also remember outdoor kerosene lanterns that were used outdoors by road construction crews and railroads. I started collecting various bicycle, flat wick farm, railroad, and camping lanterns decades ago. Also have a few hollow wick lanterns and heater brass fuel reservoirs. My BSA Troop used Coleman white gasoline lanterns and camp cook stoves that had to be pumped up the be pressurized. The lamps were so bright that you could not look directly at them. Thank you for this walk back in time.

[@woodiemoore]

My grandparents were given a kerosene lamp for the table as a wedding gift on Jan 1, 1920. It sits on my mantle now with blue colored oil and marbles I played with in school in the bowl. My grandfather was an engineer and when I became a boy scout in 1952 he gave me a kerosene lamp from a caboose. I used it for years and it now sits in my attic with my other scout gear.

[@cullidge]

The "Dietz nutz" joke from the previous episode still kills me

[@technopoptart]

i still get a chuckle

[@nomanmcshmoo8640]

@@technopoptart every time he says "Deitz" I start laughing.

[@isidoreaerys8745]

I was trapped in a Las Vegas jail cell in Quarantine isolation with the Deez Nuts guy from Vine for 72 hours. Now I don’t ever want to get famous

[@mtb8300]

"it will be hard to show this on camera" Immediately shows it very clearly on camera

[@PredictableEnigma]

He probably fiddled with the camera settings for a while before he got it to look good

[@Timocracy]

“Under-promise, over-deliver” -Steve-O

[@utubewatcher806]

I believe that's called gaslighting. You are told you won't see it, but yet you know you did see it?

[@slidey1788]

Here's a leaf blower....

[@shuylermample9544]

@@Timocracy Scotty

[@Lecon60]

I use a Coleman "white gas" lamp while camping. I grew up around these lamps. I remember my dad taking the lamp and pumping it to pressurize the tank. My dad used to pull out the mantle after the old one would get a hole.

[@kevintaylor791]

My Grandparents had a cottage on an island from the 80's up to the early 2000's. Up until about '95, the whole place was powered with propane. Lights, stove, even the fridge, all propane powered. The water was pumped from the lake with a gasoline powered pump to a small water tower. After the electric upgrade (which would be wildly expensive today), the stove remained propane, and one light, in a little corner with a comfy chair, and a perfect view of the lake, the perfect spot to curl up with a book, was left alone, it still works.

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

I love how the stock footage of the guy writing with a feather quill is so obviously *NOT* someone who actually knows how to write with one. All the text on the page when the clip begins is clean and precise - his writing is full of blotches and thick drops. :-D

[@trippmoore]

Then why don't you marry it?

[@magicstew45]

@@trippmoore you're gonna find a lot of "um actually" people in these comment sections.

[@benjaminschwartz7616]

Came here to comment on the little kid writing stock video when the quill writing video concluded.

[@vortec4253]

@@benjaminschwartz7616 surprised this hadn't been mentioned yet...

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Well, obviously he was startled by the lighting phenomenon he just discovered.

[@GeorgeBPryor]

"He called it a gasometer." That name annoys me. "This name annoyed scientists." I'm a scientist, confirmed.

[@CaptainDangeax]

I like the word gazomètre because the height of the cover actually gives a visible measure of how much gaz is in stock. And also because I'm french and this word looks far more french to me than gazofeet or gazoyard

[@CASHSEC]

We had a gasometer near us. The cylinder floats in water to make a seal. The more gas you have the higher the cylinder. This maintained a level pressure so I would say it could be classed as a Meter as it gave you a visual indication of how much gas you had left.

[@revolverguy]

Samesies

[@Havron]

We are all scientists on this blessed day.

[@russcattell955i]

I used to work in gas utilities. The gasholder / gasometer is dual function (although we referred to the locations as holder stations), town gas was produced around the clock and natural gas is transported likewise. So local storage during low demand was needed as they function at relatively low pressure. Also release gas to the system during high demand, regulating pressure. They have become largely obsolete as the supergrid network can be over pressured for storage and exhausted gas fields can be re stocked. Yes putting gas back underground is a thing.

[@Jay_Mac1775]

These lantern videos really brighten my days

[@russwayne2132]

You've done it again! This is the second video of TC that I've watched and like the first, it is so entertaining and educational, both at the same time. You're such a natural explainer of complicated things.

[@LMacNeill]

"Lute" can be defined as "a clay or cement used for sealing a joint or coating a crucible." So, I imagine, in this case, "forced my lute" might mean the gas cracked the cement he used to attempt to seal the gas inside a container? Maybe indicating that the gas was under a lot of pressure somehow? Just a guess...

[@Totalinternalreflection]

You’re pretty much correct, though exactly what he was using to seal the joints is unclear.

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

That's most likely what he meant. The distillation of coal has to be done in an air tight vessel, such as when they made town gas or coke or when burning wood to make charcoal.

[@neophobicnyctophile8264]

Could he have meant to say he "came undone"?

[@asmodiusjones9563]

The author was quite likely precisely describing what physically happened, but we are so used to these old-timey mechanical phrases being used for dramatic flair it is hard to hear it that way. Imagine an electrician working on a circuit and saying he blew his fuse; he would probably be talking about the actual fuse in his system.

[@DonMachado]

This was my guess also. If you look at the retort, there is a hole in top to fit a stopper or additional fixtures. "Forced my lute or broke my glasses" sounds like, "popped my cork or shattered my retort."

[@Gottaculat]

I'll never forget the first time I went camping in the 90s, and my dad lit up a Coleman lantern. Damn near blinded me, and he said the trick is to set it up in a direction you don't need to look. We'd toss a rope over a sturdy tree branch, hoist the lantern up to about 8 feet off the ground, and tie off the line. It was like having a shop light in the woods!

[@blockstacker5614]

The propane stuff will never beat the old multi-fuels

[@JBass33]

I had the same experience but my first camping trip with my dad was back in the 50’s.

[@no_peace]

We placed ours outside the tent several feet away and it was so nice knowing we'd see a shadow if anyone wandered by

[@the_undead]

@@no_peace quite frankly a light that bright would likely scare away anyone or anything because a human would probably come to the conclusion that if there is a light of such intensity the human that created it is probably still awake and an animal would see such a light and go I have no idea what's going on I don't want to know because I'll probably die if I find out I'm going to go the other way.

[@supertramp6011]

@@blockstacker5614 don’t tell Hank Hill!🤣🤣

[@benjysshed1883]

When I was a kid (1970s) we spent our summer holidays in a caravan that had gas lamps with mantles.

[@tjm3900]

I remember that. I got quite good at changing mantles. Some had a little spark wheel with a flint for ignition.

[@benjysshed1883]

@@tjm3900 We weren't allowed to mess with them, that was dad's domain 😆

[@Abitibidoug]

Interesting and informative video. I remember many years ago having a Coleman lamp with the bag shaped mantles like at 17 minutes. When new, you had to burn off some material that was blue if my memory serves me right. After that, they worked well, putting out a lot of light. The fuel it used was naptha.

[@AlanTheBeast100]

You beat me to it by a day - 1 year after the video came out...!

[@susanlangley4294]

I still have a couple my parents used when camping, when I was a kid. They still work but I always start them outdoors.

[@ronoku9445]

I have two of those old Colman lanterns. My dad bought them back in the 60's.

[@matt.willoughby]

They are pressurised lamps

[@daryllect6659]

Some mantles (Coleman) are thoriated, meaning they are treated with thorium and are radioactive. The thorium increases the brightness.

[@herzglass]

I always liked the German term for gas mantles. "Glühstrumpf" which literally translates as "glow stocking".

[@crowdemon_archives]

Technically not even wrong 😂

[@stefan_brix]

Even the term "Strumpflampe" "Stocking Lantern" was quite common. My Grandmother used it often to distinguish between gas mantle lanterns and (standard) "Petroleumlampe" (flat-wick kerosene lamp). And the "Petromax", which burns pressurized (with a hand pump) kerosene within the gas mantle is legendary ...

[@caracaes]

In Portuguese it is called "camisinha", little shirt, which later became a slang for "condom".

[@SatumangoTheGreat]

It's called 'gloeikous' in Dutch, which means the same thing.

[@omzig18]

German is the most literal language I think drax is german

[@michiunfried502]

"lute" means something like putty or cement... So I would interpret "forced my lute" as "It broke the seals on my still" (so pressure was building, becuase a gas originates from the heated coal and this gas could not be condensed, as the guy wrote before)... And it "broke my glass", so after he enforced the seals, the glass broke, because it couldn't hold the pressure...

[@SonOfFurzehatt]

You beat me to it. You're spot on

[@michiunfried502]

@@SonOfFurzehatt thanks. I only realized I was like 5 hours slower than everybody else 😅

[@quincyfry6569]

Came here to say this.

[@KenManSuperGenius]

Missed your post before I replied the same.

[@domtweed7323]

Thanks for that! I was thinking it can't be "loot" in the usual English sense, because that's a Hindi word absorbed into English when the British was literally looting India. 1691 is a bit early for that, so "lute" makes more sense.

[@Bigpimpin9393]

This guy summed up hours of knowledge in 30 minutes give this guy a Nobel

[@ragnarstorm3902]

I remember we had a celling lamp in our mountain cabin in Norway utilizing gas mantle back in the 80s. I do recall they was expensive and a massive upgrade on normal parafin lamps we had in the rest of the cabin. Thanks for the entire series of fantastic videos.

[@oivinf]

We found an old mantle at our cabin once, it did surprise me that 1) It said it contained thorium 2) It was tied onto the lamp with an asbestos string 3) The instructions were to cut off the excess string with scissors

[@carlsaganlives6086]

The leftover radioactive asbestos string was commonly used as floss, nothing potentially useful was ever thrown out.

[@chuck-echeese6706]

Sounds very safe.

[@TantalumPolytope]

ah yes, *_safety_*

[@JunkCCCP]

It's incredible how people act like asbestos is some sort of magic substance that will magically kill you if it exists near you. OK so asbestos string, trim it, throw it out. What of it? Don't inhale the asbestos fibers into your lungs. Unless you have to trim 18 thousand strings it's extremely unlikely anything will happen to you.

[@emanuelsoares7963]

as guy from africa I remember mantels we used to use them were I lived, thank you for the storie and knowledge my friend and I whish you a nice friday

[@grantdavis5992]

I bought my Aladdin lamp at a local hardware store about 15 years ago. I had been using propane fired gas lights in an older camping trailer and wanted the option of using a kerosene source. My brother had used an Aladdin lamp in his home 40 years ago which had a fixture which would allow him to hold a pan for cooking above the lamp. That provided an increase in efficiency, light and cooking, and enough heat to take the chill off the cabin on cool, but not too cold, nights. We had used Coleman lanterns fueled by white gas back in the 1950's, so we have used all 3 types of incandescent mantle lamps over the years. Although I still have all these lanterns, the great improvement in efficiency of LED lights and rechargeable batteries may mean that they will just be relics on the shelf as curiosities. This presentation provided some interesting history and details I had not been aware of.

[@brinistaco1970]

Extremely interesting. Really appreciate bridging the gaps leading up to electric light. Your research and presentation ability, attention to detail and admission of imperfection in knowledge in some rare but understandable cases make your videos a true pleasure to watch. It amazes me how curious you are about such a wide range of topics.

[@somedandy7694]

"They preferred the term 'Gas-holder'" I would have preferred Gasservoir

[@klausbrinck2137]

Yeah, the 2nd word always has to be a greek one (meter), and if not, then at least a french one (reservoir)... Or else, everybody will know, that you don´t take your business seriously...

[@RobertBlaize]

In my youth, 1950s, we called them 'Gas Tanks".

[@totherarf]

If we are being pedantic a Gasometer was actually capable of measuring the volume of gas by virtue of measuring its radius and its height.

[@formdusktilldeath]

I would have called it Gas-Container. Because it contains gas.

[@anonymic79]

My vote is for gaservators the top of the reservoir floats on the gas and moves up and down according to the volume.

[@plapbandit]

I refuse to believe phlogiston is not at play here.

[@michaelathens953]

Gotta dephlogisticate that air somehow.

[@mattbanks3517]

@@michaelathens953 YOU SHALLTH BE SOLD PHLOGISTEN!

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

phlogiston was a thing, when dodos & passenger pigeons existed. Like those, it too, is now extinct.

[@benholroyd5221]

@@michaelmoorrees3585 phlogiston /fləˈdʒɪst(ə)n,fləˈɡɪst(ə)n/ noun a substance supposed by 18th-century chemists to exist in all combustible bodies, and to be released in combustion. I don't know, it sounds a lot like the magic smoke contained in electronics to me.

[@kaneo1]

Next you'll be saying dark matter _isn't_ just scientific aether.

[@reluctantly_anthony]

My family's cabin built in the 80s uses wall mounted, propane powered, mantle lamps. Never really thought about them before. It's awesome to learn a bit about how they work!

[@robertbrindley8948]

Your channel is one of the easiest mentally stimulating channels out there for learning and just covering subjects no one does good on you dude I love your channel

[@taythree5549]

"someone asked for a simulated hurricane, I can't do that but" -proceedes to do that Lol I love this series, it's just the right amount of comical built into a very informative package to me.

[@scubaman2546]

I was expecting (hoping?) the lantern would slide out of frame. No no nonono.

[@Nareimooncatt]

I was hoping to see the leaf blower used on the Aladdin lamp.

[@NoahSpurrier]

“Forced my lute” means the gas pressure broke the connection to glass collection vessel meant to condense the gas vapor distilling from the retort. Typically, the gas would condense into a liquid, but the temperature would not have been low enough to condense the gas from the coal, so the pressure built up and forced the connections apart.

[@FranzFartinand]

Lute being a clay used to seal an airtight connection

[@Creationweek]

I came here for this comment, and I still want to use it as a term akin to grinds my gears

[@zym6687]

@@Creationweek It's pretty close, basically just an archaic "blew a gasket"

[@sanveersookdawe]

lute2 /luːt,ljuːt/ Learn to pronounce noun noun: lute; noun: luting liquid clay or cement used to seal a joint, coat a crucible, or protect a graft. a rubber seal for a jar. plural noun: lutes

[@sanveersookdawe]

Yep

[@petric334]

Holy crap I remember all of these mechanics from my childhood- new mantle is flexible, the initial burn in, then its fragile- and most of all, do not touch that glass if it goes out after an hour. Really cool man.

[@paulnormandin5267]

It is a delight to listen to you explain... well, anything! This is the third or forth video of yours I have seen and you seem to keep getting better. Thank you for your efforts!

[@SomeoneCommenting]

22:15 the part where it shows how the carbon gets "cleaned" by burning it away was really cool.

[@whyjnot420]

Yeah, that part was fascinating and beautiful at the same time. Quite pleasing to see up close.

[@richdelgado3405]

When I was a kid we used to use those Coleman lanterns all the time on hunting and camping trips. If I remember correctly, you never wanted to touch the mantle itself; if you did, it would just disintegrate into a fine powder when you touched it.

[@frederf3227]

Same, apparently it was "petroleum naphtha" liquid fuel that had to be pressurized by hand for the first few minutes of operation. Then a generator of some kind used heat to keep the feed going. I was always getting in trouble for being too rough with it. Tying on new mantles took a bit of finesse.

[@dstone1701]

@@frederf3227 Yup. You used to be able to buy "white gas" fuel (I've been told it was simply unleaded gasoline) at service stations. When I was a kid, every family camping trip started with a trip to the gas station to buy a gallon of lantern fuel. I remember my dad pumping up the fuel tank of the old Coleman lantern when the light started to dim. I prefer propane.

[@JaimeWarlock]

@@dstone1701 When I was a kid, my parents joined this cult up in the woods. We used a lot Coleman lanterns. I could never figure out the how and why of mantles. I think somebody gave me a really bad (and very wrong) explanation, but watching this video has clarified the science behind it.

[@LazarusMP]

@@dstone1701 This is the stuff. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtha It's the only thing we used in our Coleman lamps and stoves back in the 70's and 80's before the little propane cannisters became a thing. Before reading the Wiki page I had no idea it was the same thing as the 'lighter fluid' my dad used in his Zippo.

[@mgjk]

@@dstone1701 the white gas evaporates completely from your fingers and gear and doesn't leave a residue or smell. I prefer the white gas to propane as it's more energy dense, has lighter containers on account of not needing to be stored at high pressure, easier to see how much you have left and better for cold weather, but white gas is certainly fiddly with the pumping. On a nice summer daycamping trip, propane would be so much less trouble.

[@ShakepearesDaughter]

Thank you...I now understand what this gas mantle "thing" is. I encountered it as a concept for the first time today, and once I saw what new ones, ready to be used, look like, I was very confused as to how a fabric net bag became a helpful and desirable item once subjected to flame. GOT IT NOW. Much thanks, no more confusion. Very clever invention to improve the usability of the then-available technology. Can you imagine people being smart and careful enough to use this in their homes now? Drivers have trouble nowadays simply remembering to turn the headlights on for their cars at night...

[@1Surge]

I like seeing how things are invented and created. And it just shows people new how to do it from way before they just never pressed on to actually master it and obtain utility. That is why I believe we are more advanced than we think, and we need to discover less and tie more ends to get what we want.

[@Trainfan1055Janathan]

5:20 There are "gasometers" in my train simulator. For years I could not figure out what these were or how to use them. After all these years, I finally know what one is.

[@markwilliams2620]

Many interurban railroads were founded by coal gas companies in order to normalize a product of gasification of coal: electricity. If you could ride an electric interurban from Elgin to Chicago, you could safely put electricity into your house.

[@roseroserose588]

We have quite a few still in the UK - no longer operational but the structures are still there. They're all slowly being taken down & redeveloped which is for the best, but it is a shame to see the structures go

[@frecio231]

Which simulator do you use?

[@pauljs75]

@@markwilliams2620 And now a good part of the former Elgin route is the Robert McClory and Skokie Valley bike trails. It was a lighter grade of rail than what Metra uses which is shared with freight.

[@tomcardale5596]

@@roseroserose588 the redevelopment may be premature... if we are serious about moving to renewable gas they would be very useful. The modern gas holder has a membrane inside an outer dome. The outer dome is inflated by air (like a bouncy castle) and always looks the same. The gas bag inside inflates and deflates with the gas level. If there's a gas leak, you can detect it in the "overflow" air of the outer dome.

[@GingerNingerGames]

“and we'll cover that in the next video” Damn cliffhanger endings

[@Juggernath]

As a collector and restorer of old Coleman lamps it was a sad cliffhanger indeed.

[@ziggyinc]

@@Juggernath I stil have my familys old pump lantern.

[@nikomatiskainen80]

My dad took me gigging with a tilley back in the day. Then I took it up with my friends using a gas lamp. Then a halogen H4 and a car battery. Now you could probably just use a key chain LED.

[@numetalmarius1241]

Next up Tilley lamps...

[@SparxI0]

I've watched too many Morrowind memes and thought that said cliffracer

[@jakoblarok]

I only just started watching this channel's videos. I have to say, I really enjoy how the host has the bearing and cadence of Ben Franklin. It's a nice way to look back into older technologies - good on you for your character research!!!

[@dannybanford6386]

I've had several of these lamps for more than 30 years and love them, including a railroad caboose lamp with mount. I also love your channel. Danny

[@robert.staubs]

The initial burn-off to "create" the mantle is truly fascinating. Great stuff!

[@DyslexicMitochondria]

I love this channeI so much

[@tomhappening]

@@DyslexicMitochondria Hey bro i watch ur videoss. Love ur channeI

[@squidcaps4308]

I was expecting to hear "carbon needs to be hotter to glow, as we see here as the soot is collected by the mantle".. as that was one of my first questions, why not use carbon mesh. It shows it so nicely, one of them glows, the other doesn't. You probably can't make carbon mesh to glow that brightly without using hydrogen and oxygen, or acetylen+oxygen.

[@stupidloser]

As a Coleman guy I enjoy it too

[@semifavorableuncircle6952]

@@squidcaps4308 A carbon mesh would just burn in the flame. The soot mostly burns, too.

[@davidkantor7978]

Here’s another interesting connection. When electric lighting was first being installed in buildings, they already had a route to run the wires: the gas pipes. The electric fixtures went up right where the gas fixtures had been, and the wires were pulled through the pipes that were already there. This way, electric conduit was “invented”.

[@user-yw8sr3uj1w]

ah! I didnt know that!

[@pasad335]

Source? If you've pulled wires through actual conduit you know how hard even that is. Pulling wires through gas pipe seems almost impossible; the elbows are too sharp and the pipe has most likely not been reamed at the ends. I call BS

[@davidkantor7978]

@@pasad335 Thanks for the reply. I don’t recall the source; sorry. You make a good point. I bet that the insulation could get stripped as the wire went a joint where the pipe ends were not reamed. But still, it could have been how the practice got started. Then, subsequently, people figured that they needed to have tubing that is more suitable for wire; curvy bends and free of sharp edges.

[@davidkantor7978]

One source: the Wikipedia article on electric conduit.

[@pasad335]

@@davidkantor7978 Yeah, interesting. I'm guessing some of the early gas piping was probably bent brass tubing. That could certainly work as electrical conduit.

[@erex0998]

I love how one of the big features of the Aladdin lamp is the fact it is green.

[@savage22bolt32]

He gets to the gas mantle just before the 11 min mark. Thanks for the great educational video, and a huge thanks for not ruining it with crappy background music while you're talking. I don't know why some people are compelled to add annoying background music throughout the video.

[@flp322]

"That's terrifying." Not as terrifying as when you *_tipped over a kerosene lamp in your home._*

[@TechnologyConnections]

I did it for you!

[@frecio231]

@@TechnologyConnections and we're grateful

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@TechnologyConnections Yeah, that's what the maid said to Damien just before the hung herself in the foyer...

[@flp322]

He replied to me! Mom, did you get that on camera?!

[@42luke93]

I need to watch that video now!!!

[@DilRyeMaster]

“Forced my Lute” sounds like a good euphemism for “blew my mind”

[@ericdixon2898]

Yeah I'd like to blow his mind. 🥰

[@icedragonaftermath]

I mean, that isn't too far off. It was more of a "blew off my rubber hosing" thing, but the implied pressire of the flammable gas in question is pretty applicable.

[@neondemon5137]

Blew a gasket

[@beavis6363]

I just posted a comment on this, I think he might be using a lost euphemism for sneezing. (something strummed him and he put forth sound). Like the classic cartoon honk sneeze, along those lines. People where I *think more clever with language and writing in earlier times. Qualifier: I'm no expert

[@MichaelMickelsen]

I just want to thank you for making all these video's. You channel is very educational. I look forward to seeing them and learn something new everytime.

[@JoshSaysStuff]

Finally, an explanation of the mantle! I have a vivid memory from my childhood of finding an old lamp like this, removing the glass, and touching the mantle. It crumbled and I was beyond confused, having thought it was a cloth of some sort.

[@Biggles732]

ain't yet watched entire video... Those mantles represent the first commercial use of rare earth elements/lanthanides . A number of the rare earth elements glow brightly at reasonably achieved temperature. Cerium and thorium especially I remember. Thorium was the best performer and no longer used today . A fresh mantle is a cloth impregnated with nitrates of the rare earths and a silicon based chemical perhaps ammonium silicate. After commissioning by burning the installed mantle in situ, the ammonium and nitrate components and cloth cellulose are volatiled away leaving the rare earth oxides within a newly formed silicate solid structure that has formed in the matrix of the previous cloth fabric with some 40% shrinkage .

[@bksl09]

I need a counter for how many times he said we’d talk about something later

[@robertschnobert9090]

It's a humungous topic! 🌈

[@JohnMichaelson]

I'll get you one later.

[@ziggyinc]

@@JohnMichaelson giggle snort

[@eduardobarros6562]

The most impressive thing is that 2/3 things he really ended up talking about

[@JBLewis]

It's like Alton Brown and, "But that's a topic for another episode."

[@paveloleynikov4715]

Also, i think that turn-style electric switch could be traced to gas valves as well.

[@TechnologyConnections]

Indeed! Schivelbusch mentions this, and the earliest switches were quite bad for this reason. We didn't know yet that they needed to be clicky!

[@pizzaivlife]

@@TechnologyConnections good thing there is a video out there to explain that very phenomenon!

[@I967]

@@TechnologyConnections We had clicky-turny switches in Czechoslovakia.

[@eliskarezlerova7424]

@@I967 My grandparents still have it in their cottage :) (only in few mostly unused rooms though)

[@12vgs8606]

Did the lamp have always on pilot

[@subhrapratimsharma2825]

I have seen and used all of these lamps as a child (I've used these lamps at least 4 years ago) and had almost forgotten about them. You'd be amazed how bright these 'Gas Mantle' lamp get. Also nobody I know was able to explain when I'd ask why the glowing mesh was so fragile or what is it made of. I got to know now. Good work.

[@Sean_Coyne]

I discovered an Aladdin lamp in a garage sale, sans mantle and at the time didn't know anything about them. A bit of research led me to a shop in Melbourne, Oz, that sold them and of course spare mantles. When I first got it to work properly I was truly amazed at how bright it was. I ended up buying some more and used them often just for the lovely light they produced.

[@Biggles732]

I wonder if that place in Melbourne is still there . I vaguely remember London Trading or suchlike, all the motorcycle gangs or clubs used to hang out in that end of city on Saturday and electroplating works and mechanics shops and painters were there. Cecil Walker bicycle shop was also there.

[@Sean_Coyne]

@@Biggles732 Oh yeah, Elizabeth Street on a Saturday morning was always Mecca for bikies. Mrs Modak's shop was heaven if you were into British bikes and needed hard to find parts. I believe the shop I got my Aladdin mantles and wicks from was also in Elizabeth Street.

[@kelinator2000]

So I did a ton of undergrad research into lanthanides like the yttrium used in that mantle and I can say there is no catalytic reaction going on. What is happening is just that the correct fuel to air ratio is occurring and a non dirty flame is happening. That dirty kerosene smell that comes from the Dietz lamps is due to the candle not being able to burn hot enough with enough air to actually burn all the fuel. The aladdin lamp is providing both enough airflow and draft that the flame can get hot enough to burn cleanly.

[@sharpenflat6002]

Check out the brain on Kelsey!

[@alanmahaffey3265]

Oh how I love a well stated, factual answer from somebody who obviously knows what they are talking about.

[@jetstream454]

This is so incredible it basically matches what T.C. said, but more in depth

[@TheCrewExpendable]

They are very, very, very slightly radioactive. Not at all dangerous, just enough radioactivity that you can demonstrate with an alcohol vapor chamber in a high school science class (they emit alpha particles which leave behind big, fat clouds of alcohol vapor).

[@danshultz11588]

@@TheCrewExpendable like my mother in law

[@seangorry]

And thus 'forced my lute' become a popular phrase in the 2020's

[@snoflahke6575]

or maybe telling someone to stop trying to force my lute. "you may not like what i have to say but trying to force my lute isn't going to change my mind." their confusion over what you just said should buy you enough time to make a quick egress.

[@oldvlognewtricks]

‘Stop posting thirst traps or I’m gonna force my lute.’

[@johannesmajamaki2626]

If the guy talking about a lute being a clay seal on a crucible, then us taking this phrase on as an expression for frustration will make for some wonderful reading on an encyclopaedia one day. Let's do it.

[@D-B-Cooper]

As long as the lute consented.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

If this doesn't become a thing, it's really going to force my lute.

[@seanhoude]

The good ole Coleman lantern for the win! Always loved these while camping as a kid and had been thinking about getting a couple for emergency purposes. Definitely doing so now.

[@benavraham4397]

Wow!!! I've seen these things for nearly 60 years and never had a clue how they work! Thank you so much for explaining it! 😆🌟🎉

[@macsenplays]

Missed opportunity, they could’ve called "gasometers" "gassholes".

[@Lapantouflemagic0]

calling something -(o)meter while it is not a measurement apparatus is the closest thing from scientific terrorism there could ever be 😅

[@wallabra]

@UC8qWIA7WaG4fU0yuFY4YUHg However, it is still not its primary purpose. A voltmeter exists primarily to measure electricity; a gasometer CAN measure the contents in it, about as much as a glass of sufficiently standard size CAN measure an amount of water volume in it (if you use it repeatedly, anyways).

[@BTW...]

@@Lapantouflemagic0 The design of these reservoirs gave an indication of how much the vessels contained. You do realise the sides raised and lowered under the system pressure. When full, all side rings were raised (sealed at base and top of each segment, by water in a trough), when empty walls lowered to ground level. A metal framework that guided the concertina like walls didn't collapse, giving an indication of capacity. So yeah, not a 'scientific instrument', but neither is an uncalibrated galvanometer or voltmeter, but the suffix meter is appropriate.

[@Kevin-jb2pv]

@@wallabra I think the reason it's called a gasometer is because it provides a metered (or controlled/ measured) flow of gas. I think it was also to troll scientists, though.

[@Lapantouflemagic0]

​@@BTW... to be honest i had absolutely no idea whatsoever of what those things looked like. looking into it i see you're right, but those are still primarily storage devices still, a gasometer in any reasonnable understanding should not be a buidling

[@TheOneTrueNothing]

"No, that was correct, why did you stop" has to be one of the best outtakes I have ever heard

[@Isurusish]

You have just the right amount of snark, and you don't take yourself too seriously. Your videos are educational and funny, keep it coming!

[@Lucianrider]

Loved this!! I grew up on a boat with my parents and we had both an Aladdin lamp and pump up Tilley lamps, we used the Aladdin lamp below in the saloon to save electricity on a nightly basis for many years. The Aladdin lamp was a pain to constantly monitor and if it got very sooty one trick was to sprinkle salt onto the mantle to help burn it off. Thanks for the memories!!

[@woosix7735]

I have no idea what “forced my lute” means, but “broke my glasses” sounds as if the gas pressure built up inside his apparatus until it broke his glassware

[@BackseatStudios]

Lute was a material used for sealing alchemical apparatus back in the day. So combined with the next phrase, I'm pretty sure he's talking about it actually breaking his equipment.

[@stephendoherty1275]

Yes, forced meaning raised the pressure... I agree.

[@stephenjones9153]

Exactly. Too much pressure built up and if the Lute didn't pop the glass would break.

[@finalcam1740]

Look at what the internet produces. Different minds come together to solve mysteries. Also, tiktok...

[@nelsonx5326]

My kids broke my lute, they smashed my violin.

[@sdimartino]

I realize I’m stating the obvious here, but dude, you have a gift. You can take topics which would normally be considered dry, boring, mundane, and make them RIVETING. I don’t know how you do it, but please keep doing it.

[@reefsroost696]

He's a really good story teller.

[@rawpotato1767]

He should do a video on rivets

[@TehKorwinMikke]

There isn't such a thing as "boring topic". The people who make a topic feel boring, tend to make anything boring.

[@harry356]

He makes it relevant.

[@robertgoss4842]

This chap does have a knack.

[@blood-redeemeddragon]

It's cool to know a lot of these things going into it and still learning more about them. Every year, my church holds international camp meetings, and in the cabins, they used to used kerosene lanterns, but eventually switched over to those propane lamps. They're really nifty, and boy do you feel the heat from them.

[@Eva-xf2zp]

This is fantastic! I never knew this! I have an antique Fostoria parlor lamp that needs a mantle! Thank you so much! Awesome!

[@blazer6248]

"the limelight" So *that's* what that means! 😆

[@bsperoz]

Just makes me think of the song by Rush...

[@TacoBurrit0]

@@bsperoz well the song was written under the same assumption, it's about living a life on stage, as a celebrity or other public figure who would be in the literal limelight

[@aidenlosh9518]

Hm, I always thought it was the universal dream...

[@newton21989]

...for those who wish to seem.

[@brianhaygood183]

@@TacoBurrit0 Well, I wouldn't argue against you on it. Let's put aside the alienation and get on with the fascination.

[@lochadyloo1294]

"incandescently smooth jazz" this had no business making me laugh like it did

[@whatsappvideos9665]

do you know the name of the music used at the end?

[@bellablue5285]

I'm quite familiar with the flat wick lamps, they worked well when power went out in the winter for both light and heat, but I'm not sure I've ever seen one of these mantle/mantled lamps. Fascinating. And no kerosene scent when in use, even better.

[@job38four10]

I'm only hear because I saw an old stile camping mantle, they always fascinated me when I use to go camping..... So when I started watching I had no idea what you was babbling about but you did such a good job at it, you force my lute to watch the whole video, then come to find out at the end you edited out all the verbal bloopers, but even after all that you certainty do have a good speaking gift, so good that I'll watch another video about these lights..........

[@galxieranger8277]

Murdoch: It's a "gasometer". Other scientists: Gashole!

[@calinolteanu8079]

Priceless!

[@LeifNelandDk]

Gasholder, i heard.

[@BossmodePictures]

@@LeifNelandDk I gas you're right.

[@grantflippin7808]

Gasometers were designed to self-measure the quantity of their contents, so...

[@Dargonhuman]

Everyone else: *quiet snickering*

[@stevenhowson4674]

I’m fascinated by anything which burns kerosene for energy, I have fridges, irons, stoves, heaters, but my favourite collection is over 200 Aladdin lamps from model 1 which was a brass body lamp through to the current glass models. Here in Australia Aladdin revolutionised kerosene lighting with their mantle lamps for all the reasons you’ve mentioned and Aladdin lamps are still used in some Outback locations today. Electricity is sometimes impractical to supply to extremely remote locations, so kerosene is still popular, it’s cheap, can be easily bulk stored, more easily than propane, and it doesn’t need wind or sun to run, plus the non pressurised Aladdins are silent. Aladdins are expensive though, even today, particularly some of the rarer models collectors are interested in. My mother told me when she was a young girl growing up on the farm with no electricity and only kerosene wick lamps and candles for lighting, only rich folk could afford an Aladdin lamp! Love the show. PS I’ve spent hours trying to get Aladdin burners to burn more evenly, it’s almost impossible, particularly model 23’s. I like your theory about wick thickness inconsistency, never looked at that closely. Steve from Aus.

[@Conservator.]

I’m just curious, if exclusively used for lighting, wouldn’t a solar panel and battery and LEDs be much easier to use in Outback locations?

[@stevenhowson4674]

@@Conservator. Some folk certainly use battery power and solar in the outback and particularly in urbane areas, but some parts of the outback are extremely isolated, therefore kerosene is a more versatile option as it can be used by devices other than lighting.

[@Jpsk1981]

Haven't you find the Genie yet?

[@acow9966]

@@Conservator. its hard to buy all of that when your poor, even if it saves more money in the long run.

[@Conservator.]

@@acow9966 For the price of such a lamp you could buy a cheap solar panel, converter battery and led light. These lamps are very expensive.

[@testicularoxide5055]

Appreciate you shedding light on the subject...👍

[@niyanlan8928]

Great video! It’s answered a question I’ve had in the back of my head since I was a teenager many decades ago. When I was 18 I went to Kenya on safari. The tour guides brought into the mess tent at night these type of lamps - i’d only ever seen wick- burners but these ones had this strange net over the flame. When they installed them the net was like a small flexible string bag but then when we were clearing up I touched one of the nets (after the lamp had been turned off for awhile) and it shattered like glass. I could never understand how that could be as when it was installed it was like a string net! Now you’ve explained it- my life is now complete 😁

[@3v1lp1ngv1n]

imagine a comeback so savage that it distills coal

[@paulhaynes8045]

Gasometers were a part of my childhood (and deserve an episode of their own). They were everywhere in those days (50s and 60s) and you could while away hours and hours 'watching' them rise and fall (much like clocks, you knew they were doing it, but could never actually see them move!). The sections were sealed with water (or rather the lower sections were stored in a circular trench of water), so when they were full, the top section looked OK, but the lower sections got progressively more rusty. We had an old disused one outside our flat until quite recently (early 2000s), and I've not seen any others locally since it was dismantled, so it must have been one of the very last ones still standing. Although they were, of course, used for storing gas, their main use was to maintain a steady pressure in the gas main. A very simple answer to a very tricky problem.

[@bhzucker]

Interesting... so in a way they did "measure" something. Not just the amount of gas currently inside, but also the relationship between the generation and usage rates.

[@MrARock001]

Thank you for going into detail about coal-gas production / collection! I spent several google-minutes between last video and this one looking for exactly this info!

[@drawyournameproductions-au8824]

The was a suave and sophisticated well spoken video. Nice job on your confidence , humor and as well as me liking your blazer … nice work ❤

[@machintelligence]

I notice that the "ties" that attach the mantles are now wire. They used to be asbestos string.

[@horrorhotel1999]

Mmh, cancer spahetti - tasty

[@marc-andreservant201]

Well if your mantle is going to contain a radioactive isotope you might as well add asbestos, because the customer is getting cancer anyway.

[@paulsto6516]

You can get them with string or wire. I still use string.

[@pigsnoutman]

Thorium and asbestos. The past was a dangerous time

[@robertschemonia5617]

Asbestos is still in very wide use today in the US. It is just not used in residential settings, only certain industrial uses. And it is no more of an issue than gasoline is. Asbestos is perfectly fine as long as you don't create dust. Gasoline is perfectly fine as long as you don't let it create vapor.

[@TheAdwatson]

What wonderful memories this brought back to me! My maternal grandparents lived in a stone cottage in rural North Wales and, in the 1950s, had no electricity. It was so restful sitting in the "living room" in the winter, with the coal range and an Aladdin lamp on the table producing enough light to read by even if not at the table. Even though the fire was usually kept low to save coal, unless you were boiling a kettle or baking in the small oven built into the range, the room was indeed kept warm by the heat from the Aladdin lamp. At bedtime, you used an old-fashioned candle holder to walk down the narrow passageway to the bedroom, where it was much colder, and the candle was put out as soon as you were in bed, leaving you in total darkness. I would not be upset if I was forced to live like that again, especially in such a beautiful part of Wales.

[@supertramp6011]

Same here, in NW Scotland, we only got connected to the grid in 1979 I believe. Great memories of the gentle hiss of a Tilly Lantern, and the incredible ,soft light that they produced. I am seriously considering going off grid again now, it’s funny how everything comes around…. I can still remember the smells of paraffin and methylated spirit- I was fascinated by the beautiful purple colour as a kid! 👌

[@ianfraser8347]

@@supertramp6011 You couldn't afford the paraffin for the Tilly lamp. Near £12 for a 4 litre container locally in Ayrshire.

[@supertramp6011]

@@ianfraser8347 dang, that’s crazy! £3 a litre? What’s up with that?🤔

[@zimmerlicker]

thanks for shedding light on this subject🙂

[@jaysaus]

Brilliant! Thanks for shedding some light about lamps.