NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REPORT

2864

MODIFICATION OF STANDARD ARMY GASOLINE LANTERN

fey

Selden D. Cole

Paul Ro Achehbach

Report to

Office of The Quartermaster General

Department of the Army

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Sinclair Weeks, Secretary

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

A. V. Astin, Director THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

The scope of activities of the National Bureau of Standards is suggested in the following listing of

the divisions and sections engaged in technical work. In general, each section is engaged in specialized research, development, and engineering in the field indicated by its title. A brief description

of the activities, and of the resultant reports and publications, appears on the inside of the back

cover of this report.

Electricity. Resistance Measurements. Inductance and Capacitance. Electrical Instruments. Magnetic Measurements. Applied Electricity. Electrochemistry.

Optics and Metrology. Photometry and Colorimetry. Optical Instruments. Photographic

Technology. Length. Gage.

Heat and Power. Temperature Measurements. Thermodynamics. Cryogenics. Engines and

Lubrication. Engine Fuels. Cryogenic Engineering.

Atomic and Radiation Physics. Spectroscopy. Radiometry. Mass Spectrometry. Solid State

Physics. Electron Physics. Atomic Physics. Neutron Measurements. Infrared Spectroscopy.

Nuclear Physics. Radioactivity. X-Rays. Betatron. Nucleonic Instrumentation. Radiological Equipment. Atomic Energy Commission Instruments Branch.

Chemistry. Organic Coatings. Surface Chemistry. Organic Chemistry. Analytical Chemistry.

Inorganic Chemistry. Electrodeposition. Gas Chemistry. Physical Chemistry. Thermochemistry. Spectrochemistry. Pure Substances.

Mechanics. Sound. Mechanical Instruments. Aerodynamics. Engineering Mechanics. Hydraulics. Mass. Capacity, Density, and Fluid Meters. Organic and Fibrous Materials. Rubber. Textiles. Paper. Leather. Testing and Specifications. Polymer Structure. Organic Plastics. Dental Research.

Metallurgy. Thermal Metallurgy. Chemical Metallurgy. Mechanical Metallurgy. Corrosion.

Mineral Products. Porcelain and Pottery. Glass. Refractories. Enameled Metals. Concreting Materials. Constitution and Microstructure. Chemistry of Mineral Products.

Building Technology. Structural Engineering. Fire Protection. Heating and Air Conditioning. Floor, Roof, and Wall Coverings. Codes and Specifications.

Applied Mathematics. Numerical Analysis. Computation. Statistical Engineering. Machine

Development.

Electronics. Engineering Electronics. Electron Tubes. Electronic Computers. Electronic

Instrumentation.

Radio Propagation. Upper Atmosphere Research. Ionospheric Research. Regular Propagation Services. Frequency Utilization Research. Tropospheric Propagation Research. High

Frequency Standards. Microwave Standards.

Ordnance Development. These three divisions are engaged in a broad program of research

Electromechanical Ordnance, and development in advanced ordnance. Activities include

Ordnance Electronics. basic and applied research, engineering, pilot production, field testing, and evaluation of a wide variety of ordnance mat£riel. Special skills and facilities of other

NBS divisions also contribute to this program. The activity is sponsored by the Department of

Defense.

Missile Development. Missile research and development: engineering, dynamics, intelligence,

instmmentation, evaluation. Combustion in jet engines. These activities are sponsored by the

Department of Defense. • Office of Basic Instrumentation • Office of Weights and Measures.
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS REPORT

NBS PROJECT MBS REPORT

1003-20-4832 October 14, 1953 2864

MODIFICATION OF STANDARD ARMY GASOLINE LANTERN

Selden D. Cole

and

Paul Ro Aehenbach

Heating and Air Conditioning Section

Building Technology Division

To

Office of The Quartermaster General

Department of the Army

<NBS>

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

The publication, rs

unless permission i

25, D, C, Such pei

cal ly prepared If t

Approved for public release by the ln pa,t| '* prohlblfed

Director of the National Institute of

andard8 ' Wa8hln s,on _ sport has been speclfi- Standards and Technology (NIST) eport f#r |tf own use on October 9, 201 5.

MODIFICATION OF STANDARD ARMY GASOLINE LANTERN

fcy

Selden D. Cole and Paul R. Achenbach

Abstract

The mantle -holder assemblies of several standard

Army gasoline lanterns were modified by inserting

a metal spider between the mantle-holder and its

supporting tube. These spiders consisted of a

central target to break up the jet of liquid fuel

discharged from the generator orifice during lighting operations, and three supporting arms. They

were designed to reduce mantle breakage which had

been found to be a serious problem in the use of

these lanterns. The tests showed that the spiders

were effective in reducing mantle breakage, but

that their use decreased the luminosity of the

standard lantern considerably. Reaming out the

mantle -holder and its supporting tube to provide

a free area 25$ greater than the original unmodified mantle-holder resulted in significantly greater luminosities than were observed for the original

lantern at all tank pressures. The generator

temperatures were found to be practically identical

before and after modification.

1. INTRODUCTION

Standard Lantern Adaptation

In compliance with a request of the Office of The Quartermaster General, tests were made of a standard gasoline lantern,

as made by the Coleman Company, to determine the operating

characteristics at normal ambient temperature after the mantleholder assembly had undergone a modification intended to prevent

excess mantle breakage.
2. TEST EQUIPMENT

Three lanterns were used in the mantle breakage test and one

lantern was used for comparisons of luminosity. Fig. 0 is a

photograph of a typical standard lantern.

The gasoline tanks of the three lanterns used to study

mantle breakage were connected in parallel to a high pressure air

line so that the same pressure could be maintained on each of

the three tanks. A pressure regulator in the common air supply

line was used to adjust the tank pressure to the desired values.

One lantern was tested as delivered by the manufacturer! the

other two lanterns were modified only with respect to the

interior of the mantle -holders . One of the two modified lanterns

was equipped with a l/32" thick spider and the other with a l/l6"

thick spider. The size and shape of the spiders and their location in the mantle-holder are shown in Fig. 1. The spider shown

in Fig. 1 obstructed 33.2$ of the free area of the 5/l6" orifice

in the original mantle -holder . After reaming out the mantle

holder to a diameter of 13/32" the spider obstructed 24.7$ of

the area. The free area of the modified mantle-holder with the

spider in place, as shown in Fig. 1, is 27.2$ greater than the

area of the original 5/l6" orifice without the spider.

All temperatures were measured with 30 gage copper-, constantan

thermocouples except those on the lantern generator where 36 gage

copper-constantan thermocouples were used. Pressures were

measured with a three-inch Bourdon gage graduated from 0 to 60 psi.
-3-

Luminosity was measured with a General Electric Lumernpmeter graduated in foot-candles from 0 to 100 and from 0 to 1000. New

generators were used for all tests and the gasoline was purchased

to conform to Federal Specification W-G-109 for Unleaded Gasoline.

3o TEST PROCEDURE

To observe the effect of the spiders on mantle breakage, new

mantles were affixed to the three lanterns and burned off as per

instructions. At a predetermined pressure, the lanterns were

lighted one at a time and allowed to burn for several minutes

after which they were turned off and cooled down to room temperature.

With the lanterns cold, the valve was opened to lighting position

until liquid gasoline dropped from the mantle and appeared on the

generator. At this time the valve was closed and time given for

the gasoline to evaporate. This procedure was followed with each

lantern two to three times between operations of actually lighting

the mantle.

In the luminosity tests the eandlepower was measured with the

glass globe and hood in place as in actual use. The glass was

meticulously cleaned and put in place only after the mantle was

burning with full illumination. Temperatures on the generator

were measured in three places, as indicated on the generator

outline in Fig. 3^ hy wrapping the fine gage thermocouple wire

around the generator tube and binding the junctions down with

lengths of glass thread.

The lantern was first lighted with a “tank pressure of about

25 psi so as to obtain a bulbous shape to the new mantle. The
-4-

lantem -was turned off and allowed to cool to room temperature

and the pressure reduced to zero.

With the l/32" spider in place, the lantern was lighted with

5 psi pressure on the tank. After the generator temperature

ceased to rise, readings were recorded every 10 minutes of the

room temperature, the three temperature stations on the generator

and the luminosity of the lantern. At the completion of each set

of readings the pressure on the tank was increased 5 psi until a

maximum of iWD psi had been reached. After completion of the

tests with the l/32 inch spider the lantern was turned off and

allowed to cool to room temperature. The 1/32" spider was carefully removed from the mantle -holding assembly so that the mantle

was not damaged in any way. The lantern was assembled as a

standard lantern without the spider using the same mantle, and

the same procedure was followed as described above. Then, as

before, the lantern was turned off and allowed to cool to room

temperature at which time the l/l6" spider was carefully placed

in position so as not to damage the mantle. The same procedure

of recording temperatures and luminosities and increasing the

pressure by 5 psi every ten minutes to a maximum pressure of

ho psi was followed.

Check runs were made using new mantles in conjunction with

the l/32 n

, l/l6" spiders and without the spiders.

The diameter of the orifice in the mantle-holding tip was

increased from 5/16" to 13/32'* by reaming it out, and the tube
-5-

connecting the mantle-holding 'tip to the generator was bored out

to 27/64" for a depth of l/4". With the 1/32 ” spider installed

as shown in lower part of Fig. 1, the routine testing procedure

followed of increasing pressure on the tank, every ten minutes

after recording room temperature , generator temperature and

luminosity was repeated.

4. TEST RESULTS

In the breakage testing of mantles , each lantern was

operated as a standard lantern, or as modified lantern with the

l/32" spider or with the l/l6" spider in the mantle tip. During

the series of tests the two spiders were used in each of the

three test specimens and each of the three lanterns was operated

as a standard lantern a part of the time. During the series of

tests each mantle-holder assembly, with or without a spider, was

subjected to the normal operation of lighting a cold lantern

twenty-four times as described in the Test Procedure. The 24

lighting operations were distributed among the three test specimens

in each case. The mantle was actually lighted during only about

one-fourth of the 24 operations.

Under these conditions each mantle tip assembly was subjected to the same flow of gasoline from the same orifices. With

the standard lantern assembly, eight new mantles were required

in twenty-four lighting operations. A new mantle was installed

when the netting of the old one was so damaged that the luminosity

was severely affected. This was apparent when a hole greater than

l/4 inch had developed in the netting of the mantle. With the
-6-

l/l6" and l/32" spiders in the mantle-holder assembly, no mantle

had to be replaced because of damage from lantern lighting

operations. When the spiders were changed from one lantern to

another, a new mantle was installed because of damage caused by

handling.

Fig. 2 is a comparison of the luminosities of the lantern

with four different mantle tip assemblies for the same range of

tank pressure . The curves indicate that the luminosity of the

standard lantern drops off rapidly with increase in pressure

above 15 psig when either the l/l6" or l/32 M spider is being used,

as compared to the standard lantern without the spiders. When

the mantle-holding tip and l/V’ of the supporting pipe are enlarged in conjunction with a spider, as in Fig. 1, the luminosity

was significantly higher at all tank pressures than for the

f standard- lantern.

Fig. 3 shows the temperatures obtained at three stations

on the generator during these tests. The temperatures were

measured at the stations indicated on the outline of the generator

in Fig. 3 • For all practical purposes, the temperature curves

for each station are the same for the four different mantle tip

assemblies

5. CONCLUSIONS

The use of a spider in a mantle tip assembly of a standard

lantern definitely reduces the possibility of mantle breakage but

also definitely reduces the luminosity of the lantern for tank

pressures above 15 psig, whereas the same spider used in a mantle
-7

-

tip as'seisbly that has been enlarged increases the luminosity

well above that for the original lantern. This conclusion is

clearly indicated by Fig. 2 and 3 for the spider and mantle tip

dimensions given in Fig. 1. However, not enough work has been

done with other spider and tip dimensions to be sure that the

optimum combination has been used.

The effectiveness of a spider in reducing mantle breakage

is attributed to breaking up of the stream of liquid gasoline

that is released on first opening of the valve of a cold lantern.

The liquid stream under pressure ruptures the netting of the mantle

when it hits it directly, whereas a spider breaks up the stream

into larger drops of gasoline that drop onto the mantle individually but without force enough to break the netting.

The success of the spider in preventing mantle breakage is

believed to be dependent on having the generator orifice

centered in the mantle-holder assembly with sufficient precision

that the jet of gasoline leaving the orifice will strike the

l/8-in target in the center of the spider. This degree of

precision apparently existed in all of the lanterns used for

these tests
•

...

..

:. ..;• •: \'"-v •••.

.
Fig. 0

SPIDER

_T

32 or

I" T€

ADAPTATION OF MANTLE HOLDING ASSEMBLY

FIG. I

LUMINOSITY VS PRESSURE

less

t3±Ct

IlMiS

0 20

PRESSURE

* FIG.

30

, PSIG

2

10

GENERATOR TEMPERATURE VS PRESSURE

300 B

STATION

I

0 0 20 30

PRESSURE, PSIG

FIG . 3

40 50

THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

Functions and Activities

The functions of the National Bureau of Standards are set forth in the Act of Congress, March

3, 1901, as amended by Congress in Public Law 619, 1950. These include the development and

maintenance of the national standards of measurement and the provision of means and methods

for making measurements consistent with these standards; the determination of physical constants and properties of materials; the development of methods and instruments for testing materials,

devices, and structures; advisory services to Government Agencies on scientific and technical

problems; invention and development of devices to serve special needs of the Government; and the

development of standard practices, codes, and specifications. The work includes basic and applied

research, development, engineering, instrumentation, testing, evaluation, calibration services, and

various consultation and information services. A major portion of the Bureau’s work is performed

for other Government Agencies, particularly the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy

Commission. The scope of activities is suggested by the listing of divisions and sections on the

inside of the front cover.

Reports and Publications

The results of the Bureau’s work take the form of either actual equipment and devices or published papers and reports. Reports are issued to the sponsoring agency of a particular project or program. Published papers appear either in the Bureau’s own series of publications or in the

journals of professional and scientific societies. The Bureau itself publishes three monthly periodicals, available from the Government Printing Office: The Journal of Research, which presents

complete papers reporting technical investigations; the Technical News Bulletin, which presents

summary and preliminary reports on work in progress; and Basic Radio Propagation Predictions,

which provides data for determining the best frequencies to use for radio communications throughout

the world. There are also five series of nonperiodical publications: The Applied Mathematics

Series, Circulars, Handhooks, Building Materials and Structures Reports, and Miscellaneous

Publications.

Information on the Bureau’s publications can be found in NBS Circular 460, Publications of

the National Bureau of Standards ($1.00). Information on calibration services and fees can be

found in NBS Circular 483, Testing by the National Bureau of Standards (25 cents). Both are

available from the Government Printing Office. Inquiries regarding the Bureau’s reports and

publications should be addressed to the Office of Scientific Publications, National Bureau of Standards, Washington 25, D. C.
NBS