Alright, suppose you're camping out and you need some light. No, wait, scratch that. Why the hell would we leave our precious high-speed internet and e2? Let's go with something more plausible--zombie uprising. The power is out across the city and the undead are out on the prowl! Suppose you need to clear a darkened house and the only survival gear you have is some outdoor equipment from your attic or a raided sporting goods store. I'll leave the combat side of things to other nodes, but here we're going to learn how to light up the night and increase your chances of survival.

Do you have gas?

There are several types ofpower supplies for lanterns out there: electric, liquid fuel and propane for starters. We'll focus on propane here because liquid fuel is kinda finicky and if you can't figure out how to get the batteries in an electric lantern . . . well, you'll be tasty zombie food.

Pass the mantle

The standard propane tank is a one pound green can with a threaded port on top. If you're sitting on a mountain of these tanks, consider making anti-zombie bombs. Otherwise, save these for light, heat and fire purposes. The lantern component itself with either thread onto this port directly or have a small regulator tube that connects to the port. It's straightforward to connect things up, just screw the lantern into place, making sure to avoid cross-threading.

The trickiest part about getting your lantern setup is the mantle. This is a very fine cloth webbing that slips over the burner (the perforated tube that gas flows from). If the mantle is not an intact mesh over the burner, you'll have to install a new one. If things look good, skip to the next heading. Otherwise, consider that this can be a delicate procedure and should only be attempted when not engaged in zombie battle.

The mantle will be a disc in its packaging, so take it out and slide it over the burner element. Next, Squeeze the mantle a little such that it forms a more or less uniform bulb around the burner. Tie the bottom end in place with the attached strings. Lastly, light the bottom of the mantle on fire with a match or lighter. You want the mantle to burn as much as possible and leave behind an intact ashen mesh. Note that this is not conducive to jarring movement.

Let there be light!

It's smooth sailing from here! Light a match and insert it through the openings at the top of the glass globe; keep the flame towards the top of the mantle, but do not poke the mantle. With your free hand, reach down to the knob at the base of the lantern and quickly turn it towards the On position. The propane will ignite and be contained inside the mantle. Keep the lantern in an upright position while it remains lit.

There you have it! Your lantern is lit and burning brightly. Now you can get back to that room clearing (remember to aim for the head) with a room full of light. Just remember not to sling the lantern around too much and you won't have any problems.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.