# Dollar Tree Lantern Break-down



## KrushR (Jul 9, 2013)

Looks like we're all getting *LANTERNS *for spring! I figured I'd do a quick write-up on dismantling it.

First, pry the top off. The lid comes off first, but it's still attached to the handle. The handle is threaded through the main body. You'll need to use more force than you might think necessary in order to pop the lid.

remember to click for the pic:



Here's a detail:



Here's the plain lantern:



Slide the plastic "glass" sleeve up:





Press the white part of the candle, near the bulb. It will slide right out of the bottom of the lantern.



There it goes:



...and it's out:



There's a ridge on the lantern and a notch on the candle that must be lined up in order to reinsert.



Chances are you can change out the tealight if you find one the exact size. Problem is, the li*ghtbulb itself isn't changeable*. It appears to be hardwired into the base. I tried prying the casing apart, and it's a no-go.

One thing I noticed was the battery and casing. I mentioned it in another thread, but it's worth going over here. There are two battery leads; one on the side of the battery and one under. It seems that I first noticed the flattened connection underneath, and that prying it up fixed it, but *that was short-term*. Turns out that there is a slight gap between the battery and the battery lid, and it allows the battery to travel slightly and lose connection. The fix I used for this was to put a small twice-folded piece of paper on *top of the battery before closing the lid*. You may want to use something less flammable if you're worried, but I don't see that small magnesium battery somehow igniting anything at all.


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## KrushR (Jul 9, 2013)

This weekend I'll probably start modding the lantern. I want to make it older, so I want to find some dark gray stone textured spray paint and hose it down with that. I may have to scuff it up so the paint will stick, but we'll see and I'll post the process and results.


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## LairMistress (Jul 31, 2009)

I don't know if it's a "safe" idea or not, but I used to have a prop that I had to "fix" the battery connection on, too. I folded up a piece of aluminum foil several times, and filled the gap with that. It worked great!


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## Evil Elf (Jun 16, 2013)

There's no need to break those little tabs with holes that go inside the lantern. Just pull the handle off first (it flexes quite a bit), then it should lift right out.


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## scaringyou (Oct 31, 2010)

I had suggestion, but after further review, it didn't work as I though it did.


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## KrushR (Jul 9, 2013)

Evil Elf said:


> There's no need to break those little tabs with holes that go inside the lantern. Just pull the handle off first (it flexes quite a bit), then it should lift right out.


You know, I didn't even consider that I was breaking them. I thought that sharp edge was the result of poor machining or imprecise engineering. I'll open up another one and adjust my pics this weekend.


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## scaringyou (Oct 31, 2010)

Try going through the bottom instead. Take off the battery compartment cover and remove the battery, while it's out, use your fingernail or screwdriver to pull the wire(LED lead) in the center up away from the plastic, this fixes some of the battery issues people are having. Then use the screwdriver, fork, etc and put it in one of the 2 larger holes in the battery compartment. Then pull the tea light out of the bottom of the lantern. Then you can access the handle ends from the inside and make sure you don't break anything when removing the top.


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## Scary Papa (Jan 31, 2012)

ok, remind me again...why are we dismanteling this lantern?


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## Evil Elf (Jun 16, 2013)

Well, you _could_ leave them looking like plastic, but some of us like to make them look a little more realistic.


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## Scary Papa (Jan 31, 2012)

Evil Elf, well DUH....Of course NOW it makes perfect sense.


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## DaveintheGrave (Feb 12, 2004)

Scary Papa said:


> ok, remind me again...why are we dismanteling this lantern?


'Cause we're GUYS and that's what we do...........................

Great tutorial, KrushR !


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## KrushR (Jul 9, 2013)

DaveintheGrave said:


> 'Cause we're GUYS and that's what we do...........................
> 
> Great tutorial, KrushR !


Hey, thanks. I'm going to open another one this weekend (the right way) and throw some stone textured paint on it. I doubt I'll trade out the light, but I may see what red tissue paper looks like inside.


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## LairMistress (Jul 31, 2009)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but these are the very small lanterns that take the CR 2032 button cell batteries? I bought a bunch of them assuming that they took cheap batteries, and of course, didn't test them out first...one doesn't work. Ugh. My fault! It even says on the bottom what battery they take. No wonder our store still has a lot of them.


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## MummyOf5 (Sep 6, 2012)

The ones that I bought had loose battery covers on them and once I pushed them back into place they worked fine.


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## scaringyou (Oct 31, 2010)

The battery compartments are slightly over-sized on these. It's possible that the battery is in the compartment and the cover on properly, but still not get a solid connection to the battery. If adjusting the battery cover doesn't work as Mummy suggested, try pulling the end of the LED lead that's coming out of the center of the battery compartment away from the plastic a little bit, so the battery can sit closer to the battery compartment cover and still get a good connection to the LED lead. I had 3 that I had to do this on before they would reliably work.


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## KrushR (Jul 9, 2013)

Evil Elf said:


> There's no need to break those little tabs with holes that go inside the lantern. Just pull the handle off first (it flexes quite a bit), then it should lift right out.


After much consideration, it doesn't matter if you break it or not, since there's a good chance you can actually break the handle trying to remove it. Some of the little nubs that hold the handles in are tough and won't come through the hole backwards without a major fight. I disassembled 24 of those jokers this week, and it's easier to break them. Unless you're waving it around wildly, there's no way the top is coming off, whether or not those brackets are broken.


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## KrushR (Jul 9, 2013)

That said, my lanterns have been disassembled, painted, and I'm re-assembling them tonight. Pics to come.


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## KrushR (Jul 9, 2013)

Here's how they look hanging from my fence.


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## KrushR (Jul 9, 2013)

I'll get a closeup of one of them. Honestly it's not a huge difference (with the stone spray paint), but it does take off the shine and make them lighter and more noticeable.


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