Buy Carbide Lamp
Acetylene gas lamps were used to illuminate buildings, as lighthouse beacons, and as headlights on motor-cars and bicycles. Portable acetylene gas lamps, worn on the hat or carried by hand, were widely used in mining in the early twentieth century. They are still employed by cavers, hunters, and cataphiles. Small carbide lamps called "carbide candles" or "smokers" are used for blackening rifle sights to reduce glare. They are sometimes referred to as "smokers" because of the sooty flame produced by acetylene.[2]
buy carbide lamp
A mining or caving lamp has calcium carbide placed in a lower chamber, the generator. The upper reservoir is then filled with water. A threaded valve or other mechanism is used to control the rate at which the water is allowed to drip into the chamber containing the calcium carbide. By controlling the rate of water flow, the production of acetylene gas is controlled. This, in turn, controls the flow rate of the gas and the size of the flame at the burner, and thus the amount of light it produces.
This type of lamp generally has a reflector behind the flame to help project the light forward. An acetylene gas powered lamp produces a bright, broad light. Many cavers prefer this type of unfocused light as it improves peripheral vision in the complete dark. The reaction of carbide with water is exothermic and produces a fair amount of heat independent of the flame. In cold caves, carbide lamp users can use this heat to help stave off hypothermia.[3]
When all of the carbide in a lamp has been reacted, the carbide chamber contains a wet paste of slaked lime (Ca(OH)2) which can be used to make a cement. This is emptied into a waste bag and the chamber can be refilled.
In 1892, Thomas Willson discovered an economically efficient process for creating calcium carbide in an electric arc furnace from a mixture of lime and coke. The arc furnace provides the high temperature required to drive the reaction.[5] Manufacture of calcium carbide was an important part of the industrial revolution in chemistry, and was made possible in the United States as a result of massive amounts of inexpensive hydroelectric power produced at Niagara Falls before the turn of the twentieth century.[6] In 1895, Willson sold his patent to Union Carbide. Domestic lighting with acetylene gas was introduced circa 1894 and bicycle lamps from 1896. In France, Gustave Trouvé, a Parisian electrical engineer, also made domestic acetylene lamps and gasometers.
The first carbide bicycle lamp developed in the United States was patented in New York on August 28, 1900 by Frederick Baldwin.[7] Another early lamp design is shown in a patent from Duluth, Minnesota from October 21, 1902.[8] In the early 1900s, Gustaf Dalén invented the Dalén light. This combined two of Dalén's previous inventions: the substrate Agamassan and the Sun valve. Inventions and improvements to carbide lamps continued for decades.[9]
After carbide lamp open flames were implicated in an Illinois coal-seam methane gas explosion that killed 54 miners, the 1932 Moweaqua Coal Mine disaster,[10] carbide lamp use declined in United States coal mines. They continued to be used in the coal pits of other countries, notably USSR.
Carbide lighting was used in rural and urban areas of the United States which were not served by electrification. Its use began shortly after 1900 and continued past 1950. Calcium carbide pellets were placed in a container outside the home, with water piped to the container and allowed to drip on the pellets releasing acetylene. This gas was piped to lighting fixtures inside the house, where it was burned, creating a very bright flame. Carbide lighting was inexpensive but was prone to gas leaks and explosions.
Early models of the automobile, car, motorbike and bicycle used carbide lamps as headlamps. Acetylene gas, derived from carbide, enabled early automobiles to drive safely at night. Thick concave mirrors combined with magnifying lenses projected the acetylene flame light. These type of lights were used until reliable batteries and dynamos became available, and manufacturers switched to electric lights.
Acetylene lamps were also used on riverboats for night navigation. The National Museum of Australia has a lamp made in about 1910 that was used on board PS Enterprise, a paddle steamer which has been restored to working order and also in the museum's collection.[11]
Early caving enthusiasts, not yet having the advantage of light-weight electrical illumination, introduced the carbide lamp to their hobby.[12] While increasingly replaced by more modern choices, a substantial percentage of cavers still use this method[citation needed].Many cavers favour carbide lamps for their durability and quality of illumination. They were once favoured for their relative illumination per mass of fuel compared to battery powered devices[citation needed]. Before the advent of high-intensity LED illumination with lithium ion batteries, carbide also had two important advantages over the alternative of miners electric lamps. Miners lamps were intended to last for the duration of a standard working shift, whilst major caving explorations could be much longer, so the carbide could be replenished during the trip. Expeditions involving camping over several days in remote regions might not have access to electricity for recharging. Lamps used in such circumstances would consist of a belt mounted gas generator linked by flexible pipe to a headset[citation needed].
The acetylene producing reaction is exothermic, which means that the lamp's reactor vessel will become quite warm to the touch; this can be used to warm the hands. The heat from the flame can also be used to warm the body by allowing the exhaust gases to flow under a shirt or poncho pulled out from the body, a technique discovered almost immediately by cold miners, and nicknamed by cavers the "Palmer furnace"[citation needed].
The carbide lamp consisted of several improvements to both the oil-wick lamp and candle as a means for lighting in non-gaseous mines. The lamp produced no carbon monoxide, consumed less oxygen, gave a brighter 4-6 candlepower light, and had a higher light quality than the candles or oil-wick lamps it replaced. The carbide lamp had its problems as well. Average runtime in carbide cap lamps was only about four hours, necessitating a carbide refill mid-shift, which could leave the miner in darkness. The burner tip was also prone to clogging, and concussive blasts or winds inside the mine could extinguish the light as well.
You can find a two-pound can of carbide crystals (containing 16 two-ounce charges) at most camping and outdoor supply stores. Each fuel up of the lantern will keep it shining, at a high light level, for about three or four hours.
At the Old Dominion Mine, for instance, miners were given ten stearic candles for their ten hour day deep underground. Unlike the Eastern coal miner who used oil wick lamps and moved around though out the mine, those in the West generally established one working area and would hang their candle on a rock ledge or in a piece of wood. The fact that the company provided the candles for the Western hard rock miner was an added benefit which the Eastern miners did not enjoy.
When carbide was discovered accidentally in 1862, it was the beginning of a new way to light the world. In seems in an attempt to make metallic calcium, a young inventor by the name of Thomas Wilson, unexpectedly produced calcium carbide. Coal tar and lime were placed in an electric furnace, and the resulting melt, when placed in water, was found to produce a flammable gas, later identified as acetylene.
While the technology has moved on, the legacy of carbide lamps still shines a bright light on the entrepreneurial ingenuity of the early manufacturers and a time when these small, beautifully crafted lamps gave light to underground darkness.
Carbide lamps have been used since the end of the 19th century. They have an open flame and a metal reflector, they spread a slightly yellowish, even and bright light. In addition, the fuel is sufficient for several hours, with conventional design of the lamp 8 to 10 hours can easily be achieved. So they are superior to other lamps with open flame like candles, petroleum lamps etc., but have the disadvantages of all lamps with an open flame: the flame can be extinguished by wind, there is a risk of burns and burnt equipment, and in the presence of combustible gases can cause explosions. In coal mining, for example, they can only be used in the form of safety lamps.
The lamp has an airtight container for the carbide, a water container from which the carbide is brought into contact with water in a controlled way, a burner, i.e. a simple nozzle for the outflowing gas and a reflector which directs the light of the flame in a certain direction.
#I recently bought a carbide lamp and went to the hardware store here that has #everything to buy some calcium carbide. . . .. . . [shortened]. . . # and I said "don't know but lets get some oxygen and PVC #pipe so we can hunt moles and put in a sprinkler system at the same time. I #think I've got some beer and matches at home."##So, is 4lbs. enough to last my life or should I go back and buy them out.#Hmmm... beer, matches, PVC pipe, calcium carbide.... Yes, I think 4lbs. outghta last you the rest of your life. You might only need onematch to last that long. too! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!
# Dan,You put it in your carbide light, add a little water. This producesacetylene gas, the flame from which is used to blacken your sights to cutdown on glare. It can also cause a greater contrast between your frontsight and the target black.Good Shooting,Dan
Calcium Carbide is used mainly for carbide lamps in the past in the miningindustry. The used was forlight for the miners since it makes acetelyeneand can be ingnited. Competition shooters use it for blacking gun barrelsand sights for shooting and it works great. The farmers use it forremoval of moles, the kids (parents) use it in various homemade cannons onthe fourth of July and desperate fishermen use it to fish with not legalof course. BUT it seems to be banned and unavailable from varius sportinggoods stores or outfitters as of lately. I;m not sure but I BELIEVE ITSBEEN BANNED. If anyone has information for a place to purchase this otherthan Champions Choice or other gun outlets please contact me so I can picksome up...........Hope this helpsMark StL 041b061a72