Antique Miners Lamps

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Antique Miners Lamps 28 October 2009, 11:33 AM

ScottyMillar Joined 27 Oct 2009 10 posts

Take Miners Safety lamps as an example everyone wants a nice miners lamp for a bit nostalgia,some want a brass one to shine on shelf and have friends think your grandad was a miner,or some reason,I worked down pits , and I have never in my life seen any brass miners safety lamps other than Carbide lamps.you need to understand a little history of mining history before you waste your cash on any retro lamps they wont increase in value as well as adorn your shelf,,

Miners lamps at start were little tallow lamps similar in shape to a small kettle which was filled with tallow and a wick these were used from 1800s as before they used candles, sad thing about tallow lamps was the light wasnt radiated out it only lit up a small area,,then they invented the carbide lamp that had a little cannister on top that held water and base held carbide when mixed with water made acetylene gas that burnt brighter the more water it got,and the reflector radiated more light,as years passed they invented the battery lamp as they use today,

The other lamp was the Safety Lamp this is the one that sits on shelves,There was many invented, most famous by Sir Humprey Davy he invented the Davy lamp, The first safety that miners had, was a small bird called a scots canary in a little cage and hung up in where men worked and it would whistle away, and then if the miners hit a section where gas was the bird would be first to sense it and fall off the perch then men knew time to get out area, some gases kill by smell and others kill by fire,there is Black damp and Firedamp, the Davy safety lamp that registered that gas was in area and by the size of the colour change in flame Oversmen was able to judge whether safe to work in,,many makers were famous for lamps
Davy ,Wolf,Clanny,Glenny the latter had a terrible habit of flickering and miners who used this after a long time had what was called a "Glenny Blink" their eyes flickered,

How to tell difference with fake lamps shown on Ebay many cant open up, if they cant open asked yourself how did they fill them,how did the guy in lamp cabin service them how did he get glass out to clean,no one else could get inside lamps only him,as it took a special tool, many others have no switch so to ignite the flint inside the lamp just like cigarette lighter, if you cant light it how did they use them, Most fake lamps started to come from India in 50s and 60s,along with all the other brass that flooded the British market.Now they come from anywhere and everywhere, its like the AK47 someone is making them in their sweat factory in midlands etc, its sad that fakes are flooding everywhere soon be that people wont know what a fake is or was as there is so many you dont know what "Real" actually is, even I myself have had fingers burnt few times buying things thinking they were real as so alike and made earlier in year, they even age things to make them look old.

Type of Lamps about, even rare types as well as fakes have been seen on Ebay

"Tally Lamp" Tallow lamp.
This is a small brass oil lamp, shaped like a coffee pot. It was made by Cassells of Denbeath in Fife, Scotland, and dates from around the late 19th century. It is just 70mm high and has a hooked handle, hinged lid and a spout containing its wick. Oil would have been poured into the pot and the spout wick lit to provide a light to work under at the coalface.

This is not a flame safety lamp and like the unshielded flame of a candle was unsafe to use in the potentially explosive atmospheres found in deep pits. It was, however, widely used in mines in Scotland that were not thought to be at risk from the presence of explosive 'firedamp' gas.

The flame safety lamp eventually replaced the potentially hazardous lamps that used unshielded flames and successfully improved the safety of mineworkers in the potentially dangerous atmosphere that existed underground.
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Carbide lamps
These were developed in the 1890's. They were first used for carriage lamps, and were quickly adapted for mining. The lamp has a removable base which would be unscrewed and filled with marble-sized pellets of calcium carbide. A small amount of water was poured into a reservoir in the top part of the lamp. A tap controlled the amount of water which would slowly flow from the reservoir into the carbide chamber below. The water reacted with the carbide to form acetylene gas, which rose to the top of the carbide chamber into a small tube, which led out of the chamber to a burner tip. This could be lit with a flint, and the flame produced was focused by a shiny reflector to give a bright white light, between four and six times brighter than an oil lamp or flame safety lamp.

The rate of water flow could be adjusted with the tap to vary the amount of gas produced and hence the amount of light, which would last for several hours. A miner would carry spare water and carbide pellets so that he could refuel the lamp whilst underground. Carbide lamps were easy to use and to maintain, and were very popular in mines, such as iron-ore mines, where there was minimal risk of explosion
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Type's of safety Lamp

Mueseler type miner's lamp made by William Edward Teale in Manchester between 1871 and 1912. The lamp's regulated air current and protective 'bonnet', allowed it to burn more brightly and safely than the un-shielded Clanny and Davy lamps that had come before it. It was considered safe in explosive currents of up to 15 feet per second.

The Belgian Mueseler type flame safety lamp takes air for combustion through holes in the lamp's 'bonnet' or shield. The air then passes through an internal gauze to the flame and out again through an internal chimney.

Flame safety lamps had two main functions. Firstly, they gave safe light in a dangerous atmosphere, and secondly, they indicated the presence of methane through changes in their flame's colour. Flame safety lamps began to be replaced by safer electric lamps at the beginning of the 20th century, although they remained in use as the easiest and most reliable gas indicators well into the middle of the century.
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Extremely rare to find lamps
Brass-bodied miners’ lamp with an iron gauze flue section and handle. This was made by Thomas & Williams Ltd of Aberdare. Until the early nineteenth century, the only safety precautions taken in mines against gases such as methane (‘firedamp’) were done by a ‘fireman’ dressed in wet sacks, crawling along the ground with a candle on a pole. Many lives were lost in coal mines because of explosions, caused by the candles used by the miners for light. In 1815 Sir Humphrey Davy and George Stephenson both invented safety oil lamps that had gauzes around the flame, limiting contact with the methane.
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Hailwood and Ackroyd Ltd.
Type O1B improved flame safety lamp made between 1920 and 1950. Its front plate is stamped NGT Ludlow.

The Hailwood and Ackroyd lamp uses the protective 'bonnet' first introduced to flame safety lamps by Marsaut in 1871. It is a feature that protects the flame from exposure to the potentially dangerous strong draughts in the mine and reduces the risk of firedamp explosions.

The flame safety lamp was successful in improving the safety of mineworkers in the potentially dangerous atmosphere that existed underground. Flame safety lamps, although remaining in use as gas detectors, began to be slowly replaced by safer and brighter electric lamps at the beginning of the 20th century.
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Wolf type
'FG' Ministry of Power Safety Lamp was made between 1930 and 1960. It uses the protective 'bonnet' first introduced to flame safety lamps by Marsaut in 1871. This is a feature that protects the flame from exposure to the potentially dangerous strong draughts in the mine and reduces the risk of firedamp explosions.

The lamp has an internal flint spark igniter. It is a safety feature that allows the lamp to be safely re-lit underground if it has accidentally been put out, for example, by being dropped.

The flame safety lamp was successful in improving the safety of mineworkers in the potentially dangerous atmosphere that existed underground. Flame safety lamps, although remaining in use as gas detectors, began to be slowly replaced by safer and brighter electric lamps at the beginning of the 20th century.
__________________So if you want a Miners lamp to sit on your shelf ,Get a real one so it increases in value,

I have been told that somewhere in Wales they still make Safety lamps to give work to local ex miners and their familys,, and to watch out for the rare fake Safety lamp with Gauze up the middle of it and stands around 11" high and thinly made that was one of the firsts and its aged to look old.The chances of finding any solid brass ,genuine safety lamp from late 1800s is extremely rare ,and will sell well into hundreds of pounds. just like the small kettle tallows they are hard to find,nice thing about them is many shops had their names on them.the most commonest safety lamps I have seen on here is the Eccles 6 there seems to be more lamps than ever was miners,There is a good French site online that shows a large collection of Miners lamps, and to help you understand more about Coal Mining many sites relating to the industry that helped make Britain what it is today. Check out Coal Mining by Alex Martin , many sites on Miners Forums and many American sites, and many coal mines still exist today all over the world saddest of all is mining in south America which only employs children and even Britain buys their coal helping it to exist.

Hope you found some interests here and some advice
Jock
A Fife Coalminer,
Trained in Muircockhall,Comrie Lindsay,Solsgirth,



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