unidentified Carbide Miner's Headlamp

Object/Artifact

-

West Virginia Mine Wars Museum

Name/Title

unidentified Carbide Miner's Headlamp

Entry/Object ID

KK.0213

Description

Full assembly of carbide fuel/acetylene flame miner's headlamp, including hat mounting clip.

Use

Used for illumination in underground mines. Developed after oil wick lamps to include reflector dish, still an open flame.

Collection

Coal Mining Tools

Material

Brass

Provenance

Provenance Detail

Family Heirloom

Research Notes

Research Type

Curator

Person

Shaun Slifer

Date

Nov 18, 2020

Notes

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.