Light Your Trail With a Carbide Lamp

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Here they are in action! CArbidelamps offer efficient, carry-along lighting for all kinds of outdoor activities. When water is mixed with carbide crystals inside the burner, acetylene gas is emitted... ignited... and then reflected by the concave metal disk attached to the front of the lantern. The intensity of light can be adjusted by turning the control valve on top of the lamp. Justrite manufacturers a sturdy plastic lamp (shown here ""wearing"" its detachable hang-up handle) which can be fitted with different sizes of reflectors. Safesport's traditional brass model features the standard 4"" reflector and a clip-on wire hanger that allows it to be fastened to a belt or cap. The smaller lamp made by Justrite has a buit-in plastic handle. Backpackers find the small lantern produces plenty of light for campsite chores (But, for safety, the open-flamed device should be operated only outside your tent... and should never be left to burn unattended.

Here's an old-fashioned lantern that will provide your campsite with clean, economical, and efficient lighting.

A generation or two ago, carbide headlamps were "standard equipment" for miners, spelunkers, and such night-ranging outdoor folks as coon hunters . . . but the sturdy lights were gradually phased out by "convenient" modern battery or propane or white gas lanterns. Today, however, carbide is enjoying a comeback . . . as more and more outdoor enthusiasts rediscover the advantages of this low-cost source of illumination. In fact, I revived a genuine old miner's lamp for a camping trip just last summer . . . and I was pleasantly surprised to find that—although the principle and design of the lamp may be a hundred years old—the device is not outdated.

HOW IT WORKS

A carbide lamp operates by the simple process of producing flammable acetylene gas through the combination of water and calcium carbide. The contraption has two compartments: a lower chamber that typically houses 1/4 cup (almost 2 ounces) of crushed carbide, and an upper chamber that holds about the same amount of water. The liquid is released—by turning a control lever positioned on top of the lamp—and allowed to drip slowly onto the crystalline substance below.

As soon as the carbide gets wet, a chemical reaction takes place . . . releasing acetylene gas. The vaporous end-product travels through a felt filter and then escapes, via a tiny gas jet in the center of the reflector pan. Finally, a wheel flint—located on one side of the metal disk—is used to provide a spark to ignite the volatile gas.

The intensity of light produced by a carbide lamp can be adjusted simply by moving the valve to increase or decrease the amount of water that hits the carbide "rocks". As you allow more water into the carbide chamber—and thus generate more acetylene—the illumination increases . . . but only up to a point. If the lever is placed in the full "ON" position, the excessive quantity of gas that results may actually blow the lamp out, or create so much pressure that some of the gas is forced out through the air vent in the water cap. (If the latter happens, a slight bubbling sound will warn you that the control is set too high and valuable gas is escaping.)