Question - Miners lamp - What was this used for ?

[The Franconian]

Would like to add to me, recommending the wikipedia/Hydrogen_sulfide link,
that
you should always, not only for this link, have an eye on the sources, shown below the wiki articles.
Many interesting links could be found there sometimes.

Went out for a map, came home with an archive for example

 

[paulpowers]

Thing that worries me about H2S is that after 5 - 10 minutes of exposure you can't smell it anymore

I work with an ex bt engineer who was telling me how it was pretty regular for the engineers in the good old days to be hospitalized after a lung full

 

[spungletrumpet]

The old chaps I go out exploring our local mines with still use these lamps as their primary gas detectors.
Two of the guys are ex-mine deputies and they certainly know what they are doing with them. We don't have H2S to worry about but for the usual bad air and flammable gas stuff they very useful bits of kit in the right hands.

 

[dangerous dave]

May try and dig out a NCB tutorial on the use of one as this could be quite handy to learn, sure there must be something about on the use of one ?

 

[cunningcorgi]

May try and dig out a NCB tutorial on the use of one as this could be quite handy to learn, sure there must be something about on the use of one ?

Ask caiman who posts on here.

He will definatly know the correct way(s) of reading a safety lamp for all obnoxious shit...

 

[spungletrumpet]

This thread has a bit of info on it.

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums...underground-officials-and-workmen)?highlight=

I still haven't got round to scanning in any of the book, but I intend to at some point.

 

[dangerous dave]

that may be very good will scan moore books and see if he has anything for sale

 

[cunningcorgi]

I've got the Protector Flame card which I can scan.

Will only show caps and percentages for methane though...

 

[cunningcorgi]

Flame testing card for a Garforth lamp (sample introduced through the side) but up to 5% methane is basically the same for a Type 6 -

 

[cunningcorgi]

Kidding right..? Otherwise could result in someone running into serious trouble

Don't mean to come back to this but...

Spoke to a couple of ex-miners from NCB Deep Navigation tonight and specifically asked them about the detection of stinkdamp with your comment (re. smelling it) in mind. Both of them started working in Deep Nav and trained in Brittania in the late 70's / early 80's. The only detection methods they had for noxious gaes and lack of oxygen was a flame safety lamp which didn't detect H2S.

For detecting H2S, they used the 'Barry Manilow' and if detected (or smelt it) summoned a Deputy (who would have had a cert). The accepted method of detecting H2S in Deep Nav was smelling it and withdrawing until a Deputy either cleared the district or deemed the district to be okay by means of a lead acetate test.

So it seems that within the industy, using your nose was acceptable...

 

[caiman]

Ask caiman who posts on here.

He will definatly know the correct way(s) of reading a safety lamp for all obnoxious shit...

I'm sure there's people better qualified than me.

But basically you can test for methane (flame gets larger as per the NCB diagrams) and for oxygen deficiency (flame goes out). Oxy deficiency would most likely be carbon dioxide but could be other things. You will not be able to detect carbon monoxide before it gets you. Or H2S for that matter. Basically, flame safety lamps are ok for use in situations where methane may be present (but better to use a methanometer) , but will not keep you safe in abandoned holes or sewers. And they are a pain to lug around.

In the past sewer inspectors etc used a thing called a Spiralarm but they are long obsolete.

 

[The Franconian]

Safety lamp:
Found a report on little salt pearls on needles got added into the flame, to make smaller gas concentrations better recognizeable.

"Nevertheless, to the better being recognizable with low blow weather concentrations so-called salt pearls (Rosen'sche salt pearls)
were put in him and the flame was strongly reduced and the lamp was led vertically by the weather stream and the flame on a change was controlled."

(translated with "Promt")
(weather = the air down in the mine)

For photo scroll down to "Aureole"
foerdergerueste.de
(this is a private site)