I am bringing my Grandfathers Type 6 back to life - not a difficult job, it must have had a new wick when he left the pithead 30 odd years ago and only needed a new flint. Must have been those pesky grandkids sparking it when they visited that wore it down. Anyway - the question now is what to fuel it with. I read everywhere that Coleman is the fuel of choice for these safety lamps, but also on a couple of dedicated web pages the warning DO NOT USE PETROL. This is confusing to me as I think of Coleman as essentially 'clean petrol'. In fact I was planning on using Aspen 4, being cheaper in quantity that Coleman and I will use it in other stoves and lamps. I still think this is OK - and I have found a member on here stating it is what he uses (but I can't direct message to ask him). I'm just looking for some absolute confirmation from someone that uses it - and also advice on whether it is OK to leave an Eccles that is fueled but not lit sitting around in the house. I know how to fuel it, and that it is all soaked into the base, but surely the more volatile fuels will still vaporise in a warm house. Or am I overthinking the risk from the small volume? Thanks
Hi LeeT Colazine was the fuel which was naphtha from coal. Similar to Coleman fluid as you say. I can understand your concern about leaving it fuelled up indoors. I have and never had issues. I only fill it when I want to use it as it does evaporate quickly. This thread may be interesting Miners lamp - not very bright?
Hi ... Hi quality kerosene based lamp oil would be fine to use ,,, easily accessed online from outlets, I would avoid methylated spirits or similar good luck
Lamp oil will work, however it will not light from the onboard sparker. It will eventually clog up the felt wadding in the base. Replacing that involves de-soldering the base on the Eccles protector lamps.
Thanks. I gather then Coleman is certainly OK. And so I think Aspen 4 will also work well as it considered a replacement option on all other stoves. Actually I see member Gneiss uses it on an Eccles. Will see which is easiest to source this weekend Thanks
You should be able to get 5L of Aspen 4 for £20. Aspen 4-Stroke Fuel (buxtons.net) or Husqvarna Husqvarna Power 4T | Husqvarna UK Don't get ripped off by retailers charging stupid money for this.
I use Holts brake and clutch cleaner Holts Brake Cleaner 5Litre | Car Parts 4 Less mainly as I use it in my Coleman lanterns.
I use Holt's brake cleaner in my CF/naptha fuelled pressure devices and it works perfectly. Btw, this is a good price so long as the shipping costs aren't too high.
That's something new i've learned, i always thought they should be fuelled by Paraffin, That is a good price, £17.84 for Holts five litre delivered and just a bit cheaper than ebay, i used to use Naptha based panel wipe but that seems to be around £20 delivered now, buy three five litre Holts for £41.67 and get free delivery
Naphtha is a byproduct of making coke and town gas from coal. Lamp fuel for free at that time I guess.
Here you go in the UK. 5Ltrs Holts brake cleaner for £12.99, order 2 for free delivery: Holts HMAI0201A (202A) Professional Brake Cleaner | at Zoro
Glad to be of help. I bought some for my MSR stoves and Coleman stove and dual fuel pressure lamp, I found out the hard way with the colemans about using unleaded petrol, shant make that mistake again, also very handy for when I'm working on the brakes on my car!
Thanks all - I ended up with Aspen 4 (a touch under £20 for 5 litres) but after some faffing also tried Coleman fuel. Sadly the lamp is still not functioning correctly. Any Safety lamp experts here? The lamp took more or less 100ml of fuel when filling first time. After soaking and emptying the residue it will sometimes light from the sparker - but only for a few seconds of flame. It looks very much like it is starved of oxygen. I can't even raise a spark then for some time - could it be lack of oxygen, or moisture on the striking surface? At other times if I have left it fueled for a while the spark may just ignite the vapours in the glass area, but no flame from the wick. The sparker may or may not work straight away - seems to depend on the size of the flame flash. If I unscrew the base and light the wick in the open then it burns freely with a long orange flame (2") and a little black smoke. The only way I have got it running and assembled was to open the base and bonnet but leave the base with teh wick just sticking out of the lighter plate. Then I lit the wick with match or striker and carefully screwed on the bonnet and then the base. Usually the flame dies while rotating the base to screw it on, but once or twice I had it reassembled with the flame still in, and it continued burning for hours. What could be the problem? For air intake I can only see the holes around the bottom and top of the bonnet, Having looked all over I don't see there could be another blocked inlet anywhere, or am I missing something? There is a sliding damper for the holes on the bottom of the bonnet and it is open fully. I'd be surprised if it had been fueled with lamp oil or paraffin in the past, but I suppose it is possible. It must have been dry though, it's certainly not had fuel in it for many years. Could some residue impact the burn quality? Or does it just know I've never worked the pitface!! Any help appreciated - Thanks
Hi Lee. I found Dunhill RED flints to be the best as they match the size of the original. Modern narrower flints tend to not spark as well. The mesh under the bonnet can rust or get clogged up with fluff and other stuff. make sure that is clean. Also you probably noticed that the wick sits in the tube - but does not go all the way into the base like a normal paraffin lamp. It basically sits on top of another wick. If there is insufficient contact between the two wicks this can cause issues. When lighting you need to raise the wick, light and then lower it to get the flame size as you want it.. fully lower it and "spank its bottom" to put it out. (make the flame jump off the wick)
Thanks for the pointers Fireexit1. I used a new zippo flint - I think it was a bit small so might look for Dunhill red. But it sparks well enough to light the wick first time - only when the flame dies out it doesn't respark immediately. For the wick - that's could be a logical explanation of the failure. If the capillary action was weak then the wick would gradually get enough fuel to light, but would burn out quickly. However, if I remove the base and light the wick in the open it burns forever. So that suggests nothing wrong with the wick or fuel getting to it. But...{big grin coming} .... as I sat here replying I got to thinking about the mesh. I considered them to be clean as I vacuumed off 40 years of dust. But they are showing signs of rust. I wonder if the rust is marginally decreasing the effective open area of the mesh? To test this I have just removed the inner mesh cage and running it with the outer cage only. It lights and keeps the flame. I think I'll give the meshes a soak and brush up to see if that improves things. I would rather get it running with both installed for authenticity - but is there any concern about running it in the house with only one, not a lot of methane around here. I just found the price of replacement gauze - that's not the way to go!
Getting there Lee. Weak citric acid solution (2 x Tbsp/ Liter) is a good soak as it actually removes rust. However if really rusted you might lose roo much material.
I see one problem running on only one gauze. The bonnet is now well over 100°C. I take it that is not normal.
I am not so sure. I never measured mine but I might if I can find it and the laser temperature guage thingy this evening. I recall it was too hot to touch. Gauzes from the current manufacturer are expensive but they do pop up on ebay from time to time. You also should be aware that these were not really made for light. They are a gas detection tool. If you are trying to light the room you might just be driving it too hard ? By the time the GR6 lamp was made mines used electric lights. There is a variation of the GR6 called the MC-40 - made for Manchester Collieries - which burned a different oil based fuel, which was lit using high-voltage sparks from an external power supply. Apparently a flint would not set it on fire. I have never seen one personally, but these were designed for higher light output. there is also a CT-33 an earlier high-output version. High output lamps were for coal-face use. Deputies had to by law carry a gas detecting lantern. Again by law only deputies could have lamps that were capable of being re-lit - so you can see that the higher output ones probably were never made with a lighting device (unless they were for use outside of a mine - and therefore not subject to mining laws)
Hi Thanks for the info. I think I have it sussed now. Cleaned the gauzes up well and also realised I had the wick too long. I think the initial flare up consumed all the oxygen. Shorter wick, turning down as soon as it lights seems to have sorted it Smaller flame also reduced the temperature of the bonnet. I recall one granddad telling me they wore only helmet and belt on one seam because it was so warm. Quite a risk having a red hot bonnet dangling from a belt in those situations!! but with the smaller flame, which I gather was typical, it’s only about 40-50degc. Anyway it’s burning away nicely now. Still have a relative who used one, I’ll have to pass by and get first hand lesson on it.
Nice lamp. I can see it is a ministry of power one so was never a coal board mining lamp. Definitely a protector 6 with the sparker onboard. I cannot see a garforth gas introduction port which makes sense. Tell me - does the fuel filler open with a magnet or does it look like it can be wired shut?
I’m pretty sure it was down the pit. The tags match the lamp number and are stamped NCB and Highgate, which is where he retired from. I know some lamps have the Colliery name on the bonnet, doesn’t look like Highgate did though? I found this to explain the ministry of power: Protector Type 6 lamps emerged in 1929,…… an improved flint lighter was designed…… and was the basis of the system used on Type 6 lamps today Following Nationalisation in 1947 it became the approved lamp for all UK Coal mines which were operated by the Ministry of Power under the Labour Government.
That is interesting as a quick look on Wikipedia says that the National Coal Board came into being in 1947, The ministry of power was named such in 1957 but was changed agin in 1967 But the NCB lasted much longer. Some research needed i think
So it looks like the National Coal Board was formed in 1947 as a statutory corporation - like a private company but state owned. The Ministry of Power was renamed from the Ministry of Fuel and Power in 1957. So this would be the government department under a Minister charged with overseeing things like the NCB. The Ministry of Power itself was absorbed by the Ministry of Technology in 1969 - so only had that name for 10 years. I now think that the Ministry of Power was responsible for specifying and maybe certifying the lamp design hence the words "Approval Number". In fact a search at the National Archives reveals documents available to view at Kew (they are paper only and not available online) that from the titles of the documents look like this is the case. Mine just has an approval " M&Q approval no B2/233" . I am guessing the M&Q means Mining and Quarries Anyway - I was definately wrong when I said it may not have been a miners lamp; The dangers of not doing my own research. The tag and the family history prove as much ! Did you find a date stamped on the base and/or upper part ? (normally on the mating faces) so you will have to unscrew it to find them. cheers Chris
HI Chris, Both parts are dated '66 - which matches the history of MoP you describe. You also asked about the closure mechanism for fueling - it is the magnetic lock, but they cut a gap in the the swing arm so that it can be opened without a magnet. I was surprised to find the magnet part still works perfectly so it's a shame it was modified for home use, but makes no difference to operation. You can't tell when it is closed up. Lee
