I have a small miners lamp, and whilst I know some are adjustable, I don’t think this one is - but the flame seems far too small and the light extremely dim. Is this correct / to be expected? I obviously wasn’t expecting it to compete with a pressure lantern but I expected a little more light and a larger flame. Cheers
I'm no expert on these, but I'm pretty certain these were to measure oxygen depletion instead of producing light output. I've heard them called "miners safety lamps". Hopefully someone will chime in that knows more of their history.
The one you have is actually used to detect explosive gasses in the mine. They were originally invented by sir Humphrey Davey and should have a fine metal mesh in the hood which renders them safe in explosive atmosphere. When the gas builds up then they burn blue and give the miners chance to escape asphyxiation. They were often called Davey lamps, and saved the lives of many miners. The older ones may be brighter as they supplied as safe light before the battery operated cap lamps were available, the one you have would be used together with battery lamps, and usually carried by the pit deputy along with his yard stick. They should have a fitting on the side where the lamp man would fit a small lock to stop anyone opening the lamp and exposing the flame There is also a remote flint sparking device on mine to re light it if needed
I’ve always loved the looks of these lamps, it seems that people around here must think they are made of gold; perhaps it works better in total darkness. Personally I’d prefer a directional reflector on it.
Buckaroo The lamp in the photograph was never intended for use underground. It is one which was made for the souvenir trade. This is evidenced by the plate on the chimney bearing only "Cymru". The pukka lamps always bore the maker's name and a serial number and sometimes the model or variant. Neither does it have a locking mechanism to prevent it being opened illegally underground. Having said that, the flame you have is par for the course. They were not used for light except perhaps in dire emergency, but as has been suggested above as a safety device. The lamp in rayw's post is the genuine article. It is one of the most commonly found, a GR6 made by the Protector Lamp and Lighting Company of Eccles near Manchester UK. It is a "re-lighter" type which would have been issued to deputies (more senior miners) as it could be re-lit underground. The regular miners did not enjoy the luxury of a re-lighter. If their lamps extinguished, they would have to get it re-lit in a safe room. Basically an underground sealed vault where sparks etc were unable to escape. Sorry to disagree with Ray, but his lamp has the locking mechanism built in and is clearly visible at 4 o'clock in the second photograph. It consists of a steel spring loaded plunger which passes through a hole in the top plate which pivots around the round headed rivet. In that position the plate cannot be swung open and so the lamp is prevented from being opened by the finger overlapping the lamp glass support. To open it the lamp was placed on a bench magnet which withdrew the steel plunger and allowing the locking plate to be swung outwards. The hole in that top plate is not original but has been drilled to enable easy unlocking with a piece of wire or similar. This version of the miner's lamp was in use until very recently but was eventually succeeded by the GR6S which has a stainless steel wick tube instead of brass to improve longevity. One other variant of this model has a fitting to enable gas samples to be injected by a rubber bulb and tube into the bottom of the glass. The resulting flame was then compared to charts which indicated the gas composition. These round wick lamps were designed to be run on "Colzene" which can now be found as Colman Fuel which is more volatile than paraffin and allows the lamp to be lit with a spark.
This is the GR6S referred to above. It has a stainless steel hood and wick tube. Although not visible here it also has a gas injector port.
Debatable at best. The principle behind what became known as the Davy lamp seems to have developed more-or-less simultaneously in several parts of the country:- Davy lamp - Wikipedia Clanny seems to have developed a lamp based on the same principle as Davy's version some two years previously. Bishopwearmouth is in Sunderland where I was born. I daresay 'Herrington Mill' is the Herrington on the outskirts of the urban part of the City of Sunderland even today. George Stephenson seems to have had a slightly earlier version than Davy, hence the other name for these lamps round here - the Geordie lamp. The Cymru one is some sort of souvenir / memento / ornament type thing. I've a similar one around here somewhere which my mother bought 25-35 years ago...
They look nice but light output, I doubt it. It appears to me they may have been used for gas detection the same way they used canaries. Difference is the canary wouldn’t survive if there was gas in the mine!
I read the Wikipedia item and just wondered what they would have been thinking of allowing him to take his invention down a mine and hold it in a spot where methane was being emitted, to prove it worked. Even if they didn't give a dam about Stevenson the result of a failure would be disastrous, the mine owner would have been somewhat disappointed.
I restored a GR6 for the neighbour (it was his dad's from down the mine he worked in near Glasgow) It was a bit of a throw together, but complete which I understand is what happened when you left the mine or retired. The Mrs liked it so much I had to go buy another for her and fettle that (tough I know). It now has pride of place next to a pigeon lamp I also "found" for her. To add to Ray and R100's observations - the GR6 and GR6S were made to order for individual pits who had a degree of autonomy. The decision to have a lead wire seal OR the magnetic lock was down to the pit. So you are both correct. They were also used by many non coal board underground constructors, so tunnels, sewers, the electicity board, the MOD etc and again these were made under individual contracts for them. Some of these organisations were not subject to the Mining act 1887 that made locking them mandatory so can be found without any lock. The GR6S was made from 1964 to today (and still used to move olympic flames) Dunhill "red" flints are the perfect size replacement for the Coal board ones. Ordinary lighter flints are too narrow Best, C
Fantastic info - thanks all. This is also a gift from my mother @David Shouksmith , to remind me of home as I’ve not been able to get back to the UK for several years now (my Christmas plans for a visit got cancelled for obvious reasons). A nice little lamp!
I have seen them with lead seals, and I thought small brass locks but not 100% sure. It was a very serious offence to try and open one and would result in instant dismissal and possible prosecution, also remember to do that would endanger the lives of many men, and so was taken very seriously by the miners. I have heard of colzene but I thought it was a coal derived product similar to paraffin. Odd thing is I tracked my family history online and was able to get to 1736, and every one was a coal miner until me, my dad was dead set against me going down there, and I went into engineering, so my family have been going down coal mines longer than these lamps.
My example is aluminum and was made by Kohler. Not sure how old it is. Well in excess of 35 years! That’s how long I’ve had it! I’m not sure what fuel is used but I assume since it reminds me of a cigar lighter it probably uses something like lighter fluid! Right?
Such an interesting discussion. When going camping quite often light my fires with flint and steel and wondered how a flint would light a kerosene wick lamp. Now it comes to hand these lamps ran on a Coleman/Shellite type petrol fuel like a cigarette lighter. Which explains everything. Thanks for the info.
@Walkop I too light my camp fires with flint and steel, good on you. When lighting my fire, it always gets peoples’ attention when I do so, usually with exclamations “How did you do that”? Cheers Pete
When I researched the lamp I wrote this up: (bear in mind it was about the neighbour's lamp) What is it?: It is a Protector Lamp mark GR6S made by the Protector Lamp and Lighting Co Ltd of Eccles. These were produced from 1964 and are still made today. It would appear to be a “deputies” lamp as it has a gas intake port on the side which allows the introduction of sampled air/gas. – this is what the G stands for in the model number. The S is a slightly later model with a stainless steel wick holder. These lamps are still in use and the company still makes new lamps today for gas detection. The top half of this lamp was made in 1978 and the bottom in 1974. It is not uncommon to have mismatched tops and bottoms as the bottom part was often soaked in a bucket of fuel, this being the fastest way to re-fuel lots of lamps. It was customary for miners to be given a lamp when they left or retired. Often the lamp room would select one at random (probably the scruffiest ones) and send it to be presented. They were not normally engraved, and miners were not allowed to bring their own lamps to the mine. Use: These lamps were not used for lighting but to detect gas. The flame would behave differently in the presence of different gas or mixtures of gas found in a mine. Miners could “read” the flame and take appropriate action. The lamps were collected every day from the lamp room. They would have been re-fuelled and inspected between each shift. It was not permitted for the miner to open the lamp and so avoid exposing a naked flame to the inflammable or explosive gases or coal dust. The mining act of 1887 stated that all lamps were to be locked. These lamps were fitted with a magnetic lock or a lead rivet. This one has a magnetic lock. What I did to it: I freed up the lock, opened it up and cleaned out all the coal dust. I have cleaned the corrosion and old caked up brass polish from the surfaces but not polished them to a super shiny state. These were tools not decorations so were never shiny, even when new. The gauzes inside the hood were a bit rusty and choked up so these were cleaned and brushed. I fitted two new gaskets (either side of the glass) as the existing ones were made of asbestos. A new wick was fitted and a new striker key sourced. It had a brand new flint in it. To light: Make sure it has fuel. Turn the wick up using the control under the lamp so it is visible. Pull the striker key 2/3rds out slowly and then push it back in smartly. This will cause a wheel to grind against the flint and light the wick. Turn the wick down until you end up with a ¼” flame. This will burn for many hours. To extinguish: Turn the wick down as low as it will go. Hold the lamp in one hand and slap the underneath of the lamp with your hand. This will make the flame jump off the wick. Leave the wick low to reduce loss from evaporation of the fuel. To re-fuel: The fuelling port is locked with a captive steel pin that is moved with a magnet. If you put a magnet on the underside you will hear a click. You can then swivel the lid off the port. These lamps were designed to run on “Colzaline” – a naphtha based distillate of coal tar. The closest thing available today is Zippo lighter fuel. This is naphtha distilled from oil. An alternative is American “white gas” or “Coleman fuel” available from camping stores. The fuel is soaked up by felt pads in the base. 100ml is the capacity. Once it is all in close the lid back and use the magnet to move the pin back to the locked position. DO NOT USE PARAFFIN or LAMP OIL– this will not light from the spark, and it will clog up the felt pads in the base. The only way to replace these is to unsolder the base with a blowtorch and re-solder once replaced. Paraffin will also clog up the flint wheel. To disassemble: You may need to take the lamp apart to put a new flint in or replace the wick. Open the fuelling port with the magnet. Swivel the lid out of the way. The base will now unscrew and come away from the top. To further disassemble make sure the locking rod if protruding at the bottom. This is the steel rod that sits next to one of the four rods around the glass. If it is not protruding it is locking the top cap onto the body of the lamp. This will now allow you to unscrew the top from the middle. Removing the glass will allow you access to the screw cap that holds a spring and flint against the flint wheel. The wick is only about ¾” long as the main wick is fitted inside the bottom/tank. When replacing ensure that the top wick is touching the bottom wick. If it is not touching the fuel will not reach the top where it can burn. Do not damage the bottom wick as this will require de-soldering the tank to access it. When reassembling make sure the gaskets are in place either end of the glass, the two gauzes are in place. When re-fitting the bottom (tank) be careful to not damage the wick and make sure that the cap locking rod is pushed up. Misc.: The striker should be attached to one of the rods by a chain. There should also be another chain with a plug known as a “Garforth plug” to block off the gas introduction port. I have not managed to find any of these
@AussiePete : Yes certainly get some looks when squatted down by the fireplace clacking away with a flint. Then the dance around waving the smoking tinder till it bursts into flame gets even more looks.
@Walkop I find Plumber’s hemp works good for tinder. I burn cotton singlets in a tin with a hole in it for my char cloth. What do you use? Pete
Just to round off the story, here is a deputy stick which he would carry with his lamp, it's a yard long and used to measure down the pit.
interesting and a very informative post. I have worked in underground gold mines and the atmospheric danger down there is not explosive gas but oxygen depleted air. instead of a Davy light, a candle was kept alight nearby and if the flame became very dim you knew the oxygen levels were getting low. looking at old 19th century miner photos taken at places like Walhalla Victoria you would always see a miner with about 4-6 candles shoved in his breast pocket ready for his shifts work. we also used acetylene lights that ran off rock carbide and water. these put out a surprisingly bright flame and would also dim if the oxygen level was getting low
@AussiePete : I use charred punkwood for tinder, a few years ago whilst camped on the Turon River was lucky to find a fallen rotted sheoak tree. Which I cut up and took home. This stuff takes a spark very well. Have used a tree fungus which when charred is really combustible . Stringybark is my favourite kindling if I can find some.
When I was collecting those I was told it was the supervisors lamps that had the sparker key, and that the normal ones were lit with an electrical element prior to going into the mines. The silver supervisor's lamp I have has the key and the hole on the side to which a hose could be attached and let down into a suspect working to test the quality of air prior to sending men down. Lastly in a particularly bad section of works the key could be removed to keep an attempted re light from potentially sparking and causing an explosion. I have around 8 from various manufacturers. They all burn dimly.
Hi. I have one of these Eccles 6 which belonged to my Grandad and is date stamped as 62. I have changed the wick and flint, filled with Coleman's lamp oil and it ignites and lights lovely. It will only maintain a flame for hours with just the outer gauze however, will not when the inner gauze is in place despite all being clean and clear, any ideas ?
Hi Darin. Congrats for getting it going. When you say Coleman's lamp oil - what are you using exactly ? - the original fuel for these was "coalazine" which is similar to modern day coleman fluid or zippo lighter fuel. It is closer to petrol than oil (but do not use petrol) I also found a replacement gasket on Ebay (non asbestos) and that Dunhill red flints work best as they are a bit thicker than standard ones.
Hi Fireexit1 Many thanks for your reply. I attach the fuel piccie. The strange thing is that everything works great without the inner gauze in place ! But the flame seems starved of oxygen with it in and dies quickly. The inner gauze is clean and not blocked ? Cheers Darin
Hi Darin. Well that is the fuel I use. It should hold about 100ml of it. Yours is the same as another one I have. Have you tried blowing through the gauze with compressed air ? Failing that I would be tempted to try a toothbrush with something that dissolves rust. Or maybe an ultrasonic cleaner ? In this thread LeeT had similar issue Eccles safety lamp fuel Unfortunately the solution is not there.
Hi Thanks again for the info. I love the lamp and am over the moon I can get it working ( albeit without the inner gauze atm). Love the idea that grandad used it "down pit". Thanks for the thread which does state "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" I have ordered the new gaskets and will give the gauze a real clean up. I will let you know
