So a while back I came an old carbide mining lamp that was recovered from an old german military camp. It looks amazing and I would love to restore it to working order without ruining the weathered and tarnished appearance. Pleace note: I have no expereince in this field of expertise, so feel free to explain like you are talking to a 5-year old (also english is not my first language). So far all I have done is to remove some of the rust/ grime and picked it apart, but I have found some issues and things that needs addressing : - The filter (?) is full of grime and clogged, and support for holding the filter in place has fallen off. Where do I find a replacement filter? - The gasket between the top and bottom part has dried out and is cracked. Is this possible to replace with an O-ring? - The tip broke when the lamp fell over, and needs replacing. Where can I find a replacement that fits? - What is the best way to clean the inside of it, denatured alcohol? I'll add some pictures of how it looks and the state its in. Thanks in advance for your feedback!
For a filter, you could just use a piece of cotton cloth loosely rolled up and placed in the outlet tube. You should also find a replacement for the round "filter looking" bit that should sit at the bottom of the water tank. You could use a piece cut out from a bit of a Scotchbrite pad. Originally it was probably made out of felted horse hair, or similar, so anything simulating that will do. It's there to prevent condensed water at the bottom of the water tank to drip down on the carbide stones. It is possible to use an O-ring for a gasket, but it is better with a rubber gasket with a square shaped section. It will fit and stay in place better. You can cut one out from a piece of rubber sheet. But if you have a decent o-ring, it will work. By the tip, I assume you mean the burner? The carbide burners are still available here and there. Just check eBay or Tradera. For Tradera, write e.g." karbid munstycke". eBay works with carbide burner (link), but a search in German and French produce more hits. Even Fogas in Sweden have a couple of variants, like e.g. this one. Burners are normally marked with a number that says how large they are, meaning how much gas they let out per hour. Miner lamps typically used a 14 or 21 l/hr burner, so either of those is what you want. To clean the inside, just scrape and wash it out and then let it dry. Check that nothing is rusted through before testing it, and make sure that you have the water fill lid attached when lighting it. It's part of the safety function. Make sure that the little hole in it isn't clogged. Or for that; not enlarged. It mustn't be larger than 0.8 mm. And remember that even if you just put a very little amount of carbide in it, the water tank shall be filled all the way to the top marking (if there is any). Once lit and running, you should do a sweep test around it. Especially around the sealing area between the two parts. This is done by sweeping a lit lighter or match along the edges, joints and attachments. A leak will directly show itself by producing a very sooty and yellow flame. I assume you understand Swedish, so perhaps this page may help you out. It's about handlig a carbide lamp in general, and is an abstract from my carbide lamp page.
Thank you very much " söta bror"! Thanks for taking your time to explain everything so thoroughly. I'll dive into the links you sent me, and hopefully get this lamp operational again. Do you have any idea where to get hold of carbide in Norway or Sweden? I guess I need a permit or license or something, even though it is a very small amount?
You're welcome, Andy! You don't need any licence to buy calcium carbide. Atleast not in Sweden. I used to buy it in a regular "paint store", whatever it's called in English. "Färgaffär". Check around in different hardware and paint stores. Otherwise it's always possible to buy online.
