Flame Safety Lamp Maintenance.

[John]

As some folks still use the oil lamp when exploring tunnels etc I'll give instructions for daily maintenance of the lamp.
My experience comes from being an electrician authorized in writing to service Flame Safety Lamps at Angus Place Colliery in NSW, part of our duties as a surface electrician, lamp room officer...

Each day, all oil lamps were serviced, cleaned and examined for defects, any defective part had to be replaced and the defective part destroyed as required by law.

1/Lamp stripped.
2/All parts cleaned, gauzes brushed inside to remove soot with a bottle brush slightly larger than the internal diameter of the gauze.
3/ Examine gauzes for broken wires small holes etc under a magnifying glass, we used a bench unit with a built in light.
4/ Examine the glass for cracks or chips, discard if any are found. Clean with a dry cloth to remove dirt and oil deposits.
5/ Examine the pillars, tighten if loose.
6/Clean base and bonnet, look for defects or damage to both, check the lock for defects.
7/Make sure both washers for the glass are in good order, replace as necessary.
8/ Check relighting device, that the flint is serviceable.
9/ Reassemble the lamp, making sure the bonnet isn't over tightened to the glass, make sure the glass etchings are behind a pillar!! This makes it easier to read a gas cap without distractions.
10/Fill the lamp with the correct oil, leave for half an hour or so, then turn the lamp upside down to drain excess oil from the base.
11/ Test the lamp, make sure it lights, that the wick adjuster works and finally seal the lamp, in our case with a lead seal.

About once a week we brasso'd our lamps.

[andyexplorer]

Hi John What were you using as fuel as Colzalene is no longer available in the U K ?

[John]

Jan 1, 2013 19:26:38 GMT -5 andyexplorer said:

Hi John What were you using as fuel as Colzalene is no longer available in the U K ?

That's exactly what we we using, that was over 20 years back now, but I have found a substitute which is almost identical, looks the same, burns the same and even has that same distinct odour.
Try Colemans camping light fuel.

[andyexplorer]

Jan 2, 2013 6:41:46 GMT -5 John said:

Jan 1, 2013 19:26:38 GMT -5 andyexplorer said:

Hi John What were you using as fuel as Colzalene is no longer available in the U K ?

That's exactly what we we using, that was over 20 years back now, but I have found a substitute which is almost identical, looks the same, burns the same and even has that same distinct odour.
Try Colemans camping light fuel.

Thanks John that is what i have been using in my round wick lamps , and i use kerosene in my flat wicks
This is a health and safety data sheet for Colemans fuel it seems to be pretty safe if used correctly
ATB Andy


www.nafaa.org/Coleman_MSDS.pdf

[John]

Jan 3, 2013 5:08:41 GMT -5 andyexplorer said:

Jan 2, 2013 6:41:46 GMT -5 John said:

That's exactly what we we using, that was over 20 years back now, but I have found a substitute which is almost identical, looks the same, burns the same and even has that same distinct odour.
Try Colemans camping light fuel.

Thanks John that is what i have been using in my round wick lamps , and i use kerosene in my flat wicks
This is a health and safety data sheet for Colemans fuel it seems to be pretty safe if used correctly
ATB Andy


www.nafaa.org/Coleman_MSDS.pdf

I'm going to have to upgrade my acrobat reader to read that file, but I'd say there would be health hazards with the oil as with any oil.
I've never had problems with Coleman's camping light oil, it burns clean, even smells like colzalene when burning, i'd hazard a guess it's the exact same stuff we used in the lamps at our collieries.

[Wheldale]

Whats the best flint to use in an Type 6 relighter?

[John]

Feb 17, 2013 9:48:04 GMT -5 Wheldale said:

Whats the best flint to use in an Type 6 relighter?

If you want it to be like the original lamps, buy the ones available through the Protector Lamp Co... BUT, they are pretty expensive, so just go with ordinary lighter flints.

[Wheldale]

I was looking at zippo flints, they are slightly thicker than normal flints. Zippo flints came up on another forum then I remembered your post about lamp maintainance. It was said the protector flints are thicker but expensive. Cheers John.

[anthonygos]

They're also say you can use B&Q barbecue fuel

[Wheldale]

Ive just read on another forum that a suitable fuel for lamps id a thing called panel wipes, used for cleaning up cars that are having paint jobs. Has anyone used it? Its said to be a lot cheaper than the colemans oil.

www.paints4trade.com/ekmps/shops/tpukltd/resources/Other/panelwipemsds.pdf

[John]

Nov 14, 2015 6:55:13 GMT -5 Wheldale said:

Ive just read on another forum that a suitable fuel for lamps id a thing called panel wipes, used for cleaning up cars that are having paint jobs. Has anyone used it? Its said to be a lot cheaper than the colemans oil.

www.paints4trade.com/ekmps/shops/tpukltd/resources/Other/panelwipemsds.pdf

Never heard of it, but be careful, if it's as volatile as petrol, you could end up with a fire..

[Wheldale]

On eBay I can get a litre of the stuff for 8 pounds. Probably cheaper to buy petrol!! I tried petrol in a couple of lamps and it worked fine, only trouble was the room that I display my lamps in stank of petrol and the wife wasn't too happy!!

[John]

Nov 14, 2015 8:11:27 GMT -5 Wheldale said:

On eBay I can get a litre of the stuff for 8 pounds. Probably cheaper to buy petrol!! I tried petrol in a couple of lamps and it worked fine, only trouble was the room that I display my lamps in stank of petrol and the wife wasn't too happy!!

$12-99 a gallon at Walmarts over here, that would be about the same price you quoted from "Fleabay". I wouldn't use petrol, too volatile, and as you say stinks big time. Colemans is pure Naptha which equates to the correct fuel for the lamps.

[smshogun]

I still have about 3 gallons of colzolene.

[andyexplorer]

I have about half a gallon of colzolene ,In the Colzolene can from Daw Mill lamp room
I got it off the Demolition company in Leeds two years ago the can is stuffed with what looks like steel swarf
As for Coleman's Stove and lamp fuel ,It costs about £7 a litre from camping shops
Go Outdoor have loads of the stuff

[smshogun]

Most people I know just use cigarette lighter petrol.

Thinking back, it must have come as a shock to smokers when the pits closed, no more colzalene and flints for their lighters for free.

[John]

As a matter of interest, didn't UK pits change over to multi gas detectors and scrap safety lamps??? I know Australia and many other countries scrapped safety lamps years ago. If you ever watch any American coal mining video, all their "Mine Bosses" use are multi gas detectors. Mate of mine who I worked with in Oz, was a Deputy, he told me Oz scrapped safety lamps over ten years back.

[Wheldale]

Lamps are still carried here John. Loads of recent pictures of Kellingley and Hatfield on Facebook etc show some of the miners carrying flame safety lamps.

[John]

Dec 10, 2015 15:13:30 GMT -5 Wheldale said:

Lamps are still carried here John. Loads of recent pictures of Kellingley and Hatfield on Facebook etc show some of the miners carrying flame safety lamps.

That really surprises me, oil lamps when I was in Australia were only used for blackdamp detection, MSA D6's were carried by all Deputy's, U/M's and Managers for methane detection.
Even at Boulby only one oil lamp was taken U/G each shift, that was the Mining Shift Supervisor, all District Supervisors had MSA D6 methane detectors, and machine operators took the large MSA flashing light methane detectors.

When Mick dropped by here a few years back on his visit to the states from Oz, he said he carried a multi gas detector for his inspections U/G, he told me flame safety lamps were made redundant in the early 1990's.

It was always a bone of contention of how many gas ignitions were actually caused by safety lamps over the years.

[smshogun]

Agree, still carried as electric or electronic devices can suddenly give out and with total failure you have nothing, at least with a lamp you can relight it if it goes out.

[John]

Dec 10, 2015 21:56:33 GMT -5 smshogun said:

Agree, still carried as electric or electronic devices can suddenly give out and with total failure you have nothing, at least with a lamp you can relight it if it goes out.

When I was leading hand elec on nights at Angus Place, one of my monthly jobs was to examine and sign for all U/G pumps. I was a little behind due to other problems, so had a night spare for the exams. Problem was, one pump was up the T/G of the longwall face, and the swing shift Deputy in that district had reported large quantities of blackdamp pouring out the old workings...Barometric pressure was down that day.

I was ordered not to enter the T/G until the outbye Deputy arrived at the fresh air station, also the pumper wanted to check the pump and suction too, so we waited for the Deputy as ordered.

When the Dep arrived, he asked us to follow him and keep an eye on his lamp, every cut through, the flame lowered, until we were about a couple of hundred yards inbye, when his lamp went out. No amount of blowing, swinging or other approved methods of clearing the lamp of gas worked, it just would not re light!
So it was a case of retreat at maximum speed to the main intakes.
Once through the air doors, he cleared his lamp and it re lit perfectly.
Had it been a multi gas detector, it would still have been working and giving warnings of oxygen depletion.
So really its half a dozen of one or six of the other, personally, I preferred the oil lamp as a warning of low oxygen, aka blackdamp.

I never saw a D6 fail in all the years I saw them in use. The only problem with D6's was they didn't provide continuous methane monitoring, whereas multi gas detectors do.

[Wheldale]

Ive got 3 protector lamps, 2 are lighting then going straight out. If the wick looks singed/ burnt could this be a cause of the lamp going out (I've just fuelled them with colemans), the other lamp has a white wick and lights no problem. When buying wick i see the protector wick is expensive, will ordinary round wick be ok to use?

[John]

Dec 30, 2016 13:03:27 GMT -5 Wheldale said:

Ive got 3 protector lamps, 2 are lighting then going straight out. If the wick looks singed/ burnt could this be a cause of the lamp going out (I've just fuelled them with colemans), the other lamp has a white wick and lights no problem. When buying wick i see the protector wick is expensive, will ordinary round wick be ok to use?

The wicks in two pieces, a long one in the base which is surrounded by the "sponge" the top piece is a short wick which is replaceable.
Does the wick need trimming?? Usually a good sign is if it doesn't light.
I don't know of any other wick that would do the job, other than the original Protector wicks. I borrowed a few before I left the industry.

Another problem we noted was the striker wheel gets clogged, try cleaning it. Do you have the original flints?? If not that could be another cause of the lamp not lighting, and what fuel are you using?
Closest fuel to the original we used is Colemans camping light fluid, smells just like the real stuff too, both in the can and while burning.

[John]

Here's a wiki page on the fuel...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_fuel

[Wheldale]

Thanks John, I'll look at trimming the wicks tomorrow, I've just ordered some cheap wick from eBay, I'll try that, if needs be I'll buy some proper wick from Protector.

For the flint wheel do you just brush it with a small wire brush?

I'm finding that when trying to light the lamps that there looks to be a small flash over of vapour inside of the glass. Is this normal?

Thanks again for your help.

[John]

Dec 30, 2016 14:07:40 GMT -5 Wheldale said:

Thanks John, I'll look at trimming the wicks tomorrow, I've just ordered some cheap wick from eBay, I'll try that, if needs be I'll buy some proper wick from Protector.

For the flint wheel do you just brush it with a small wire brush?

I'm finding that when trying to light the lamps that there looks to be a small flash over of vapour inside of the glass. Is this normal?

Thanks again for your help.

Yes, use a small wire brush on the flint wheel. The flash is caused by fuel vapour, what you should do is blow into the top vents of the bonnet before trying to light the lamp, Deputy's sometimes "swung" the lamp around to clear the lamp of that vapour, best just blow into the top vents of the bonnet, less chance of knocking your missis's best vase off the shelf. LOL After encountering blackdamp that put the lamp out, they were always a pig to relight, until all the CO2 and N was cleared out the lamp.

If you change out the top wick, make sure you get the new wick to be in contact with the lower wick, we always dripped a little fuel onto the new wick when installed, seemed to prime it.

[Wheldale]

Cheers John, ive trimmed one of the wicks and that lamp lights much better. The other two need new wicks as theres nothing much to trim. Ill blow in the lamps next time and see how i get on.

[Wheldale]

I've replaced the wickes and the lamps light much better now.

[robin]

Hi

I have a protector protector lamp GR6S.

I’m using zippo gas, but it creates a lot of white smelling smoke.

If I remove the two upper filters it burns ok.

Can anyone tell me what I need to do to get a well working lamp?

[John]

Jul 3, 2018 15:17:27 GMT -5 robin said:

Hi

I have a protector protector lamp GR6S.

I’m using zippo gas, but it creates a lot of white smelling smoke.

If I remove the two upper filters it burns ok.

Can anyone tell me what I need to do to get a well working lamp?

Make sure you clean the gauzes well, they could be blocked, use a stiff brush toclean them, DO NOT use a wire brush,it could damage the gauzes, change your fuel to Coleman camp light fuel,it's expensive,but pretty much the same as "Colezalene" (sp) which is the correct fuel,which is hard to get hold of these days.