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Post by erichall on Jan 16, 2013 7:10:50 GMT -5
Usually found in the Manager's Office, Safety Office, Covered Accommodation.
Has anyone got one of these for sale?
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Post by Wheldale on Jan 16, 2013 7:47:39 GMT -5
My uncle has one and a tall barometer too, got them when he closed Wheldale pit. They are beauties.
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Post by John on Jan 16, 2013 8:24:44 GMT -5
Usually found in the Manager's Office, Safety Office, Covered Accommodation. Has anyone got one of these for sale?
We only had a barograph at Angus Place, it was in the report office on a shelf for all to see. Safety Officer changed the chart each week on a Monday morning. |
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Post by erichall on Jan 16, 2013 10:40:43 GMT -5
Always a barograph in the manager's office, and usually one in the Safety Office. Often one in the Covered accommodation.
There was always, by law, a Barometer near the surface where the Deputies
could read it. This was always of the tall Fortin type, mercury column with the pointer adjustment, which Deputies HAD to read, since they had to record this on their Government Reports.
The Barograph, though not required by law, was a far more sophisticated type, and more useful since it not only recorded the current air pressure, it had a recording chart which covered seven days, and was far more useful in displaying,visibly, changes in pressure.
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Post by george on Jul 14, 2013 14:08:28 GMT -5
Hi,
I inherited one of these many many years ago from an old miner who used to drink in my mum's pub and who operated with his brother in small private mines. It seems very much like an ordinary barograph except it has a little pipe connected into the base of the bellows set. It is also very strongly built compared to the posh scientific ones. This one was built by Reid & Young of Glasgow. How were they used in the mines - i.e what was the little pipe connected to and what did the readings mean to a miner?
george w
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Post by John on Jul 14, 2013 15:13:46 GMT -5
Hi, I inherited one of these many many years ago from an old miner who used to drink in my mum's pub and who operated with his brother in small private mines. It seems very much like an ordinary barograph except it has a little pipe connected into the base of the bellows set. It is also very strongly built compared to the posh scientific ones. This one was built by Reid & Young of Glasgow. How were they used in the mines - i.e what was the little pipe connected to and what did the readings mean to a miner? george w
One of the ex Official's might correct me or not on this one as it's been a while now, I think the Deputy's noted the actual air pressure as read on the barometer and entered it on his statutory preshift report...Like I say, been a long while now.
If the air pressure falls, say from a thunderstorm or the likes, gasses start to escape from old workings and coal seams, so if a Deputy notes a low barometric reading before he goes underground, he will more likely take more gas readings with his oil lamp throughout the shift.
When I was a leading hand on nights, one of my jobs was to do weekly examinations of pump motors and starters and sign for them. One evening when I arrived for work, we were in the middle of some nasty thunderstorms and the air pressure was pretty low.
As I was on weekly pump exams the pit pumper said he'd also like to check a couple of pumps in the tailgate of our longwall face, adjacent to it was old workings.
I caught the outbye Deputy to inform him where I was going, he instructed me to meet him at an outbye Deputy's meeting place and wait until he arrived and under no circumstances proceed inbye until he arrived and accompanied both of us.
Had we disobeyed him, I wouldn't be here now, as "blackdamp" chased the three of us out, the Deputy's oil lamp was extinguished and he couldn't get it to relight, we beat a very hasty retreat back to the main intake airway.
I also recall, when "the glass dropped" during a shift, the surface telephone operator was instructed to phone every underground district and notify the Deputy's of the fact.
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Post by george on Jul 14, 2013 15:40:39 GMT -5
Hi John, Thanks very much for your very prompt reply. It was very informative. I never worked in the mines myself but I did spend a lot of time in my youth doing surface seismic exploration work to help define the underground geology. I've attached another picture of my barograph - this time of the bottom and you will see there the little pipe I mentioned. I'm sure there is nothing like this on a "standard" barograph and I wonder just what was connected to it. When I got the instrument I didn't look at it too closely and by the time I did the guy that gave it to me had moved away from our area. I do remember that he and his brother worked together in small shallow mines in the central Scotland area under a Coal Board license to produce only certain amounts of coal. Perhaps working like that there was some special reason for this pipe. Thanks again george  |
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Post by John on Jul 14, 2013 16:44:45 GMT -5
Hi John, Thanks very much for your very prompt reply. It was very informative. I never worked in the mines myself but I did spend a lot of time in my youth doing surface seismic exploration work to help define the underground geology. I've attached another picture of my barograph - this time of the bottom and you will see there the little pipe I mentioned. I'm sure there is nothing like this on a "standard" barograph and I wonder just what was connected to it. When I got the instrument I didn't look at it too closely and by the time I did the guy that gave it to me had moved away from our area. I do remember that he and his brother worked together in small shallow mines in the central Scotland area under a Coal Board license to produce only certain amounts of coal. Perhaps working like that there was some special reason for this pipe. Thanks again george View Attachment |
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Post by Sam from Kent on Jul 16, 2013 2:22:29 GMT -5
Apparently we had a contract with the Met Office in which they would contact the pit when it was anticipated that there was going to be a sharp drop in barometric pressure. As the deputies all read, and recorded, the barometric pressre, no one took any notice of the fact that we were not receiving the calls. One day I was walking past the cost control clerks office, who had never been underground, when he said "Some nut keeps phoning up and giving me the weather forecast"
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Post by colly0410 on Jul 16, 2013 3:52:10 GMT -5
The phrase 'Mine Barograph' gives me palpitations,the reason being: When I did my first year mining exam at College, one of the questions was 'describe a Barograph' muggins here described a barometer. When I told the other lads what I'd done they all laughed & thought I'd failed, one from my own pit was quite vicious, I was nearly in tears. When the results came through I'd passed & the vicious one & some of the others had failed, how I laughed..
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Post by Wheldale on Jul 16, 2013 4:51:38 GMT -5
Apparently we had a contract with the Met Office in which they would contact the pit when it was anticipated that there was going to be a sharp drop in barometric pressure. As the deputies all read, and recorded, the barometric pressre, no one took any notice of the fact that we were not receiving the calls. One day I was walking past the cost control clerks office, who had never been underground, when he said "Some nut keeps phoning up and giving me the weather forecast" During the miners strike my brother was in hospital for 2 months, my dad used to be in charge of Wheldale pit, during certain times (as he had a managers ticket.) Many a time he took me to the pit as a my mum was with my brother in hospital. I remember a few times the phone ringing and it being the Met office with a low pressure warning. I remember seeing the barograph there too in the managers office, it was a nice looking thing, always wanted one but they are too expensive! |
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Post by tyningroad on Jul 7, 2019 13:23:17 GMT -5
I have just aquired one of these from a sale and the guy said it came from a mine, and it too has this pipe coming off it, which if you blow operates the recording bar. So its not measuring atmospheric pressure. But what is it it measuring? Pressure in a mine and the surface should more or less be close to each other. I can see why you need a true barograph to note sudden faulls in pressure to warn of firedamp release, but what the pipe is for baffles me!
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Post by tyningroad on Jul 7, 2019 14:15:25 GMT -5
Ok I know nothing about mines, but it occures to me the mine barograph is there to record differences in pressure between atmospheric and that in the mine due to the large ventilation fans they had. Maybe they had to keep the mine air pressure high to prevent firedamp release?
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Post by John on Jul 7, 2019 15:34:48 GMT -5
Ok I know nothing about mines, but it occures to me the mine barograph is there to record differences in pressure between atmospheric and that in the mine due to the large ventilation fans they had. Maybe they had to keep the mine air pressure high to prevent firedamp release?
If the barometric pressure drops, methane leaks out of the coal seam and blackdamp issues from old workings, the mine ventilation only dilutes gasses and provides a breathable atmosphere.
When a Deputy either knows or has been informed of a drop in barometric pressure, he will continually monitor for methane and blackdamp, in times past, with a lowered flame on his flame safety lamp, these days with a multi gas tester.
A good sign pressure is dropping are thunderstorms on the horizon. |
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Post by John on Jul 7, 2019 15:38:09 GMT -5
Just an after thought, do you have a baragraph or a water gauge, used to denote the fans pressure in inches between the intake and return side of the main ventilation system??
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Post by fortythreesflyer on Jul 7, 2019 17:44:11 GMT -5
I remember there was a set in the lamproom at Wheldale next to where the deputies and overmen got their lamps.
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