Blue glass oil lamps

[dazb]

Has anyone got any information on the use of blue (rather than clear) glass in a flame safe oil lamp. There are two examples for sale on ebay at the moment, but why blue??

[John]

I've never come across any lamp glass that was coloured Daz. As an authorised electrician, I was authorised in writing by the Manager as a lamproom attendant to clean, repair and test flamesafety lamps.

Maybe someone who owned them liked the colour blue when the lamp was lit??? ie decoration.

[dazb]

Well I must admit I considered that possibilty myself, I even thought that maybe the glass had been part of a DIY replacement job, possibly someone having found a straight vase or something that happened to that diameter. But I suspect that the answer is something a bit more technical although I have nothing to base that on.

[John]

There's one big problem there Daz as Bill will comment on too, the "gas cap" on a lowered testing flame is coloured light blue, so if the glass were coloured blue, it would be impossible to read a 1.25% gas cap, or even a 1.5% gas cap. Bloody hell, when I took a gas test years back, took me all my time to make out a 1.25% gas cap.

[dazb]

I wonder if might have been used for something other than gas testing, some sort of indicator.

[dazb]

I have spent the last hour rambling round the world with the aid of Google, I haven't yet found a blue glass lamp but there is a pic of a red glass signal lamp @;

miningartifacts.homestead.com/minesafetylamps.html

Of the two blue lamps recently on ebay one is identified as Akroyd and Best manufacture, the other is un-named and not by the same seller, but looks similar to the Akroyd and Best model.

[John]

The only gases tested for, or were, with an oil lamp were methane and absence of oxygen, ie blackdamp, whitedamp etc Daz, and you wouldn't need a coloured glass for that.
One of the things required of the lampman was to polish the glass inside and out and to make sure the engraving, ie MoP emblem was towards one of the pillars so as not to get in the way of a Deputy/Official sighting a gas cap.

Sounds like DIY made glass using what looked and fitted the best Daz.

Mind you, a lamp with a coloured glass would look pretty at Christmas Carol singing time

[ejb]

The only coloured lamp glass I remember is the red one at the bottom of a Spiralarm.

[Wheldale]

I think the lamp is something to do with surveyors, could be wrong but I seem to recall someone telling me so

[Ragger]

Saw a red lamp used to indicate possible danger.

But I think blue looks much better.

;D

[linbylad]

Years ago Police Stations had blue lights outside, so it is obvious that the blue safety lamp was supposed to be hung outside the Overmens underground office. ;D

Linby Lad.

[shropshirebloke]

This one's had me puzzled for while.

Lamps with red glasses (apart from the bottom glasses in Spiralarms) were meant to be hung on "caution boards" - at the entrance to areas that were closed to ordinary workmen for some reason - usually high levels of firedamp.

The blue glasses took a bit longer - but I found a piece on the web (Google is your friend!) about attempts to develop more accurate gas testing lamps. Apparently, around 1900, it was decided that a blue glass gave a better view of a gas cap (it doesn't sound right to me either). The article said that Ackroyd & Best were the main proponents of this theory, and come to think of it I've never seen a lamp with a blue glass from another maker.

See half way down the lefthand column of page 9 in this PDF:

www.thewandofscience.co.uk/Gas_Detecting_Develops.pdf

you learn summat every day!!!

[inbye]

Hi All, I've collected flame safety lamps since 1969, so I've come across a few.
I used to think these were for surveying/signal use, then I came across a second world war advertisment.
Hailwood & Ackroyd (Morley) produced safety lamps (probably returns from pits) & fitted them with blue glasses because " blue is the only colour that can not easily be seen, by enemy bombers"
(quote is approximate)
The lamps were used to signal the presence of bomb craters, where, for example, a gas main had fractured.

[limey]

Interesting! I know surveyors did not use colored glas versions - they sight directly on the flame, at least thats how the ones I worked with did it.

From time-to-time I come across flame safety lamps around here - they were used to inspect the holds of grain freighters on the Great Lakes!

[inbye]

Jul 15, 2008 14:44:57 GMT -5 limey said:

Interesting! I know surveyors did not use colored glas versions - they sight directly on the flame, at least thats how the ones I worked with did it.

From time-to-time I come across flame safety lamps around here - they were used to inspect the holds of grain freighters on the Great Lakes!

You're right Limey, I never saw a surveyor use other than a white lamp.
Safety lamps were used in ships holds, coal bunkers etc. They were hung between the radiator & cylinder block on early motor cars (before anti-freeze came into use) I've even seen one image of tomb explorers in Egypt, using them. (coincidentally Hailwood & Ackroyds). They were used up to present times, by telecom engineers, when travelling thro' cable ducts, & of course for sewer work. If you see a "Spiralarm type S" it's a sewermans lamp...

[John]

Alas, the oil lamp is just about redundant, modern gas detectors have just about won the day.
NSW and Queensland mine departments have had lamps taken out of service, in favour of modern multi electronic gas detectors.
Although, personally, I'd much rather trust a flame I can see when in areas where blackdamp is present in quantity!!
We had D6 methanometers come into service in late 1960's. Boulby used all D6's plus one safety lamp for the shift super, who had a class 2 ticket. And every Deputy in NSW pits when I was working there carried a D6 plus an relightable oil lamp for other gases.

[macfarlane]

Railway signals use a blue glass in the semaphore with a yellow "oil lamp flame" they show green.
Could this be an option for the blue glass?

Amacf

[dazbt]

Sept 9, 2008 1:43:31 GMT -5 macfarlane said:

Railway signals use a blue glass in the semaphore with a yellow "oil lamp flame" they show green.
Could this be an option for the blue glass?

Amacf

Hya 'Mac', welcome.
I can just about visualise a blueglass showing a greenish light although I couldn't offer an explanation as to why there would be need for a green or blue light for that matter to be be shown underground. Was the semaphore system used on the railway that incorporated the blue lens part of the mechanical signalling or a hand held operation?

[macfarlane]

Hi dazbt
These were on the surface railway, standard gauge , signals operated from signal boxes. The semaphore arms showing horisiontal red for stop and rised ( later types ) or lowerd( early types) and green for proceed
just athought why blue not red or green....

Most survayors just used standard flame lanps for setting out turns on the board & pillar work at Lynemouth ( notrthumberland UK)
Amacf

[erichall]

Rather surprised at the Aussies doing away with oil lamps all together. For a number of years I carried both a DS6 and an oil lamp. The DS6 proved very reliable UNTIL it was placed into a large concentration of methane and held there with the button in. This would cause something, I believe a small wheatstone Bridge , though not sure, to burn out in the methanometer from which point it gave false readings. The Point about the FSL was that it relied on natural factors, namely the burning of methane above the lowered flame, which was always reliable. In the case of Blackdamp or such, the lamp would go out and refuse to relight (it simply wouldn't burn in the absence of O2) until there was enough oxygen in the atmosphere, so you made your way quickly out of the hole.
I remember at High Moor, at the start of one aftrenoon shift, the Undermanager and myself were having a smoke and chat befoore going for a shower when we received word of a potential fatality. We both dashed out and ran down 2 x 400yard x 1in 4 drifts, along at least 150 yards of heading, to meet the deputy at the site. He was there, complete with oil lamp. The U/M and myself had, dashed out of the office and run all the way in out pit gear, pads and all, complete with battery and self rescuer, and, you've guessed it, the one thing we had both grabbed before the mad dash, an oil lamp each! I always felt undressed without one when underground.

[John]

They removed them from service a few years back according to a mate of mine who was a Deputy until he retired.
Having seen the effects of blackdamp on our Deputies lamp and beating a hasty retreat out of a tail gate, I much prefer the oil lamp to a detector!!
From what I'm told, the multi detectors give audible warnings.
BUT, how often do electronic gismos fail??? And how often did the oil lamp fail?? Very rarely.
Then there's a fail to danger if a detector gets a minor component failure, not much wrong can go with the old oil lamp.