Carbide lamp base getting hot

    Hi,


    Good evening from Istanbul,


    I have a very nice Friemann & Wolf No.2 carbide lamp which I lighted for the first time today. It’s missing the reflector unfortunately, but still works wonderfully and amazed me with how basic chemistry could be put to such wonderful use.

    Since it’s my first time with such a lamp, I’m not familiar with the correct working temperatures and such, but what I could tell is that during operation the base (bottom half) of the lamp got quite hot, even though there was a reasonable sized flame. Is this normal, or should I be doing something differently, such as slowing down the water feed? At first it was warm, but eventually got so hot that it wasn’t possible the hold on to the lamp base for more than a couple of seconds.


    Any advice would be highly appreciated, thanks.

    Kerem

    Hello, Kerem,


    the heating is normal, because heat is generated during the gas evolution, which is not due to combustion. It results from the chemical reaction.

    But the nozzle is not an original part, but an adapted replica.

    Hi Jan, many thanks for the info, and also pointing out about the nozzle.


    I've lit the lamp again on a second night, just because I liked it so much :) Could you please advise about the reflector? Is it possible to find and restore this, or are the parts scarce?


    By the way, sorry all if I've made a mistake by starting and English thread in the German section, I can carry this conversation to that part if necessary.


    Regards

    Kerem