Safety lamp

Made:
c.1880 in Lanark
maker:
Humphry Davy

Safety lamp, Scotch, Davy no.1, from the Royal Commission on Accidents in Mines 1879-86, c.1880

Presented by The Royal Commission on Accidents in Mines. This lamp came from Blantyre Colliery, Lanarkshire. Air is admitted through the gauze cylinder, 2.9 in. diam. by 7 in. high, with a gauze cone 2 in. high, which is doubled for about half its height. There is a hook on the side for attaching the lamp to timber, etc., but the construction is flimsy and the internal volume so large that the Commissioners reported that it " can scarcely be regarded as a safety lamp at all,” having exploded in 14 seconds in a current travelling at 400 ft. per min. A screw lock is fitted.

Details

Category:
Mining & Ore Dressing
Object Number:
1886-200
Materials:
brass (copper, zinc alloy), steel (metal) and glass
type:
safety lamps
credit:
Geological Museum (Jermyn St.)