LAMPS AND LAMP BRACKETS.
“Mehr Licht,” Goethe’s last words, seem to express the unfilled want
of the touring wheelmen at night, but this want bids fair to be
fulfilled at last. Some differences of opinion have existed as to
the advisability of the wheelman carrying a light at night, and the
necessity for local ordinances in regard thereto, but undoubtedly it
is well that such a noiseless vehicle as the bicycle should carry a
light, not only so that it can be seen, but that the bicyclist can see
what he is approaching. The time, we hope, is soon coming when the cry
of “universal lights” will come into favor and all classes of vehicles
will be compelled to carry a light from sunset to sunrise, when in use.
EVOLUTION OF THE LAMP.
The old-time lamp was usually a hub lamp, carried on the front axle;
head lamps were made, but had the drawback of being too high above the
ground, and were also disagreeably odorous, the rider being seated
so nearly over the steering. The hub lamp was large and cumbrous,
sometimes having at the top a clip which opened to go over the axle,
but more commonly being made to open in halves; the largest lamps—which
were of the Lucas “King of the Road” pattern—were necessarily so made,
in order to reduce their thickness so as to get them into the wheel.
Even then it was sometimes a trick to get them in, requiring that a
spoke or two be sprung to one side. To keep them steady and prevent
their being struck by the spokes guides had to be run out against the
sides of the great “G. M.” or steel hub. Sometimes there would be a
catching, and the lamp would turn over instead of hanging. The wheel
always cast its shadow, and with every jolt the lamp converted itself
into a pendulum for the nonce and took on a trick of swinging, to the
impairment of such illumination as it was ever capable of affording.
Sperm or lard oil had to be used, kerosene being quite unmanageable.
English lamps held the market here for some years after the rear-driver
came in, the patterns offered by American makers under other names
being either made to order in England or copied from English models.
The market is not yet bare of imported lamps, offered at low prices
to clear them, and the persistence of burning oils as an article in
the list of sundries is due to the declining existence of “Comets,”
“Meteors,” “Cyclones” and others of English origin and fit only for
heavy oils. The genuine American lamp, of course, burns kerosene, and
is nickel-plated. The best-known patterns are the Searchlight, “M. &
W.,” Tallyho, Neverout, Bragger, Banner, Aladdin and Twentieth Century.
Electricity and acetylene gas have recently come into use quite
prominently for use in bicycle lamps, but of these mention will be made
further on.
THE SEARCHLIGHT.
[Illustration: BRIDGEPORT “SEARCHLIGHT.”]
The 1898 Searchlight is certainly one of the handsomest lamps on
the market, both as regards its design and ornamentation, while its
weight is as light as possible consistent with thorough construction.
Its makers make the bold statement that “it cannot blow out nor jar
out.” The Searchlight was the first brass nickeled bicycle lantern to
introduce the now almost universal custom of burning kerosene oil,
which as an illuminant for this particular purpose is unexcelled,
not only on account of its safety and brilliancy, but also for the
ease with which it can be procured anywhere and at any time. The
Searchlight reflectors are covered with close fitting crystals which
protect them from oil, smoke or dust. These crystals can be rubbed off
without touching the reflectors, which can be removed and replaced
if necessary. The Searchlight also has a reflector lens cone and a
powerful magnifying lens to concentrate and intensify the light.
The wick is set at an angle in such a manner that a wide flame is
produced, and the adjustment is an exceedingly simple one. The oil
receptacle is self-locking, and the lamp can be fitted to either the
right or left hand side of the bicycle and yet bring the wick lift on
the outside where it can be readily reached. It carries oil enough
to last for twelve hours. The side lights are jewelled and will not
rattle or work loose. The bracket is a rigid one and can be attached
to the head or either side of the forks. All the parts of the lamp are
interchangeable, and can be readily procured from the makers.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
[Illustration: TWENTIETH CENTURY.]
The 1898 model of the Twentieth Century lamp has a number of changes in
construction in the line of simplicity and efficiency. The reflector
is increased in size somewhat between the Standard and the Tandem
sizes of their 1897 models; the glass in the front has been improved
in quality and is now hinged, and the aluminum parabola reflector
is removable; an outside filler has been added so that it is rarely
necessary to remove the oil font from the lamp, and the method of
attaching the oil font if needed to justify has been altered by the
addition of a new sliding lock. One of the best of the changes consists
in using a rigid lamp bracket which is adjustable at any angle on the
head or handlebar post, not even interfering in this position with the
brake, and it can also be attached to either fork side. The lamp can
also be used for driving purposes, being readily attachable to any
style of carriage dash board, thus making it a complete driving lamp.
The lamp retains, however, the folding bail handle which makes it
available as a house lamp also.
VARIOUS OTHER OIL LAMPS.
The Neverout, another popular lamp, has an insulated kerosene
reservoir. It also has a reversible rigid bracket. The lamp is fitted
with a rear danger signal, which decreases the liability of rear
collisions, as the rider can be seen from behind. A wick lock is fitted
for 1898 which renders the wick jar-proof. The reflector is all German
silver.
[Illustration: “M. & W.”]
The “M. & W.” Lamp is made by the Matthews & Willard Manufacturing
Company, and has been considerably improved for 1898. It is a
medium-sized lamp of light weight. The oil font, which has a large
capacity, is locked to the lamp by a very ingenious device, so that
it can be instantly detached. The wick lock is a simple push button,
which is self-acting, and it is released by simply pushing the button,
and is instantly relocked when the pressure is removed. The oil font
can be reversed so that the wick can be adjusted from either side of
the bicycle. Like the other lamps previously mentioned, they also use
the rigid bracket, which is readily adjusted to any height or angle
desired, and can be also attached to the forks or steering head. The
reflector can be removed complete for cleaning or polishing through the
lens opening. It has a double convex lens, which is large and powerful.
The whole lamp can be readily taken apart, cleaned and reassembled.
Ham’s Diamond Tubular Bicycle Lamp has a double ratchet burner so that
the wick can be regulated from either side of the lamp, and it also has
an outside filler. The lens is a double convex. The top and bottom of
the lamp and the silver-plated reflector are removable. A peculiarity
of its construction consists in its having four nickel-plated tubes
on the outside of the lamp through which the air is taken through the
burner. An extra head holder is furnished with each lamp without extra
charge. The makers claim that the best results are obtained when the
lamp is used with this holder.
[Illustration: BRAGGER.]
The Bragger Cycle Lamp is made by the Hitchcock Lamp Company, and the
makers say that “the Bragger is warranted not to smoke, chew, or go out
nights,” all of which, excepting the chewing part thereof, are very
desirable features in any lamp. The lamp is made of rolled sheet brass
throughout and finished in nickel, gold or bronze. It has a round body,
red and green side lights for lighting, a powerful lens, and is fitted
with a perfect reflector. The reflector is so made that it cannot be
put in a wrong position. The oil feeder is on the outside of the font;
the top of the lamp is held in place by a bayonet lock. The oil-font is
screwed to the bottom of the lamp by a front and back catch, and is
reversible. The lens is held in place by a knurled threaded ring which
screws into the hood and against the lens. The wick-raising device is
so constructed that all parts of the wick may be evenly turned up, and
the wick cannot move up or jar down. They have followed the popular
idea of fitting the lamp so that it can be used either on head, fork or
handlebar in any desired position. An attachment also allows its use on
the side or top of a dashboard, or the side of a buggy top without an
extra bracket.
Another popular lamp is the Aladdin. It is somewhat smaller than some
other lamps that are well known, and is made of drawn brass nickel
plated. The oil font is now hinged, as is also the door, and the
devices for these purposes are such that it is impossible for them to
jolt loose. It differs, however, from some other lamps on the market in
that it has a double spring back clamp.
A new lamp is the Dietz Bicycle, which is made by the makers of the
well known Dietz Lanterns. They claim that it represents the wisdom
gained in fifty years of lamp making. It is made of brass nickel
plated, and weighs about twelve ounces. No solder is used in its
construction except on the bottom of the oil font. The reflector is
parabolic, thus throwing the rays of light straight ahead. The lamp can
be readily taken apart for cleaning purposes, and they do not provide
a sliding door on the side to light the lamp because they claim that
every time a lamp is so lighted the reflector becomes more or less
tarnished by the match. The glass front is hinged so that the lamp can
be conveniently lighted from the front.
[Illustration: X-RAYS.]
The “X-Rays” is an Aluminum Bicycle Lamp, and weighs, including the
bracket, about sixteen ounces. The peculiarity of its construction
consist in its having a metal chimney, which the makers say gives an
increased draught, improves combustion and insures a bright, smokeless
flame, the theory being that the metal chimney heats the air as it
comes in contact with its surface, and that warm air gives better
combustion and a brighter light and that the metal chimney protects the
flame from sudden gusts of wind, prevents flickering and smoking. It is
to be noted, however, that the chimney has four large, round openings
on its sides near the bottom. They use a lens of strong magnifying
power, and this lens, front reflector, side lens and reflector are
removable. The lamp has a double burner ratchet for raising or lowering
the wick from either side of the lamp, and a lock for locking the wick
in position either side of the lamp. The oil font, like all other
kerosene lamps now in use, is packed with an absorbent material to
prevent swashing of the oil when riding over rough roads.
[Illustration: COLUMBIA.]
The Columbia Cycle Lamp Manufacturing Company show two new models for
1898. They use a pneumatic-action spring on the bracket. They also make
an adjustable and detachable bracket, of malleable iron, nickel plated.
This bracket can be used not only on their own lamps, but on any other
make of lamp, and it is undoubtedly one of the best things of the kind
on the market. The lamp of their make, “Illuminant” is made of aluminum
and weighs seven ounces. It is claimed to be the lightest practical
bicycle lamp made. It has a powerful lens, 2½ inches in diameter. It
has ruby and emerald cut glass side lights, so that it may be lighted
from either side. The burners are provided with a wick lock.
The Kitsee lamp is a novelty inasmuch as it is a lamp of twenty-candle
power, and yet not a gas lamp. It has no wick and the light is produced
by an oil called “safol.” It makes a rather brilliant, display through
the side perforations, and also has a clever attachment for holding
matches, and being used without a wick, its makers claim it is
therefore free from smoke, soot and disagreeable odor, and that the
lens cannot be smoked up as in the usual construction.
The Manhattan Brass Company of New York, who have been making kerosene
lamps and burners for thirty-three years, are making a specialty of
bicycle lamps, and the good points which have distinguished their
former models and which have been preserved and are presented in their
1898 product, called the Frontlight. Powerful ground glass lens,
automatic wick lock, and other improvements for ’98 consist of a new
thumb-screw bracket fitted with double springs, an improved method
of fastening the front and a wide tube burner, which takes a ¾ inch
wick and gives a broad, strong light. They also make a lamp called
the Leader, which, while not quite so expensive in construction as
the Frontlight, is, however, one of the most satisfactory lamps on
the market. They make a lamp also called the Dazzler, which they call
the “King of low priced lamps.” It has a polished convex lens and
reflector, automatic wick lock, and is small in size, substantial in
construction and well finished. One of their novelties is a lamp called
the Queen. The body is spherical in form, divided diagonally and so
hinged as to open like a watch case, thus making it possible to clean
lens, burner, reflector, etc., and trim the wick in less time than it
usually takes to take apart an ordinary lamp. Ruby and green jewels are
placed at such an angle as to be visible from the rear as well as from
the sides.
One English lamp has survived the conditions of the trade, but even
that is made in this country by the New Departure Bell Company. We
refer to the Lucas pattern of lamp, known as the “Silver King of the
Road.” This lamp is so well known, however, that a general description
of it is not necessary. Like all the American lamps previously
mentioned it is nickel plated, but differs from them in the fact that
while it is detachable, all the parts are hinged together, and that
it is arranged to burn either the heavy oils or kerosene, as desired.
The reflector is covered and protected by a double convex lens, which
improves the light and keeps the reflector clean, so that in order to
keep the reflector bright it is only necessary to wipe off the glass
lens. The lamp is very compact in size, and in finish and material it
certainly cannot be excelled. It is retailed at a very much lower price
than formerly.
The 1898 “Tally-Ho” lamp, manufactured by the Bridgeport Gun Implement
Company of this city is similar in general design to the 1897 model,
having the same lens, reflector, wicklock and oil-feed. It is fitted
this year with a rigid bracket, which can be attached to head or
forks of the bicycle, and a desirable feature is that the lamp can be
readily detached from the bracket and the latter left on the wheel.
The clamping bolt of the bracket is in two pieces, one telescoped into
the other, so that the lamp can be attached to either a large head or
small fork without leaving a long end of the bolt protruding. This
necessarily dispenses with a nut. The manufacturers of this lamp did
not intend to market a lamp this year, on account of the demand made
upon their facilities in other lines, but because of the inquiries
received from their patrons they have decided to make a limited
quantity.
LAMP LIGHTERS.
There are two lamp lighters on the market that are extremely useful.
One is called the Cyclists’ Match Gun. It is made of brass, nickel
plated, and resembles the end of a tool bag pump. The match is placed
in the end of the tool and the gun is inserted in the lamp. The
match is then forced out by pressing on the plunger and ignites at
the same time inside the lamp, thus protecting it from the wind. The
other lighter is called the R. & K. Lighter, and can be attached to
any bicycle lamp in a few moments. The lighter consists of a pair of
corrugated jaws to screw to the lamp; the match is then quickly pushed
between the jaws of the lighter, which ignites the match from friction,
and the burnt match is then withdrawn sideways in an opposite direction
to remove it.
[Illustration: “QUEEN” “FRONTLIGHT” “LEADER” “DAZZLER”
(All Made by Manhattan Brass Co.)]
LAMP BRACKETS.
There are very few things that are new in lamp brackets, all the old
types being still largely used but improved somewhat in detail. The
only novelty is the United States Detachable Lamp Bracket. It is made
reversible to fit either the right or left hand side of the axle, and
is so constructed that the bracket is readily removed, leaving only a
small clip attached under the axle nut. The bracket is held in place
by a strong spring catch, which can be bent and thus made as firm as
desired. The bracket has corrugations to prevent the lamp from being
jolted off, and will fit any bicycle lamp In the market.
ELECTRIC LAMPS.
[Illustration: COMBINATION BRACKET.]
Electricity is, of course, a very enticing method of light supply for
cycles, and many attempts have been made to produce a practical lamp,
no cycle show during the last three or four years having failed to
exhibit at least one pattern, which was positively proclaimed as the
effectual solution of the problem. The difficulties are cumbrousness,
cost and the lack of sufficient current under tolerable conditions. A
storage battery is quite impracticable. We recall at least one attempt
which worked on the plan of recharging from stationary battery cells,
but the usual plan counts upon carrying dry cells attached to the lamp.
Here the only difficulty is the old one of getting sufficient current
without lugging around an excessive load of dry cells, which are rather
heavy in proportion to the work performed. A much heralded lamp of the
past had a case made of hard rubber, and the lamp was charged with
what was called electric sand, being in reality nothing but a mixture
of bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid, combined with a soluble
base, and water, and placed in the lamps in connection, of course, with
the usual carbon and zinc plugs. It was found in use that this lamp
lost its power rapidly, and that even when the plugs were withdrawn,
as is usual with wet solutions, the solution lost its life and became
valueless upon a second attempt to use it, necessitating charging every
night before using.
[Illustration: U. S. DETACHABLE BRACKET.]
A practical electric bicycle lamp of the dry cell variety is now made
by the Ohio Electric Works. They are made in three sizes, having three
and four cells. The battery is 6×2 inches, and weighs eleven ounces,
and will maintain a potential of not less than 5.25 volts for more than
three hours on each charge, costing 2 cents. The lamp is of double the
efficiency of ordinary incandescent lamps, taking only one and a half
watts to the candle power, and is backed by a powerful reflector. By
riders who have used it, this lamp is looked upon as one of the most
satisfactory among electric lamps; they regard its efficiency as all
that is claimed for it.
One of the most popular lamps on the market today is the Acme, made
by the Acme Electric Lamp Company of this city. It is composed of two
parts, the metal case which contains the battery and the reflector
in which is inserted the incandescent bulb. The metal case is 14½
inches in length by 1½ inches in diameter, and is covered with seal
leather, having three strips to hold it in a rigid position on the
wheel frame. The reflector is connected to the battery case by flexible
silk cords, and is 2½ inches in diameter, and weights but 3½ ounces.
It can be carried either on the fork or head of the wheel. The battery
is composed of four cells, each with a strength of one and one-half
volts, making six volts in all. When the lamp is lighted all the cells
are in operation; but by the adjustment of a resistance wire under the
cover of the case and four contact points on the outside the switch
which controls the battery permits only a sufficient amount of current
to be used to give a brilliant light without exhausting the battery
too rapidly or burning out the incandescent bulb; and, unlike any
other lamp on the market, the last hour of light is as brilliant as
the first, and with ordinary use will give a satisfactory light for
twelve hours. The batteries are guaranteed to give as good service
sixty days from the date of their manufacture as when first made. It is
not a storage battery and cannot be recharged. All storage batteries
are of a liquid form and must in time cause, from the strong elements
they contain, a leakage which will destroy anything with which it comes
in contact. The battery is renewed by the purchase of a new one, the
exhausted battery being thrown away, the same as a cartridge shell
after firing of the gun. The cost of the light is little more than that
of oil. The incandescent bulb has a capacity of carrying four volts,
and when the switch is on the first contact point the voltage of the
battery is reduced by the resistance coil to a point of safety, at the
same time giving a brilliant light. There is no heat, odor or liquid
annoyances. Jar or concussion will not extinguish it, and judging from
the success it has had at this early period of the season it will no
doubt be a popular lamp for ’98.
THE KLONDIKE ELECTRIC
[Illustration: ACME ELECTRIC.]
Combines batteries and lamp in one case, which is neither cumbrous nor
very heavy, and resembles nothing so much as the small carriage clock.
The lamp is, of course, a small incandescent bulb; the battery is the
long cylindrical cell cut up into three short ones and carried in the
lamp case, as shown. Turning down the handle on top closes the circuit
and starts the lamp; lifting the handle cuts the lamp out. The cells
are furnished with wire connections on, and the rider does not have
to make a single attachment, nor need he have the slightest knowledge
of electricity or any conjecture how the lamp operates. He has only
to slip his fresh cells (which are joined as one piece) into the
case, observing that he puts them right side up. They make their own
connections by being pushed into place, and the lamp “does the rest.”
One charging runs eight hours. In favor of this lamp is its freedom
from odor and trouble of filling and care, absence of smoke to dull
the reflector and its independence of jars and wind, for nothing can
extinguish it so long as the current remains and is turned on.
ACETYLENE GAS LAMPS.
Although nearly two years have elapsed since the introduction of
acetylene for purposes of general illumination, yet the present season
is the first one in which this new illuminant has been used in bicycle
lamps, and it seems eminently fit and proper that this gas should
be appropriated to the uses of wheelmen, because it was in 1888,
at Spray, N. C., that Mr. Thomas L. Willson, a member of the Kings
County Wheelmen of Brooklyn, N. Y., who was famous in his day as a
hardy road rider of the old “ordinary” and presented to his club the
trophy that bears his name, while experimenting on the reduction of
refractory metallic oxides of carbon in an electric furnace came upon
the happy but unexpected outcome of producing by a cheap and simple
method calcium carbide, so that the use of acetylene became at once
a commercial possibility. He was trying to obtain the metal calcium
by reducing lime with pulverized charcoal, but the temperature of the
arc fused the mass, and it solidified into an extremely hard, gray
crystalline rock. As this was not the substance that Willson sought to
produce, it was thrown into a stream near by, and there was an instant
evolution of gas in large quantities which, when lighted, burned with a
smoky, luminous flare. Chemical analysis showed the rock to be carbide
of calcium (Ca C) containing 60 parts by weight of calcium and 40 parts
of carbon, and its gaseous offspring to be acetylene. This generation
of acetylene by means of the immersion of carbide of calcium in water
is the result of two exceedingly simple chemical reactions. The carbon
in the carbide unites with the hydrogen in the water to form acetylene,
and the calcium in the carbide takes up the oxygen of the water to form
slaked lime, the only by-product of the double reaction.
Acetylene is a gaseous compound of 24 parts by weight of carbon and
two of hydrogen. Although it was first discovered and isolated by Davy
in 1836, it was twenty-three years later before the scientific world
obtained a clear conception of its interesting character and properties
through the investigations of M. Berthelot. Since that time, and up to
the discovery as before stated by Mr. Willson, it had been produced
only in small quantities as a laboratory product by tedious and costly
processes.
Acetylene, when burning, gives a flame of intense brilliancy, and owing
to its richness it can only be consumed in small burners. It possesses
not only great luminosity, but great diffusive qualities. The light
produced by acetylene is of a pure white color, soft and agreeable in
tone. It resembles sunlight more closely than any other known luminant.
Pure acetylene is not explosive. Mixed with air in certain proportions
it can be detonated, and the same can be said of every known gas; but
in a bicycle lamp, containing an ounce and a half, or two ounces at the
utmost, of the calcium carbide, there cannot be produced enough gas to
cause an explosion.
[Illustration: KLONDIKE (KEROSENE).]
Calcium carbide is a hard, porous, grayish-black or bluish-gray
incombustible material somewhat crystalline in form, odorless and
unchangeable in a dry atmosphere, but when subjected to moisture gives
off more or less acetylene gas. Carbide cannot be ignited and when
well packed to prevent its coming in contact with water it is safe as
regards all the conditions of transit and storage. When a piece of
carbide is exposed to the moisture of the air a slight decomposition on
the surface of the lump causes the formation of a thin layer of lime
dust, which retards further deterioration.
[Illustration: THE “SOLAR” (ACETYLENE).
Interior View.]
Its combustion is perfect. There are no noxious products, no odor, and
no smoke. The vitiation of the air in a room compared with the ordinary
gas is as 1 to 8. It produces a distinctively cool flame. The same
amount of light has only one-sixth the heat of city gas. Its cost is
far less than that of any known illuminant. It is made of cheap and
almost universal materials, coal and lime, fused by electric heat. It
will be in this respect the light of the masses. It will not freeze,
being unaffected by heat or cold. It can be cooled to 100 degrees below
zero, or heated to 600 above, without impairing its illuminating power.
If through ignorance or accident an acetylene gas jet should be blown
out or the burner left open, the gas, being rather irritating, can be
easily detected, even in the smallest quantities, on account of its
penetrating odor, which resembles that of garlic. So pungent is this
odor that it would be practically impossible to go into a room which
contained any quantity of acetylene gas.
The carbide group is by no means unfamiliar to the average man; cast
iron and steel are iron carbides of a peculiar form, and not a few
others are daily used, for instance, Harveyized armor plates. They
are all characterized by an almost adamantine hardness, and at the
same time a certain instability. This instability reaches its maximum
in the group of substances which are capable of making what chemists
call hydroxides. They are all unions of a base with carbon, made in
the electric furnace, and all give off gases when brought in contact
with water. When broken into pieces suitable for shipment the carbide
is packed in cans, the space between filled with sawdust, or some such
substance to prevent waste by the rubbing of piece against piece, and
the can sealed airtight to protect its contents from the moisture of
the atmosphere. This is the shape in which it comes to the consumer. On
opening the can one often finds most beautiful crystalline structures
on the fractured surfaces, but they are instantly attacked by the
dampness of the air, and one sees the beauty give way to a dirty gray
powder with a feeling of disappointment which is very real.
Very little has been written about acetylene gas, and very few wheelmen
have had any experience with acetylene gas lamps on their bicycles. The
writers, however, have thoroughly investigated the subject of producing
the carbide and the gas, and have for some time past had in daily use
two of the lamps mentioned in this article, namely the “Electro” and
the “Calcium King.” They have been used, of course, with the usual care
that it is necessary to use with any bicycle lamp, whether it uses
oil, electricity or gas, and the results have been satisfactory in
every way, and the lamps have done all that the makers claim for them.
This mention has been made to show that what has been written here
concerning acetylene gas and portable bicycle lamps is founded upon
scientific data, and it is, therefore, not wholly an empirical result.
CARBIDE LAMPS IN MARKET.
As none of the makers of kerosene lamps seems to have ventured into
producing an acetylene lamp, the making of acetylene lamps for bicycle
use may therefore be classed as being a distinctive one and the trade
of this city are showing the following makes: The Electro, the Solar,
the Helios and the Calcium King. The Electro lamp is made by the
Electro Lamp Company, and while it is retailed at a lower price than
any of the others, as shown by the illustration it is of very neat
construction as regards weight and size. Its reflector is parabolic in
shape, and the light is not focused. It is charged by inserting a metal
case, containing carbide, into the chamber of the lamp, and when this
carbide is exhausted, after burning four hours, the case may be removed
and thrown away and a fresh one inserted. This takes but a moment’s
time. The gas is generated within the lamp by the slow dropping of
water on the carbide, and the water is so controlled that the gas is
produced only as fast as it is consumed, and when the water valve is
closed generation of gas ceases at once. By a slight turning of the
valve screw at the top of the lamp the water in the upper chamber is
made to drop on the carbide and the lamp is ready to light, and by
turning in the opposite direction the water is shut off and the light
goes out as soon as the water remaining in the chamber of the lamp is
consumed. The carbide charges used in this lamp are made only by the
Electro Lamp Company, and are packed in cartons of six charges each.
Six of these cartons are packed in a box, making three dozen charges
per box, each charge at a cost of about 3 cents, giving a service of
from three and a half to four hours’ duration. This method of handling
the carbide in cartridge form avoids the necessity of washing out the
gas chamber to remove the residum, and it is to be commended on the
score of cleanliness in handling. The lamp bracket is a rigid one, and
is adjustable to various positions either on the forks or the head of a
bicycle.
[Illustration: ELECTRO (ACETYLENE).]
[Illustration: ELECTRO (ACETYLENE). Interior View.]
By contract with the Electro Gas Company, the parent company for the
manufacture of carbides in this country, and which, it is stated,
largely controls the home output, the Electro Lamp Company has the sole
right of sale of carbide for use in bicycle and other portable lamps in
the United States. This lamp company stated early in the season that it
had then sold 30,000 lamps for the season of ’98, and that this number
would doubtless be largely increased. Estimating that 25,000 of these
lamps will be used at night, the consumption of carbide by the users of
this lamp alone would exceed 10½ tons per week.
[Illustration: HELIOS (CARBIDE).]
“The brightest light that ever came over the pike” is the phrase that
the Badger Brass Manufacturing Company of Kenosha, Wis. (Hermann Boker
& Co., New York, agents), has decided upon as best in describing
their Solar acetylene gas lamp for ’98. As will be seen from the
illustration the Solar is symmetrical in its lines, combining strength
in construction and simplicity in operation. The lamp is made entirely
brass, handsomely nickel plated, and is 7½ inches high. It is fitted
with an extra fine specially ground double convex lens, 2½ inches
in diameter, with a 5½ inch focus, which is removable by means of a
spring. The reflector is made of aluminum and removable for cleaning,
as is also the head, which is fastened with a bayonet joint. The jewel
sidelights are especially large, being 1½ inches in diameter. Each
lamp is fitted with a universal adjustable bracket, which fits the
head, handlebar, or either fork of a bicycle, and is so constructed
that the lamp can be removed with removing the bracket. The tip is
what is known as a quarter foot, removable and easily cleaned. It
produces a fish-tail flame, which throws a penetrating light of about
one hundred candle power fully 150 feet ahead. As will be seen from
the cross-section cut and the following explanation, the lamp is very
simple in operation. The water tank “J” being filled and the valve
“L” being open, the water passes into the tube “F,” which is filled
with the fibre “G,” through which it percolates, vaporizing from the
end into the screen tube “B,” saturating the fibre in contact with
the carbide in the tank “A,” forming instantly gas, which passes out
of the tip “L.” The amount of gas generated is due to the amount of
water supplied. Suppose, for example, the lamp be so severely jarred
an excess of water be forced in the wick tube, thus generating an
excess of gas for the moment (by excess is meant more pressure than the
quarter foot tip “L” can consume), the result is that the gas having
but one other outlet, that is, through the water tube, stopping any
further supply of water until the pressure ceases, when it is again
required. The gas and water pressure being always in balance, there is
an automatic water pressure feed generator, which with the outlet at
the top of the tank makes it absolutely inexplosive. One of the special
features of this lamp is that it burns any form of carbide from dust
to lump, and requires no specially packaged or prepared carbide, which
is a very great convenience to the rider. The makers claim for the
lamp that it is the only automatic gas lamp made, as it has no valves
requiring constant adjustment; they also claim that it is absolutely
inexplosive. The price, $4, including the adjustable bracket and one
can of carbide, is exceedingly low. Extra carbide in two-pound cans, 25
cents per can, making the cost of operating about one-third of a cent
an hour.
The Helios lamp differs from some of the others in construction because
the water reservoir is away from the heat and cannot even get warm.
No steam being generated the water must therefore be consumed by the
actual demand made by the light. The gas cock is independent of the
water cock, thus enabling the user to turn the water cock off and burn
the gas already generated until it is all consumed, the advantage of
this feature being that the gas already generated can be stored, and
the lamp is therefore ready to light at any moment. The water feed to
the carbide is controlled by a check valve. The small pipe shown in
cut of lamp leading over the top of water reservoir and to check valve
is a pressure pipe, which regulates the check valve. When the gas in
the reservoir of the lamp has attained a pressure equal to or greater
than the water in the reservoir, the pressure through this small pipe
acts vertically on the check valve, shutting off the water supply;
when the gas is below this pressure the water, then being of greater
weight, causes the check valve to rise, allowing the water to feed to
the carbide and generation to again commence. This check valve may
be regarded as an important feature of this lamp, because in a lamp
without a check valve the odor of the gas is emitted after the gas is
extinguished, as the gas must have an outlet or escape, which cannot
be controlled without a check valve. There is also an additional water
cock attached to the water pipe which regulates the supply of water,
so that the quantity of gas used is only that which is consumed and
required. The burner is of the bulb pattern, giving a square light,
perfectly white, and the carbide is used in lump form, and it is
claimed that when the carbide is used in this form there is no danger
whatever attached to its use. The makers of this lamp claim that it has
a lighting power equal to 86 candle power, and if carefully used the
cost of maintaining will not exceed five or six cents per week at a
riding average of three hours per night. Any carriage lamp using either
candles or oil can be altered at a nominal cost to employ this method
of lighting.
[Illustration: CALCIUM KING (ACETYLENE).]
The Calcium King lamp, made by the George H. Clowes Manufacturing
Company, of Waterbury, Conn., is made entirely of brass, nickel plated,
and the carbide is in the form of cakes, which they call “carbophene,”
which costs five cents each, and afford an intense light for an
evening’s ride. “Carbophene” is placed on the bottom of the reservoir,
and the gas cannot form in this reservoir faster than it is needed
hence there can be no over-accumulation. The water valve of this lamp
answers two purposes, as it controls the generation of the gas and
the flame itself, there being no other gas cocks or valves to close
and create pressure. When the valve shuts off the water supply the
flame, after consuming the balance of the gas in the reservoir, must
of necessity go out. This lamp, like all others described, has a rigid
adjustable bracket, which can be attached to any part of the bicycle.
To sum up the advantages of acetylene lamps briefly, it may be stated
that they do not possess the tendency to blow out or jar out, and
that they give an intense white light, and that vibration and jar of
the lamp increases the light instead of extinguishing it, as with any
form of lamp that uses a wick. There will be undoubtedly other forms
of acetylene lamps made, and it is not claimed that the lamps made at
present upon the market are absolutely perfect, but that they are as
nearly perfect as present conditions and knowledge of the wants of
wheelmen will warrant, and we may therefore reasonably expect that if
the acetylene lamp fulfils all that is claimed for it that this season
will show whether it is the coming light or not. Considerable space has
been devoted to describing bicycle lamps for ’98, because we believe
that until we have perpetual day the best substitute for the sun’s rays
will be a theme of interest to mankind in general and bicyclists in
particular.