Julius
Damn good thing to get the carbide out of your loft! It looks like grey gravel but when it gets wet it gives off very flamable atcetylene (sp?) gas! Carbide + water yields gas, and a gooey pasty residue is left in the bottom of the lamp. A typical lamp gives light for two hours or so.
Carbide lamps were used as bicycle lamps many years ago - mainly in northern latitudes when winter means you ride both to and from work in the dark.
I used them extensively in the sixties and seventies when I was exploring caves. Today, the advent of long lasting battery powered lcd lights has rendered carbide lamps even more obsolete.
Perhaps for display purposes on a pre WW II bike...
Ken Sanford
Kensington, MD
> Hi
>
> I came across some calcium carbine in my loft during a clear out, I
> didn't know what is was and found it was used in lamps for caving and
> cycling.
>
> I was wondering if anyone uses carbide lamps on their bicycles, perhaps
> like this one;
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/
> I was thinking of getting one and a bit more info would be
> interesting/useful
>
> All the best
>
> Julius Naim
> London, UK