Davey lamp

[Zammo]

I picked up a small Davey lamp from a second hand shop the other day for £2.49.

Its made mostly of brass and copper so seemed a bargain.

Anyhow I tried to get it working and spent ages working out how to unsrew the top from the bottom. I eventually did this and then had to work out how to fill it (I used lamp fuel).

The bottom section appears to be made of brass and this is where the fuel is housed. There is a small screw adaptor in the middle which covers a hole. This seems to be on a spring as it can be pushed down and out the way, which enables you to fill the base up with fuel. I can make out the coiled wick underneath and this also passes up through the middle of the screw adapter.

Unfortunately it is a total nightmare to light the lantern and then put the top back on, as when I go to do this the screw adpator always drops down into where the fuel is housed. And this doesn't allow me to screw the top section on.


Does anyone know if there is an easier way of doing this?

I have managed to light it and screw the top section on twice but when I have taken the lamp outside it has gone out after a few minutes. I'm not sure if this is because the fuel is no good or that the wind outside is somehow blowing it out.


I can supply some pictures if needed.

Here is picture of a similar looking lamp.

http://www.welshminerslamps.com/images/r401.jpg

 

[Wayland]

Sounds a bit odd that, I can't imagine your average Welsh miner having much patience with a fiddly construction like that.

I can't help much but if it is the real Macoy I would think there must be an easier way than that.....

 

[ESpy]

Instruction manual?
http://www.protectorlamp.co.uk/Lamp22.htm

 

[ArkAngel]

Some Piccies might help.

SWMBO has one that used to be her grandad's, never seen it light but looking at it today it seems you unscrew the bottom part, the wick in the middle is screwed out. Fill with fuel, screw the wick back in, light it and screw the top half back on again

Bob's your brothers cousin!

I wonder if yours is a cheaper copy and may need a bit of tweaking to work properly.

Anyhowz, stick some piccies on and we'll see whats what.

 

[Zammo]

Ok i'll try and get some piccy's tonight.I can do all of what your suggesting but the screwing of the top on again is the problem as the screw adaptor which houses the wick drops down into the fuel resevoir.

Espy that isn't a manual its a saftey memo, written in 1842!

 

[Goose]

Just looking at mine at the minute, Her is how mine works, perhaps there are different marques?

Unscrew the bottom, fuel reservoir and wick assembly.
The wick comes out of the middle of the reservoir through a metal(flattened)tube.
Next to the wick is a bent wire that passes through the reservoir and to the bottom of the lamp, this is to adjust the wick without opening(dead clever!).
There is a knurled bit that holds the wick assembly to the reservoir.
Unscrew the knurled bit and it comes away seperately.
Lft out the wick assembly nd fill, there is a leather/rubber washer thing underneath.
Reassemble is straight forward reverse.

I had trouble getting mine to light after I filled it, thought I had dodgy parrafin from a fire eater, I gave up and tried again last week it worked after I let it burn for a coupel of minutes before screwing the top back on warmed it up?
Hope this is some help.
PS mine seems to be a genuine ex works model not a newer copy.

 

[ESpy]

Espy that isn't a manual its a saftey memo, written in 1842!

So not really that different to a power tool "manual" present day then?

(Yes, I know how to avoid decapitating, electrocuting or otherwise inconveniencing myself with this tool, all I want to know is how to adjust it!!!)

 

[Zammo]

Ok I have managed to get some pictures. By the sounds of things mine might be slightly different to yours Goose.

Here is a picture of the top and bottom seperated:

and a closeup of the base:

and finally the screw adaptor thing dropping into the fuel housing:

Sorry the pics are a little blurry I took them quickly this morning on my phone while in a rush to get to work..


What i'm having trouble doing is screwing the top section back onto the bottom without the screw adaptor dropping down into the base.

 

[Feral]

Mine is waaaay diferent than that one, it has a flint striker next to the wick inside, so you just pull out the arm and push it back into light. I used to use mine every working day, and never let me down. If it had of, I would not be here today.

 

[Goose]

It is different to mine, should there be some sort of circlip holding the wick holder in place? Cant tell if there would be room but could you improvise some sort of clip to hold it in place, maybe using a bent paperclip?
Or should there be a leather washer that would hold it enough to get it together?

 

[Zammo]

At the moment I have rigged up a small metal clip that I use to jam the adaptor in place while I screw the top on and then I pull the metal clip away once I have managed to screw the top a few turns.

I like the sound of using a leather washer though. I'll see if I can find, make or buy one, thanks.

 

[ArkAngel]

It looks the same as mine, have a look at the photo's at the bottom of the page. The assembly that holds the wick, will the centre of that screw out like mine? If so it looks like you need to glue/weld/whatever the outer thread assembly into place the same as mine.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/ArkAngel_06/Overall.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/ArkAngel_06/Wickassembly.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/ArkAngel_06/Wickout.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/ArkAngel_06/Badge.jpg

let us know how you get on and if that solves the problem

 

[Zammo]

It looks the same as mine, have a look at the photo's at the bottom of the page. The assembly that holds the wick, will the centre of that screw out like mine? If so it looks like you need to glue/weld/whatever the outer thread assembly into place the same as mine.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/ArkAngel_06/Overall.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/ArkAngel_06/Wickassembly.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/ArkAngel_06/Wickout.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/ArkAngel_06/Badge.jpg

let us know how you get on and if that solves the problem

Yes mine does look very similar to yours.

The only problem I can think of is if I weld or solder it in place (actually it looks like someone has attempted this on mine), is how to get the fuel into the base. At the moment I am pushing the central screw adapter down and putting the fuel in through the hole. There is a tiny hole in the base like yours so I’m not sure if I could use this hole to fill the lamp if I did weld/ solder the screw adapter in place.

The only other thing I could do is what you suggested and try and unscrew the wick, there is a similar looking screw in the middle of the adapter but mine is stuck fast. I'll try a pair of pliers on it tomorrow.

Thanks for the help.

 

[ArkAngel]

Good luck with freeing the wick part off, i think thats probably the issue here.

My guess would be that It hasn't been used for a while and when someone has gone to fill it they have really swung on the threads and the whole assembly has come out causing your problem. The main threads on mine look a bit coroded so it dont think it would take much effort to break the assembly off.

 

[Goose]

Its made of brass, try heating the unsrewy bit(dead technical me!) and keep the base cool, saucer of water should do. That should free it up, works with the trangia when someone screws the top on while still hot :twak:

 

[Zammo]

Ok i'll give that a go, i'll need to be able to work out how to release the wick regardless as this is the only way to make it longer.

I'm going to attempt using a washer first rather than soldering or welding it. Firstly because it looks like someone has already tried to solder it and its failed and secondly I don't know anyone who could weld it for me. If the washer doesn't work i'm going to buy some of that metal glue from halfords.

 

[Zammo]

Slight update.

I bought some washers and fixed one to the screw adaptor so now it doesn't drop down into the base, unfortunately it still keeps turning when you try and screw on the top section. Also I have managed to undo the middle screw section containing the wick. So now all I have to do is solder or glue the screw adaptor in place and i'll be able to refil the lamp by unscrewing and removing the wick.


Then I just need to buy some paraffin as i'd originally tested it with lamp fuel and it was giving off quite a bit of black smoke and was going out when I took the lamp outside.

 

[Zammo]

For anyone who cares. I managed to fix my Davey lamp by using some Evostick cement putty. I haven't had a chance to test it with paraffin but it stays lit outdoors now, using lamp fuel but this does produce a little soot (on top of the lamp) and black smoke.

 

[nickg]

IIRC what you have is called a 'miners safety lamp' and I believe that there used to be a special bracket that was used to seperate the various parts of the lamp. The idea is that your average miner would not be able to open the lamp at all whilst working below ground for the obvious reason of blowing him and his mates to hell and back. The lamps were lit above ground by a lamplighter and were already lit and burning as the miners picked them up to start a shift. The flame is encased to ensure that no gas could pass in to cause an explosion etc. What I'm trying to say is that its supposed to be hard to open.
I heard about this stuff on a trip to a place called Pwll Mawr (Big Pit) in south wales which is the welsh national mining museum, its a fascinating trip down a working (in part) coal mine conducted by ex miners - and whats more its free. Well worth the trip. The museum there has a fascinating collection of davey lamps (original) and Miners Safety Lamps and the equipment to use with them.
http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit/

Nick

 

[OldBaldGuy]

I had never heard of one before today, so just for kicks I did a google search. If you go here:

http://miningartifacts.homestead.com/minesafetylamps.html

You will see pics of a jillion Davy Lamps. Won't help you make yours work any better, but it might at least let you know which one you have...