Thanks for the treatise! I have to face a dozen day
campers tomorrow and try and articulate how this
system worked, so this will help. You are correct
that this system was used for lighting, not for heat.
I'm curious what evidence it would leave
archaeologically. There are two postmolds located
just outside of the brick layer. We also found an
iron pipe underneath the brick colored dust layer. No
artifacts, slag, or ash.
Cheers,
Sarah
--- "Efstathios I. Pappas" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Sarah,
>
> Although I am not an expert on acetylene gas systems
> I can offer you some information which you may find
> helpful. First of all calcium carbide was and is
> produced in the form of a small gravel which is
> packaged in air-tight containers. When exposed to
> water, calcium carbide dissolves (much like
> alka-seltzer) and creates a great deal of gaseous
> acetylene. Acetylene gas has a great deal of heat
> potential as it is very dense and contains a lot of
> hydrocarbon per unit. It also burns the hottest of
> any substance known, about 5,000 degrees
> Fahrenheit. When burned without proper carburetion,
> it creates a very dense/thick black soot which I
> have been told is actually creosote (can anyone
> support this?). Acetylene is unique in that it
> cannot be compressed much beyond 15 psi as it will
> self combust, thus it is transported as calcium
> carbide or is dissolved in acetone as in the case of
> acetylene cylinders used for welding and cutting.
>
> I have not heard of acetylene use for furnaces and
> would be very cautious unless evidence for this sort
> of thing was proven. Acetylene was and is fairly
> expensive and is best used in low volume systems
> such as lighting. For homes located off of a gas
> system but still equipped with gas lighting,
> acetylene was about your only option as coal fired
> "producer gas" systems operate efficiently only in
> larger installations. An acetylene "producer" would
> have been a gas tight container which held a wire
> mesh basket into which one would put calcium
> carbide. A water drip system regulated by a needle
> valve would SLOWLY allow water to drip onto the
> carbide and dissolve into gas. The pressure in the
> vessel would need to stay below 15 psi in order to
> prevent combustion. One would adjust the needle
> valve until just enough acetylene gas was being
> produced to properly supply whatever was being
> operated. If you look at photographs of steam
> locomotives from the turn of the 20th century, or
> very early automobiles, you will see acetylene
> burning headlights with piping running to acetylene
> producers usually located on the running boards.
> Not the safest technology in case of an accident,
> but incredibly effective.
>
> In terms of house based systems, the afore-mentioned
> bell shaped cap within a cylinder would have served
> the purpose of pressure regulator to ensure safety
> and automatic operation. I hope this VERY long
> treatise has been of some help to you and others and
> if you have any other questions I would be happy to
> address them.
>
> Regards,
>
> Stathi Pappas
>
>
>
___________________________________________________________________
>
> Efstathios I. Pappas
> Doctoral Candidate
> Department of Anthropology/096
> University of Nevada, Reno
> Reno, NV 89557
> 209 603 7363
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sarah Miller <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 2:43 pm
> Subject: calcium carbide furnace
>
>
>
> What is the statute of limitations on a thread?
> icking up on one from 9 years ago:
> Has anyone had experience with calcium carbide
> urnaces? I see on a thread from 1998 (see below)
> hat we may have an acetylene
> as furnace as mentioned below. We're working on a
> ate nineteenth-century site an came down on a layer
> f crazy brick red dust with white wormy inclusions.
> e heard from local informants that there may have
> een a carbide furnace located on the site. If
> anyone
> as had experience excavating one of these features
> lease let me know!
> Sarah
> Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 09:49:39 -0400
> eply-To: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY <[log in to
> nmask]>
> ender: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY <[log in to
> nmask]>
> rom: Nancy O'Malley <[log in to unmask]>
> ubject: Re: residential gas lighting systems
> ontent-Type: text/enriched; charset="iso-8859-1"
> >
>
> italic>Dan Mouer asked the following. I am
> talicizing my response and
> larification.
>
> /italic>>
>
> Nancy, I don't want to misadvise you....are you SURE
> hat gasoline was
> nvolved?
>
> It sound to me like you could have a
>
> fairly common (in upper-crust homes) gas generator
> hat used acetylene
> as. The
>
> gas is produced by wetting down calcium
>
> carbide with water. The reaction takes place in a
> ole that is capped
> ith a hea
>
> vy bell-shaped weight which compresses
>
> the gas and sends it through the pipes to light the
> handeliers, etc.
> Sarah E. Miller, Public Archaeologist/Director
> t. Augustine Public Archaeology Regional Center
> lorida Public Archaeology Network
> lagler College
> .O. Box 1027, 74 King Street
> t. Augustine, FL 32085-1028
> Cell: 904-669-3265
> ax: 904-823-9477
>
>
>
___________________________________________________________________________________
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>
>
________________________________________________________________________
> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out
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>
Sarah E. Miller, Public Archaeologist/Director
St. Augustine Public Archaeology Regional Center
Florida Public Archaeology Network
Flagler College
P.O. Box 1027, 74 King Street
St. Augustine, FL 32085-1028
Cell: 904-669-3265
Fax: 904-823-9477
____________________________________________________________________________________
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