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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