Carl - your vivid descriptions are spot on. The only thing you left out was
the aroma therapy of burning carbide in a cave......
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Kunath <carl.kun...@suddenlink.net>
To: TexasCavers <Texascavers@texascavers.com>
Sent: Fri, Aug 24, 2012 11:37 am
Subject: [Texascavers] More about carbide caving
The care, feeding, and management of carbide lamps is a micro-culture in
itself. We're now a couple of generations beyond that (except for those who
cling to things like the so-called "ceiling burners," a photo of which started
this whole thread).
Carbide lamps were cheap at the time ('50s -'70s) and carbide was also cheap
and plentiful. Individual users bought 2-pound cans for $2 while groups often
invested in 100-pound drums available from welding supply stores for about 50¢
a pound in the large drums. Carbide was often made available free to grotto
members as benefit of membership.
Disposal of spent carbide slowly evolved from dump it wherever, to dump it in a
crevice, to bury it in the dirt, to pack it out in a bottle or bag. Smart
cavers soon realized that the better solution was to carry spare pre-charged
lamp bottoms. With a total of four bottoms, it was rare to need more on a
typical caving trip.
For most beginning cavers, the management of a carbide lamp was a mystery and a
bit of a challenge. Nearly everyone carried small repair kits that usually
included a tip, felt, gasket, flint, and tip reamer. Neophytes were tutored
and it became a matter of pride and prestige to troubleshoot, recharge, or
repair your lamp in the dark. In the early days of the Texas Old Timers
Reunion, there were carbide lamp contests with blindfolded competitors.
With experience, cavers became expert in firing a lamp by beginning a flow of
water, sniffing the tip for the tell-tale odor of acetylene, trapping just the
right mixture of air and acetylene within the reflector and igniting the lamp
with a satisfyingly loud "pop" when the proportions were correct. Often the
built-in sparking device was not working properly, lamps were ignited
flame-to-tip, and the phrase "give me a kiss" had a whole different meaning.
Carbide lamps were (and are) multi-purpose devices. Besides providing
illumination, they acted as stoves to heat your lunch, a little spot of soot
made a nice survey marker, and when hunkered over, they provided a surprising
amount of heat. If you cut a hole in the top of a garbage bag and used it like
a poncho, things could get quite toasty. They also work wonderfully for
melting nylon ropes, especially when the ropes are tensioned. 8-(
The appearance of a cave lit by carbide flame is wonderful. The warmer color
temperature and diffuse pattern of light cannot be duplicated by any electric
lamp I have seen. If you have never been "carbide caving" try it sometime just
for fun to see what I mean.
Carbide caving didn't end instantly. For several years, I was using an
incandescent head lamp with a shirt pocket battery pack. When we stopped for
any reason, I would turn off my light to conserve battery power and instantly
draw "mooch and letch" comments from my carbide companions who then spitefully
refused to allow me to heat my boned chicken with their carbide lamps.
Electric lights have come a long way. We are far beyond the days when a Wheat
Lamp was considered a state of the art caving light. Carbide is gone and
incandescent is all but gone. LED enhancements, micro circuitry, and advancing
battery technology provide us with powerful, lightweight devices we never
dreamed of in the past. I certainly don’t miss all that weight on the front of
my helmet, but I do miss some of the other things about carbide caving.
===Carl Kunath
