Carbide Cap Lamps/Hansen DryLite II Top Marking

Carbide Cap Lamps

Hansen DryLite II Top Marking.JPG - HANSEN DRYLITE II - Very rare brass cap lamp marked on top DRYLITE PATENTS PENDING MFD. BY A.L. HANSEN MFG. CO. CHICAGO, U.S.A., bottom marked DRYLITE TRADE MARK, with distinctive domed cap, lamp featured in full page photo on page 170 of Carbide Light: The Last Flame in American Mines, ex-Dave Thorpe collection (When Augie Hansen, the nation’s premier carbide lamp designer, left Justrite in early 1920, he immediately formed the A. L. Hansen Mfg. Co. in Chicago to produce distinctive lamps that included a variety of new patent features. His first lamp, called the DryLite, followed patent No.1,505,259 which he filed on May 22, 1920 and was later awarded Aug. 19, 1924. The DryLite used two cotton wicks to wick water up from the water tank into the domed cap and then down through a center tube to the bottom carbide. Supposedly, this provided a constant and dependable flow of water into the carbide. However, experience showed it to be a dismal failure when the wicks became clogged with spent carbide. The lamp was produced for barely a year, accounting for its rarity, while Hansen developed the Force Feed lamp to take its place (patent No. 1,644,780 filed on Oct. 28, 1921 and awarded Oct. 11, 1927). The DryLite incorporated two additional Hansen patents for the unique reflector brace and slotted igniter which he carried forward to the Force Feed lamps. The brace was awarded patent No. 1,464,988 on Aug. 14, 1923 after being filed on July 15, 1920. Similarly, the slotted igniter was awarded patent No. 1,490,562 on April 15, 1924 after being filed on July 22, 1920. Later models of the Force Feed and Hansen cap lamps also included a snap lighter patented by Hansen as No. 1,531,003, filed on Dec. 21, 1922 and awarded on Mar. 24, 1925. Hansen continued to produce lamps until late in the 1920s before moving on to manufacture other products. He was a prolific inventor being responsible for at least 32 patents associated with acetylene lamps during his years with Justrite and his own company. See Thorpe, Carbide Light, pp 171-177)

Hansen DryLite II Top Marking | HANSEN DRYLITE II - Very rare brass cap lamp marked on top DRYLITE PATENTS PENDING MFD. BY A.L. HANSEN MFG. CO. CHICAGO, U.S.A., bottom marked DRYLITE TRADE MARK, with distinctive domed cap, lamp featured in full page photo on page 170 of Carbide Light: The Last Flame in American Mines, ex-Dave Thorpe collection (When Augie Hansen, the nation’s premier carbide lamp designer, left Justrite in early 1920, he immediately formed the A. L. Hansen Mfg. Co. in Chicago to produce distinctive lamps that included a variety of new patent features. His first lamp, called the DryLite, followed patent No.1,505,259 which he filed on May 22, 1920 and was later awarded Aug. 19, 1924. The DryLite used two cotton wicks to wick water up from the water tank into the domed cap and then down through a center tube to the bottom carbide. Supposedly, this provided a constant and dependable flow of water into the carbide. However, experience showed it to be a dismal failure when the wicks became clogged with spent carbide. The lamp was produced for barely a year, accounting for its rarity, while Hansen developed the Force Feed lamp to take its place (patent No. 1,644,780 filed on Oct. 28, 1921 and awarded Oct. 11, 1927). The DryLite incorporated two additional Hansen patents for the unique reflector brace and slotted igniter which he carried forward to the Force Feed lamps. The brace was awarded patent No. 1,464,988 on Aug. 14, 1923 after being filed on July 15, 1920. Similarly, the slotted igniter was awarded patent No. 1,490,562 on April 15, 1924 after being filed on July 22, 1920. Later models of the Force Feed and Hansen cap lamps also included a snap lighter patented by Hansen as No. 1,531,003, filed on Dec. 21, 1922 and awarded on Mar. 24, 1925. Hansen continued to produce lamps until late in the 1920s before moving on to manufacture other products. He was a prolific inventor being responsible for at least 32 patents associated with acetylene lamps during his years with Justrite and his own company. See Thorpe, Carbide Light, pp 171-177)

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