Other Carbide Items/National Carbide

Other Carbide Items

National Carbide.JPG - NATIONAL CARBIDE 2 LB CAN - Hard to find small (2-pound size) National Carbide can; shows the Wolf carbide cap lamp in the graphics; red and yellow/orange style; 5 1/2 in. tall with 3 1/2 in. dia. complete with original lid, acquired from Dave Des Marais (The National Carbide Corporation in Ivanhoe, Virginia produced calcium carbide for mining, bicycle and similar carbide lamps. The Ivanhoe carbide facility was originally built in 1917. The company began operation with three furnaces and added two more furnaces after being purchased by the Air Reduction Sales Company headquartered in New York City in 1921. By 1926 Air Reduction Sales Company was operating a second National Carbide plant in Keokuk, Iowa. The Ivanhoe facility manufactured calcium carbide by heating lime and coke in an electric furnace to 3400°F at which point the molten product was tapped off. The molten carbide was poured off into chill cars where the carbide was allowed to cool. After several hours of cooling, the hardened carbide, in a mass weighing approximately 3,000 pounds, was hooked out of the chill car by an overhead crane and cooled for at least an additional twenty-four hours. After cooling the carbide was reduced by crushing to several different sizes. From the crusher the carbide was sorted by a sizing machine and stored in storage and packaging bins. The carbide was then packaged in metal containers, also manufactured at the Ivanhoe plant, and stored or shipped. The facility closed in 1966 but PCB contamination lived on. The closed plant became a superfund site and was remediated during the 1990s.)

National Carbide | NATIONAL CARBIDE 2 LB CAN - Hard to find small (2-pound size) National Carbide can; shows the Wolf carbide cap lamp in the graphics; red and yellow/orange style; 5 1/2 in. tall with 3 1/2 in. dia. complete with original lid, acquired from Dave Des Marais (The National Carbide Corporation in Ivanhoe, Virginia produced calcium carbide for mining, bicycle and similar carbide lamps. The Ivanhoe carbide facility was originally built in 1917. The company began operation with three furnaces and added two more furnaces after being purchased by the Air Reduction Sales Company headquartered in New York City in 1921. By 1926 Air Reduction Sales Company was operating a second National Carbide plant in Keokuk, Iowa. The Ivanhoe facility manufactured calcium carbide by heating lime and coke in an electric furnace to 3400°F at which point the molten product was tapped off. The molten carbide was poured off into chill cars where the carbide was allowed to cool. After several hours of cooling, the hardened carbide, in a mass weighing approximately 3,000 pounds, was hooked out of the chill car by an overhead crane and cooled for at least an additional twenty-four hours. After cooling the carbide was reduced by crushing to several different sizes. From the crusher the carbide was sorted by a sizing machine and stored in storage and packaging bins. The carbide was then packaged in metal containers, also manufactured at the Ivanhoe plant, and stored or shipped. The facility closed in 1966 but PCB contamination lived on. The closed plant became a superfund site and was remediated during the 1990s.)

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