Safety Lamps/American Safety Lamp A-H-G

Safety Lamps

American Safety Lamp A-H-G.jpg - AMERICAN SAFETY LAMP ASHWORTH-HEPPLEWHITE-GRAY - Brass Ashworth-Hepplewhite-Gray safety lamp/gas tester, 9 5/8 in. tall to top of cap, 3 1/2 in. base dia., marked AMERICAN SAFETY LAMP & MINE SUPPLY CO. SCRANTON, PA., ex-Doc Kraft collection (The English Gray lamp of 1868 was one of the first lamps designed as a gas tester. In 1887 James Ashworth patented two improvements to the Gray lamp to control the air supply to the lamp. These included a rotating shutter on the cap and ferrules sliding over holes in the tubular pillars. This allowed feed air to be taken from the top of the lamp or from the base of the tubes. Other improvements included a gauze cylinder and a conical glass to throw light upwards to make roof inspections easier. This new improved Gray lamp would be known as the Ashworth Hepplewhite Gray (AHG) lamp. The AHG would become one of the best gas testers, being able to detect 2.5% firedamp. In use, hollow tubes direct feed air to enter the lamp through gauzed openings below the flame. A thin layer of gas against the mine roof can be detected without tilting the lamp by opening the cap shutter on top allowing air to be sampled and closing the tube ferrules on the bottom. In more normal operation, the cap shutter is closed and the tube ferrules are opened allowing air to be accessed to the flame. The lamp was in use from 1889 to 1920. The AHG lamp saw use in the United States as well and the lamp shown here was manufactured by the American Safety Lamp and Mine Supply Company of Scranton, PA. The US made lamps are identical in most details to the English AHG lamps. See Ballard and Van Fleet, Eureka #5, pp 20-24 and David Barrie, The Wand of Science) [The American Safety Lamp and Mine Supply Co. along with James Everhart and Hughes Bros. were the big three manufacturers of American safety lamps at the start of the 20th century. All three were located in Scranton PA. American Safety Lamp and Mine Supply Co. was incorporated on Mar. 8, 1893 with a capitalization of $100,000. Officers included M. E. McDonald president, O. S. Johnson vice president, Alexander Dick secretary, and A. H. Christy treasurer. They were first listed in the 1893-1894 Scranton Business Directory as brass founders. Later editions listed them as safety lamp manufacturers as well. They were located at 1321-1335 Capouse Ave. in Scranton at the works and land formerly occupied by the Scranton Iron and Brass Co. which they purchased. They offered a variety of safety lamps and at least one rare unmarked cast aluminum oil wick lamp with a flat back which their advertising called the indestructible. The company went out of business in 1930. The big three safety lamp manufacturers also shared a similar situation after the U. S. Bureau of Mines was established in 1910 with the charter of increasing mine safety. Part of that effort resulted in a schedule for safety lamp testing issued in 1915. None of the safety lamps manufactured by these three companies were approved by the Bureau of Mines for underground use. After World War I, the safety lamp market in the US was dominated by the Wolf Safety Lamp Co. and Koehler Manufacturing whose lamps were approved as permissible by the Bureau of Mines.]

American Safety Lamp A-H-G | AMERICAN SAFETY LAMP ASHWORTH-HEPPLEWHITE-GRAY - Brass Ashworth-Hepplewhite-Gray safety lamp/gas tester, 9 5/8 in. tall to top of cap, 3 1/2 in. base dia., marked AMERICAN SAFETY LAMP & MINE SUPPLY CO. SCRANTON, PA., ex-Doc Kraft collection (The English Gray lamp of 1868 was one of the first lamps designed as a gas tester. In 1887 James Ashworth patented two improvements to the Gray lamp to control the air supply to the lamp. These included a rotating shutter on the cap and ferrules sliding over holes in the tubular pillars. This allowed feed air to be taken from the top of the lamp or from the base of the tubes. Other improvements included a gauze cylinder and a conical glass to throw light upwards to make roof inspections easier. This new improved Gray lamp would be known as the Ashworth Hepplewhite Gray (AHG) lamp. The AHG would become one of the best gas testers, being able to detect 2.5% firedamp. In use, hollow tubes direct feed air to enter the lamp through gauzed openings below the flame. A thin layer of gas against the mine roof can be detected without tilting the lamp by opening the cap shutter on top allowing air to be sampled and closing the tube ferrules on the bottom. In more normal operation, the cap shutter is closed and the tube ferrules are opened allowing air to be accessed to the flame. The lamp was in use from 1889 to 1920. The AHG lamp saw use in the United States as well and the lamp shown here was manufactured by the American Safety Lamp and Mine Supply Company of Scranton, PA. The US made lamps are identical in most details to the English AHG lamps. See Ballard and Van Fleet, Eureka #5, pp 20-24 and David Barrie, The Wand of Science) [The American Safety Lamp and Mine Supply Co. along with James Everhart and Hughes Bros. were the big three manufacturers of American safety lamps at the start of the 20th century. All three were located in Scranton PA. American Safety Lamp and Mine Supply Co. was incorporated on Mar. 8, 1893 with a capitalization of $100,000. Officers included M. E. McDonald president, O. S. Johnson vice president, Alexander Dick secretary, and A. H. Christy treasurer. They were first listed in the 1893-1894 Scranton Business Directory as brass founders. Later editions listed them as safety lamp manufacturers as well. They were located at 1321-1335 Capouse Ave. in Scranton at the works and land formerly occupied by the Scranton Iron and Brass Co. which they purchased. They offered a variety of safety lamps and at least one rare unmarked cast aluminum oil wick lamp with a flat back which their advertising called the indestructible. The company went out of business in 1930. The big three safety lamp manufacturers also shared a similar situation after the U. S. Bureau of Mines was established in 1910 with the charter of increasing mine safety. Part of that effort resulted in a schedule for safety lamp testing issued in 1915. None of the safety lamps manufactured by these three companies were approved by the Bureau of Mines for underground use. After World War I, the safety lamp market in the US was dominated by the Wolf Safety Lamp Co. and Koehler Manufacturing whose lamps were approved as permissible by the Bureau of Mines.]

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