Safety Lamps/Koehler Steel Approval 201

Safety Lamps

Koehler Steel Approval 201.JPG - KOEHLER STEEL AND BRASS - Steel and brass safety lamp marked KOEHLER MFG. CO., MARLBORO, MASS. U.S.A with USBM seal and APPROVAL NO. 201 PERMISSABLE MINERS SAFETY LAMP on top, 11 1/2 in. tall to top of hook ring, magnetic lock, dual steel gauzes, first lamp approved by USBM for underground use in 1915 (The Koehler Manufacturing Company was established in 1912 in Marlborough, MA (this is the official spelling but also spelled Marlboro) by Ernest Koehler. The wooden frame factory, a former S.H.Howe Shoe Plant, was leased to Mr. Koehler for the purpose of manufacturing his Koehler Flame Safety Mine Lamp. By 1914, Koehler was manufacturing safety lamps patterned after the Wolf lamp including the “standard” steel with screw or magnetic locks, bonneted or unbonneted, and a No. 7 which was 2 in. taller than the standard for use in ship holds and coal bunkers. With World War I on the horizon and the suspension of imports of safety lamps from Germany in place, Koehler was well positioned to supply the U.S. market. In 1915 the business was acquired by Henry G. Powning and Henry G. Lapham and incorporated as a new company in 1916. A November 1916 Koehler catalog listed three basic models (Nos. 1, 2 and 4), one of which is shown here, that resulted in 18 different varieties with options of brass, steel or aluminum, two igniters, two locks, and with and without a bonnet. The No. 7 model was no longer listed. Meanwhile, 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. On August 21, 1915, a Koehler bonneted steel lamp with two gauzes and a flat wick was the first safety lamp to be approved by the Bureau of Mines as Approval No. 201. Later on July 29, 1918, the same Koehler lamp with a round wick was approved as No. 201A and two additional aluminum lamps, one with a flat wick as No. 203 and one with a round wick as No. 203A, were approved together on Feb. 7, 1919. Altogether, the four approved lamps all had magnetic locks and differed only in the material of construction and shape of the wick. The approval stamp was placed on the hood above the bonnet showing the USBM seal and approval number. Other lamps with key locks made in brass were available from Koehler but were not approved as permissible. In 1920 a two-story brick building was built adjacent to the original shoe factory to expand production facilities. About this same time, Grant Wheat joined Koehler bringing with him his new electric miner’s cap lamp. The first Wheat Rechargeable Cap Lamp won U.S. Bureau of Mines approval shortly thereafter and became one of the first such lamps to be used in this country. The success of these electric lamps is evident in that Koehler still today uses the Wheat trade name for their electric cap lamps. During the late 1940s, Koehler redesigned their safety lamp making it 2 in. shorter and available in steel, aluminum or brass. The aluminum Koehler 'National" lamp with a double gauze and magnetic lock was approved by the USBM as No. 209 on April 30, 1948 and the same lamp in a steel version was approved as No. 211 on May 6, 1953. The brass version with a magnetic lock was also approved. Responsibility for approval of safety lamps was shifted to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in 1977. The Koehler Company has continued to specialize in underground lighting equipment and today, as part of the Marmon Group, Koehler Lighting Products makes its home in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. See Moon, Mining Artifact Collector #14, pp 35-36; Pohs, Miner’s Flame Light Book, p 357 and Forbes and Grover, Mine Gases and Methods for Detecting Them, Miners' Circular 33 Revisions June 1937 and March 1954)

Koehler Steel Approval 201 | KOEHLER STEEL AND BRASS - Steel and brass safety lamp marked KOEHLER MFG. CO., MARLBORO, MASS. U.S.A with USBM seal and APPROVAL NO. 201 PERMISSABLE MINERS SAFETY LAMP on top, 11 1/2 in. tall to top of hook ring, magnetic lock, dual steel gauzes, first lamp approved by USBM for underground use in 1915 (The Koehler Manufacturing Company was established in 1912 in Marlborough, MA (this is the official spelling but also spelled Marlboro) by Ernest Koehler. The wooden frame factory, a former S.H.Howe Shoe Plant, was leased to Mr. Koehler for the purpose of manufacturing his Koehler Flame Safety Mine Lamp. By 1914, Koehler was manufacturing safety lamps patterned after the Wolf lamp including the “standard” steel with screw or magnetic locks, bonneted or unbonneted, and a No. 7 which was 2 in. taller than the standard for use in ship holds and coal bunkers. With World War I on the horizon and the suspension of imports of safety lamps from Germany in place, Koehler was well positioned to supply the U.S. market. In 1915 the business was acquired by Henry G. Powning and Henry G. Lapham and incorporated as a new company in 1916. A November 1916 Koehler catalog listed three basic models (Nos. 1, 2 and 4), one of which is shown here, that resulted in 18 different varieties with options of brass, steel or aluminum, two igniters, two locks, and with and without a bonnet. The No. 7 model was no longer listed. Meanwhile, 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. On August 21, 1915, a Koehler bonneted steel lamp with two gauzes and a flat wick was the first safety lamp to be approved by the Bureau of Mines as Approval No. 201. Later on July 29, 1918, the same Koehler lamp with a round wick was approved as No. 201A and two additional aluminum lamps, one with a flat wick as No. 203 and one with a round wick as No. 203A, were approved together on Feb. 7, 1919. Altogether, the four approved lamps all had magnetic locks and differed only in the material of construction and shape of the wick. The approval stamp was placed on the hood above the bonnet showing the USBM seal and approval number. Other lamps with key locks made in brass were available from Koehler but were not approved as permissible. In 1920 a two-story brick building was built adjacent to the original shoe factory to expand production facilities. About this same time, Grant Wheat joined Koehler bringing with him his new electric miner’s cap lamp. The first Wheat Rechargeable Cap Lamp won U.S. Bureau of Mines approval shortly thereafter and became one of the first such lamps to be used in this country. The success of these electric lamps is evident in that Koehler still today uses the Wheat trade name for their electric cap lamps. During the late 1940s, Koehler redesigned their safety lamp making it 2 in. shorter and available in steel, aluminum or brass. The aluminum Koehler 'National" lamp with a double gauze and magnetic lock was approved by the USBM as No. 209 on April 30, 1948 and the same lamp in a steel version was approved as No. 211 on May 6, 1953. The brass version with a magnetic lock was also approved. Responsibility for approval of safety lamps was shifted to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in 1977. The Koehler Company has continued to specialize in underground lighting equipment and today, as part of the Marmon Group, Koehler Lighting Products makes its home in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. See Moon, Mining Artifact Collector #14, pp 35-36; Pohs, Miner’s Flame Light Book, p 357 and Forbes and Grover, Mine Gases and Methods for Detecting Them, Miners' Circular 33 Revisions June 1937 and March 1954)

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