by Ken Cummings » Mar 15, 2015 3:02 pm
First time posting here. Responding to people wanting calcium carbide and carbide lamps. Decades ago I learned about them at the Colorado School of Mines. If I wanted one now I'd order from Lehman's Hardware in Kidron Ohio (Amish country). Lamps are just under $60 and lamp or Miner's grade carbide (1/4" to 1.2" chunks) is running $80 for a minimum order of 5 x 2 lb cans. These lamps are like the old ones once used in mining. Now used as buggy lanterns or flashlights. Lehman's didn't stock them for years as the factory in India wanted a minimum order of 10 to 20 thousand. Karst Outfitters charges about the same for carbide; the majority of the expense is in the hazmat paperwork and shipping costs, FedEx ground and in the 48 states only. Caution about buying the smaller tins easily found with a Google search, it might be too fine and prone to plugging.