by Larry E. Matthews » May 10, 2007 8:37 am
I used to take my carbide lamp completely apart after each trip, and wash the parts under cool running water with a toothbrush. Don't use brass cleaner, or any other cleaner. The lamp will assume a nice weathered patina.
After washing each part, set them on a newspaper to dry. After the parts are dry, re-assemble the lamp. It is always a good idea to "ream" the tip before re-inserting it into the lamp.
As for reflector size, it depends on passage size. For small passages and crawlways, a 2.5 inch reflector is great. For most cave passages, I found a 4 inch reflector to be good. For really big passages and big rooms, a 7 inch reflector would be nice. A parabolic reflector probably gives a better "beam", but you need to see where your feet are going, too.
Larry E. Matthews
NSS #6792-F