*censored* See this post: http://radiopreppers.com/index.php?topic=962.msg9560#msg9560
Cool. I can't wait to hear what you think of it.
I had one in the 70s and used it on some Scout campouts. The flame is much brighter than a candle's. The flame can be very sootie though. If you get it too long, threads of soot will rise off the flame and make a mess indoors. It's about the sootiest flame I know of. Gunsmiths use it to blacken parts when trying their fit and competition shooters use(d) it to blacken iron sights. However, if you manage the amount of gas properly it doesn't throw off any soot, so they can be clean to use.
The lantern was a little hard to maintain. The calcium carbide rocks decompose into a mud in the reaction chamber and you have to clean it out often. And, never turn it upside down or slosh it so the mud gets into the orifice that takes the gas to the flame nozzle. Big pain to clean out.
I loved mine for the polished brass and retro aspect. It was fun, and even in the 70s, none of the kids and few of the dads had ever seen one in operation. However, I'll stick with LEDs and recharagable batteries, my candle lantern and keroseen lantern. Wicks can be made from anything and you can burn anything from wax to animal fat to vegtable oil to fossile fuels. Also, my reading on EMPs also tells me that the damage won't be as bad as many of us think and that the smaller the item (LED flashlight) the more likely it is to survive.
Ahh. This brought back some fond memories of caving. Three sources of light. One of those was a Carbide Lamp. Bulbs break, batteries run down. Calcium Carbide works pretty well.
Quote from: cockpitbob on February 26, 2015, 08:34:39 AMAlso, my reading on EMPs also tells me that the damage won't be as bad as many of us think and that the smaller the item (LED flashlight) the more likely it is to survive.
I agree Bob... I am convinced many people have - either deliberately to promote FUD or by misunderstanding the physics - confused an EMP with ionizing radiation from nuclear bursts. Ionizing radiation can destroy solid state devices but if you and your equipment are close enough for ionizing radiation to be a problem then loss of your equipment pales into insignificance compared to radiation sickness or the loss of your life. However, EMP is not ionizing radiation and does not pose the same risk to life or equipment.
Testing has shown repeatedly that if most consumer electronic devices are not connected to longer wires (such as antennas, power cords, headset wires, etc) they will be unaffected by an EMP. That's where the old standard of disconnecting everything from your radio and putting it into a Faraday cage comes from. Tests conducted on modern automobiles have shown the worst that will happen is the engine will stall, but would restart immediately.
The consumer equipment at risk is that which is connected to external wiring, such as the power grid, telephone lines, cable TV, and the like. The damage there is caused by very high voltage induced on long wires, since an EMP is a radio wave (EMP = Electro Magnetic Pulse) and radio waves induce voltages on antennas.
The main risk to preppers is from damage to the grid. Depending on the location and size of an EMP event commercial power and communications could go away for an undetermined length of time and that will be a Very Bad Thing.
Wally
Quote from: freax on February 26, 2015, 06:57:24 PM
It is a Directed Energy weapon and if I had to guess it would be more than likely used and copied by China for use against us.
Wow, freax, you must be a lot more important than I am if you are concerned about being the target of a DE attack. I cannot even imagine your normal prepper being the target of a DE attack with weapons intended to take out aircraft carriers, control centers/systems and other high value targets. Don't forget what the "D" in Directed Energy weapons stands for, and it is absolutely not the same thing as the more or less omni-directional HEMP from a high altitude nuke burst. Even the animation you linked to showed the beam width as limited to specific targets. Wall Street might have to worry, but my time is better spent worrying about other things.
Yes, I am aware of these types of weapons, but I don't think it is accurate to lump their risks in with garden variety HEMP when it comes to the civilian population who are not specifically targeted by a Well Funded Adversary. IMHO preppers are not targets that someone would waste their advanced DE capabilities on. Also, IMHO, advanced DE weapons are not something preppers should waste their limited resources defending against. It's far better to prepare for things with much higher likelihood of occurrence - like maybe ice storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, illness, unemployment... you know, life in general. All IMHO of course.
Wally
QuoteIt seems to me that it is far too easy to be complacant and lazy when the knowledge is staring back at you so vividly as to it being blinding.
It seems to me you come to conclusions that are not supported by my post; either that or you are following the time-honored tradition of the straw man argument. Nowhere in my post did I address my level of preparations, nor will I on a public forum. My point is preppers should focus on the scenarios most likely to confront them - the ones which can happen at any time and any place. Once those are under control then they can address the finer details. If Grand Fenwick invades New York again and takes out Wall Street with DE weapons, which is technically feasible, the US would be in a world of hurt as the financial markets unravel. It is the financial fall-out that preppers should be looking at, not how many computers are toasted. Likewise, if a DE weapon is used on power grid control centers, the loss of the grid will be of some significance to the average prepper. The details of why the grid went away become somewhat academic to we the consumer - the issue of surviving without the grid becomes of prime importance. The only difference to me whether I lose the grid due to an ice storm or a DE attack involves what time of year it occurs and how long will it be out.
QuoteI agree that going as far as stockpiling calcium carbide and getting a lamp is a bit of a stretch
The issue of obtaining a calcium carbide lamp and calcium carbide is beside the point - my objection is to justifying it by claiming a HEMP (the kind most preppers/survivalists are considering when EMP is mentioned) will destroy all forms of electronic equipment - that is not true and never has been. Switching the definition to DE weapons doesn't help, because most of us will never be attacked with one. Our infrastructure may be, and we may face the results of an attack on the infrastructure, but that is a completely different thing. Doomsday Apocalypse scenarios are seldom helpful to good prep planning; they detract from a reasoned evaluation of the scenarios we are most likely to face. This causes unnecessary diversion of resources and inhibits a methodical approach to preparing for hard times. Experienced preppers know this, and plan accordingly, but people new to the subject may not.
All IMHO of course. Stock up on all the carbide you want... it has lots of uses. I have lots of stuff I will probably never use. And now I have chores to do so I will check out of this thread
Wally
When water is dripped onto calcium carbide it reacts and produces acetylene gas. It is very cool and I am going to evaluate the brightness of one compared to a WF-501B with a Cree XRE LED and fully charged Panasonic NCR18650B to see how it compares with high tech. <snip>
Not very bright at all, remember that they are designed for close quarters where the miner only mainly needed to see a section of wall in front of him and enough of the tunnel to get in and out. Also, the reflector needs cleaned often because it gets sooted up frequently, but then a quick whipe with a soft cloth will do. They can be useful, but don't expect a lot of light from them.
I use one of these for off grid lighting. About as bright as four Coleman lamps.This one runs on Kerosene.
http://www.petromax.de/website/images/petromax_lampe/HK500_Messing.jpg (http://www.petromax.de/website/images/petromax_lampe/HK500_Messing.jpg)
Years ago I bought an Aladdin Genie lamp (https://www.lehmans.com/p-2847-aladdin-genie-iii-oil-lamp.aspx?utm_source=AmazonPLA&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=MerchAdv&zmam=32933335&zmas=1&zmac=14&zmap=C6107). They've gotten super expensive, but it's a great lamp. Burns kerosene, silent, as much light as a Coleman lantern, no soot or odor and puts out tons of heat. I've used it to heat my bedroom when I'm sick and want it extra hot. The mantles last forever if you aren't rough on them.
(http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o170/cockpitbob/2847_1__zpsxkagiehs.jpg) (http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o170/cockpitbob/2847_1__zpsxkagiehs.jpg)
If your Bug out destination includes a nearby calcium carbide factory (Anywhere where they bottle Acetylene gas used for welding or Steelworks + hydro or nuclear powered regions) it would be indespensable in this situation. <snip>
Another questions is just how many of these bugout locations are there ?