Prestolite lights on old cars

Okay, educate me, at the Florida Flywheelers I saw several old cars n trucks (20's vintage) with "gas" headlights where the gas was supplied by "Prestolite" tanks,,,,,,,, So how were those re charged?? Did you just go get a new full one when yours ran out?? Did you have to pump then now n then like a coleman stove??? TALK TO ME

The AC ad AB (believe thats the models??) Mack Bulldog Chain Drive Trucks really turned my crank...Also the old White trucks...... If yall ever attend DO NOT MISS AN ENTIRE DAY IN THE VILLAGE ONLYYYYYYYYYY then 2 days in the tractors n fleas, you will see a lot of it in 3 days, its like our 12th time still havent seen everything

We spent 6 days dry camped in the RV over flow lot with no hookups and were headed back to home base in Avon Park. We still have plenty of fresh water left and battery power (460 amp hrs on board) but the waste and gray holding tanks are about full

John T

Those old cars used acetylene gas for the lights, same stuff as a cutting torch. It was generated by putting some carbide in the tank with water. When the lights got dim, add some more carbide.

Russel has it. I will ad that the making of calcium carbide is not easy nor very safe. The safety of acetylene is troublesome as well. C2H2 (subscript 2s) is unstable at more than 15 psi. It also takes careful mixing of water and calcium carbide within a gassification chamber to slake the carbide into lime releasing the acetylene.
The failure to regulate the process causes explosions (some serious and destructive). Miner"s lamps were just such devices. I have two of these. One is an 1950 Justrite brand brass body, and the other is plastic. The brass is a version still in production of the 1800s lamp.
I have had the brass one explode (actually it just pushed itself apart and made fire in my hands rather radically (gloves, no burns).
The fuel gas is piped to a orifice that directs a "jet" of C2H2 into air at the focus of a parabolic mirror (often) to make a flame based illumination. The hydrogen produces almost no usable light (pale blue) but the carbon burns with a bright white flame.
Acetylene is expensive today because (As far as I know it is produced only in KY (for industrial mass consumption - welding).
In welding tanks it is at 250psi only because it is compressed into acetone liquid, and a matrix of cellulose like packing in the cylinder. This solution fizzes out to allow a regulator to control it to 5 to 7 psi for torch use.
I believe you wanted to know this much. Jim

another "use": http://cheapcarbide.com/cc/index.ph...s_id=202&zenid=2h7463djl8dffik4u2ddk17t75

Local machine/blacksmith shop does most of their cutting with an acetylene generator that uses calcium carbide. Considerably cheaper than buying bottled acetylene, but quite a big/heavy cart to move around. Bought a new one 20 or so years ago and it wasn't readily available. Perhaps can't buy one today.

Homes were lit with acetylene gas just before electricity came in. Most towns required the generator to be enclosed, at least 75 feet from the residence out by the alley. Because some people were putting them on the porch, with the usual KABOOM results.

In the old miners lamps the carbide was not put into water. The carbide and water have to be seperated in two different chambers and the water added slowly via a drip system to control the amount of gas produced. I collect those old carbide miners lamps and have about 40 of them. About half work. I assume that the lights in those old cars work the same or you would produce more gas than you can use. Never really thought about it. Have to do a little research.