Carbide lamps are lamps that have historically been used by miners and cavers, as well as in vehicles, bicycles, and even headlights. So why on earth would you want a carbide lamp in your home? There may be more than you think. You don’t often imagine incorporating a carbide lamp into your living room or bathroom design, but there are actually some unique designs that it can fit nicely into.
Since many carbide lamps you can find in a retail store today are often antiques, they can be great additions to your home if you tend to collect antiques. They are no longer made in the United States, making them not only unique, but also valuable. You probably shouldn’t buy one with the intention of using it, as calcium carbide can be difficult to locate and use. Unless you really know what you’re doing, you may want to stay away and leave the lamps for display only.
There are several different types of carbide lamps that are common to collectors and antique dealers. The most common were used at one time for caving and mining. These stand on their end and have a large reflector behind the bulb that projects to the front. The searchlight helped the miners see straight ahead without being blinded by the light. The interesting design that this particular style of carbide lamp has can make for a very unique set of bookends. They may or may not be heavy enough to hold the books, so you may want to use something else to do the job and then put a carbide miner’s lamp on each side of the row.
The other very typical type of carbide lamp is the type used for vehicle headlights. These are also very interesting to have in the midst of the rest of your antiques. Early automobile headlights were large, round carbide lamps that sat on top of the hood, rather than today’s headlights that are part of the front end. These old-fashioned headlights can be hung on the wall on either side of a photo or painting of a Model-T. If you do a lot of work in your garage and want to add a little flair, a wall of vintage license plates and a few carbide lamp headlights will make visitors stop and stare for a minute. You might be surprised how creative you can get with an invention you never imagined having in your house in the first place!