When clumsy contractors broke the glass of a historic gas lamp at MOSI, it set me on a voyage of discovery. This recuperative gas lamp dates from the 1890s and was used outside shops to throw light downwards onto the pavement to sell goods in the evenings. They used a fascinating piece of pre-mantle technology, a heat exchanger which preheats incoming air to maximise the brightness of the flame and the flame is also inverted.
After over a hundred years of existence, the lamp had a bad year in 2008. It lost one borosilicate glass reflector panel and its globe, and generally needed some serious TLC! The first challenge was to raise funds for repairs – which came through thanks to the enthusiasm of 2010 IGEM president Bill Maclean.
Dorron Harper of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway supplied a long-saved British Railways 7" globe to replace the one that had been smashed. Next, University of Manchester engineering department technician David Jones worked with amazing precision to manufacture a new burner out of stainless steel to replace the original ceramic unit. Finally, many hours of careful work were put in by gas contractor David Lane to repair the injector, reassemble the unit and re-fit it on site.
It's been a labour of love by many people to get this fascinating lamp back in gas and we think it's the only one of its kind both in gas and on public display in the UK.
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