Some cool old electrical stuff.

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bensonelectric

bensonelectric

Senior Member
Re: Some cool old electrical stuff.




Detail of "rear" gears.


Close up of "rear" gear "clutch" system.


Detail of the base, you can see the connecting rods and the positive and negative hookups.


Above view of "front" gears, also shows the optical lense and "porthole" in the base.


View from the "back", if the photo could show it, you can look straight through that hole and see the other side.


This is a picture of the drive system, two of the knobs turn the front and rear gear systems, and the solid one engages the "clutch" which stops the big rear gear from spinning, causing the smaller gears to turn as they rotate around it.

I wish I could figure out what this device was for and how it works as a lamp, but none the less I found it interesting.
 
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hurk27

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Location
Portage, Indiana NEC: 2008
Re: Some cool old electrical stuff.

Frank Think Carbon arc!


sperry00.jpg





quote:
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Carbon Arc Searchlight Facts:

The first 60 inch Searchlight was made by General Electric in 1893
Searchlights were produced for military use from 1932 to 1944 at a cost of $60,000 each!
Lamp Type: Carbon Arc (no light bulb!)
Candle Power: 800 Million
Effective Beam width: 5' plus
Effective Beam length: 5.6 miles
Effective Beam visibility: 28~35 miles

GENERATOR:
Generator Power: 15 KWV nominal - 16.7 KWV max. (15,000~16,700 watts D.C.)
Powered By: Inline 6 cyl. "Hercules" Flathead Engine
Generator Engine Fuel: Gasoline (can also be run using Kerosene or Gasohol)
Combined Weight: 6,000 pounds (3 tons, or the weight of 3 Ford Mustangs combined!)

The beam is made by 2 carbon rods, one positive and one negative, arching within the focal point of a 60 inch parabolic mirror. As the rods "burn" they are automatically fed into the light . The rods last approximately 2 hours and are then replaced. The flame that is visible during the lights operation, is not actually the source of the light, rather, it is a by-product, produced as a result of the electricity arcing between the 2 rods. The flame is the rod slowly burning away as it is fed into the light. The arc draws 150 amps continuously at 78 volts and burns at over 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The power is supplied by the D.C. generator which was designed specifically for this purpose.


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CULAKE1.gif


[ September 14, 2005, 09:20 PM: Message edited by: hurk27 ]
 
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hurk27

Senior Member
Location
Portage, Indiana NEC: 2008
Re: Some cool old electrical stuff.

By Charlie: They were also used as street lights and for movie projectors in theaters.
Click to expand...
How true but since the date of manufacture is 1945 I would say this is the carbon rod drive from a WW2 search and rescue light for the navy
 
bensonelectric

bensonelectric

Senior Member
Re: Some cool old electrical stuff.

Wow, thanks guys, I guess the old shop teacher was a navy electrician and apperiently also a huge packrat, and there are some really cool old items we have been finding in the "back room". I wonder what else I will come across...
 
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hurk27

Senior Member
Location
Portage, Indiana NEC: 2008
Re: Some cool old electrical stuff.

Back when I was much younger I helped a friend of my dads who rented out ones like in the photo I posted, they would use them to attract buyers to car lots and many other events for advertising.
We had to completely disassemble them and rebuild them and parts was hard to find even back then. The two connecting rods you spoke of, one is a drive shaft that the worm gear motor drives to turn the gears that feed the carbon rods in. The other is the control stop to stop the in-feed to extinguish the arc. The one you have there is a navy version that mounts on a gun turret like stand, this allows the operator to point it in any direction he wants. the two handles are what they use to aim it. Of course your missing the parabolic mirror.
If you notice the smaller three (one on one side in the middle, and two on the other side) gear looking wheels that are made of steal instead of brass, those are the actual drive wheels that contacts the carbon rod. the gear teeth on them helps to grip the rod so it doesn't slip.

They are much smaller then the one I posted. We had several of them mounted on a trailer's with a gear reducer motor in the middle with rods going to a fly wheel like plate on the gear reducer. they connected to a post that was offset from the center of the plate so it would drive all four lights in four circles aimed at the sky.

There are many of these advertising company's still around and would pay a good buck for a drive/control unit in that good of condition.
As I said those parts are very hard to get.
 
bensonelectric

bensonelectric

Senior Member
Re: Some cool old electrical stuff.

I was actually thinking about trying to fix it, and perhaps get it working again. With all saftey considerations in mind of course ;)
 
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