When I was a child my father brought a carbide lantern from work. I was pretty impressed by the brightness of this light.
Great, now I’m on ebay looking at carbide lamp prices because it would be cool to buy one and have it around in case the power goes out. :confounded:
If you get a carbide lamp, make sure to get a maintenance kit with it.
Here’s one supplier: http://www.4bobandbob.com/pages/01.html
Here’s the caves.org page on carbide lamps, a good resource:
You want spare “tips” (brass and ceramic with a pinhole for the gas, press fit into the gas delivery tube, easily blown out and lost)
And a wing nut that holds the reflector onto the gas delivery tube; backing the wing nut off pulls the tip out if it’s properly been pressed in.
and a tip cleaner (a little bristle-wire brush useful for cleaning out the pinhole when it gets sooted up)
and spare felts (the gas is evolved in the lower container as water drips in; the felt is held onto the water drip delivery tube by a spring clip, and the gas has to move through the felt and a perforated plate to get into the gas delivery tube that goes up and turns 90 degrees to exit (through the tip) and burn at the focus point of the reflector.
When the water gets low, gas can start to back up from the fuel chamber into the upper water chamber through the water delivery tube; if you hear it bubbling, expect a small explosion to be possible, dumping a cup of water down over your face.
(Hey, strapping lights to one’s forehead has always had some hazards.)
And flints. Don’t forget the flints to strike a spark.
And a trash bottle to collect the white lime, you don’t want to be dumping that crap in a cave or anywhere else. Neutralize it properly:
https://www.google.com/search?q=calcium+hydrdoxide+disposal
(Hey, old lithium-ion batteries are a disposal issue too…)
You hold your palm over the reflector, capture some gas behind it, whip your hand off to the side turning the sparker and POP the lamp is lit with a nice flame that hovers in the air a fraction of an inch away from the tip orifice.
There are also 2-hole acetylene burner tips where the flame burns at the point the 2 jets of acetylene intersect in front of the reflector.
If you got it wrong, after the POP your tip has gone for a short flight and you have an unfocused orange flame sooting up your reflector (if the gas stayed lit).
Felts get clogged with the reaction product (calcium hydroxide, a white powder); replace them in the field, wash them out and dry the clogged ones later).
But what tint does it come in?
> tint
Very warm white at low gas pressure (short flame that deposits a lot of soot)
Neutral to blue-white at high gas pressure (better combustion in a longer flame)
PS, for those who like parts, the supplier listed above has these:
“4” Parabolic stainless steel reflector $15.50
“:http://www.4bobandbob.com/pages/01.html
Why would you charge a Q8 with a battery bank instead of just putting the batteries IN the Q8? The only reason I could see is if you needed uninterrupted long-run time. This for example can make sense for some bicycle gadgets (camera for example) for long rides if you don't want to get off the bike and stop to change batteries.
I doubt you'll get much over 50% efficiency with an inductive charger off a battery bank. So that's twice the battery weight, twice the cost, plus the weight cost, and bulk of holder and inductive charger, instead of... just carrying batteries.
Yeah, I thought it would be cool to have, but I’m over it. Lol
Yup, that’s the one. It has been used against free software a lot, and recently has gotten much more common in other contexts too. I find I have very little patience for it.
Anyway, my Q8 has been a nice night light and development host, and the batteries seem they’ll last a rather long time per charge. I’m only down to 3.9V on the first charge so far, and it gets used a lot.
Hi, i have my BLF Q8, but something wrong is with switch, if i use off then switch still lighting in Green kolor, please help, thanks
Not sure I understand… the green switch led’s are supposed to be on when the light is off. Is that it? And the switch led’s go off when the light is on.
Hi, thanks, sorry for my bad English, so… If i turn off Q8 then switch led still shiny.
Check this video at 4:30.
That is normal.
It can be used as a locator of the flashlight.
Ok, but she stay a few hours and leds in switch still is green, this is normal ?
Yes
Can be for years
Until the batteries last
PS. Mine has the switch shining for 55 days
Normal operation of the Q8 has the switch led’s stay lit when the Q8 is turned off. However, if you are using ramping mode there is a simple way to get the switch led’s to remain off when the light is turned off. I am not sure if this can be done with the Q8 set to discrete, non ramping, modes.
Turn on the light. Then ramp up or down and then very quickly click the switch to turn off the light. When done quick enough the light turns off and the switch led’s stay off too.
That might take some practice but I can now make the switch led’s remain off whenever I want.
I hope that helps you.
Thanks guys 
, MtnDon i understand but now I have another problem In my second Q8 if turn off Q8 leds in no light ? So, maybe my second sweety have defect ?
That is normal. I think it was said it will last for years with the indicator lit.If you would like to turn it off, do 4 short clicks. That locks it out, and you have to do 4 short clicks to turn it back on. I think there is somewhere in the configuration to turn it off, permanently.
Hmm, if i click short x4 then in both Q8 switch stop working, another x4 click and again works as earlier, so… i dont know ?
When your second Q8 is shut off the switch led’s do not come on? Do the switch led’s blink twice after you have the cells and screwed the body into the head? They are supposed to blink twice when the cells are first connected.
Also do the switch led’s blink if you do a battery check. (Click the switch three times quickly. The led’s at the switch should blink out the voltage. (Like 3 blinks,a pause and then 8 blinks for partially depleted cells; 4 blinks and a pause then 2 blinks for fully charged cells.) The main illumination led’s will also blink. Does that make the switch led’s blink?