Spirit light
An alcohol incandescent light is a gas lamp operated with alcohol that generates light by burning alcohol gases.
General
Spirit incandescent lights work similarly to high-intensity lamps . Spirit is evaporated by the supply of heat, the steam emerges from a nozzle and sucks in the air required for combustion in a jet pump (principle of the Bunsen burner ). A mantle is arranged in the flame, which is excited to glow by the flame gases. In contrast to strong light lamps, the tank is pressureless. A distinction can be made between two types:
Lamps with a tank above the burner. Here the fuel is fed to the evaporator under low hydrostatic pressure; the evaporator is heated by the exhausting combustion gases. Examples of this design are the manufacturers Marla and Graetzin.
Lamps with a tank below the burner. Here the fuel is fed to the evaporator through a wick . The heat required for evaporation is taken from the inside of the flame by a heat conductor made of a material that conducts heat well and conducted down to the evaporator. The overpressure required to operate the jet pump is built up solely by the capillarity of the wick. Examples are the manufacturers Tito Landi and Hasag.
With both versions, the vaporizer must first be preheated when the lamp is put into operation, usually with denatured alcohol. During operation, the burner keeps the evaporator at its own temperature.
Difference between gasoline and alcohol light bulbs
The difference between petrol and spirit light bulbs is often not visible. The corresponding lamps always have nozzle bores of different sizes: Smaller bores (for example 0.3 mm) are used with gasoline burners, larger bores (for example 0.7 mm) when using denatured alcohol.
With some manufacturers only the nozzle was exchanged to change the fuel, others have also put a sponge into the tank of petrol incandescent lights to prevent the fuel from leaking if the lamp tips over.
use
Alcohol and gasoline incandescent lamps are no longer produced today. The brightness achieved is usually comparable to the output of a 50 watt incandescent lamp . Spirit incandescent lights were (and are) used well as living room lighting; an odor can hardly be detected. However, the lamp also generates heat. It is important to ensure that the lamp is in a safe position and that it is away from inflammable objects. As with a wood-burning stove , sufficient ventilation of the room must be ensured.
Manufacturer
Well-known manufacturers of incandescent lamps were, for example, the companies Ehrich and Graetz (Berlin), Hugo Schneider AG - HASAG (Leipzig), Tito Landi (Paris), Marla GmbH (Berlin), J. Hirschhorn (Berlin) and Schwintzer & Gräff (Berlin) .
Executions
So far, table lamps such as the Tito Landi lamps shown here, as well as lamps for ceiling mounting (invert lamps) with an incandescent mantle (Graetz and Marla) are known.