Hatlamp, 1890
© DBM/montan.dok, Inventory number 030014033000
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Hatlamp, 1890 |
Traditionally there were already attachable helmet lamps in the form of open oil lamps that were attached to the headgear, but they entailed great dangers due to the flammability. The light intensity of the first attachable helmet lamps was also quite low. These lamps were never used in the Dutch mining industry. The image to the right/below shows a German example dating from 1890.
The first attachable helmet lamps with an acid battery, as used in the Netherlands, arrived in the mining company in the early 1930’s. These were Friemann & Wolf or Dominit lamps, both German manufacturers. The batteries and the technology that came with them, were expensive. The battery could leak and the amount of time the lamp burned was short. It was not until the early 1950s that technology had advanced so much, that the attachable helmet lamps were affordable and could be used on a large scale.
Due to the battery operation, the updated attachable helmet lamp had a fairly high light intensity and could last up to 14 hours. The model on the right consists of a plastic battery box. This contains the battery cells. Above the battery box is a metal cover where the contacts for the battery and a connection for the cable are located. This cable is about a meter long.
(Repetzki, Kurt: 3000 Jahre Grubenleuchte, Zur Geschichte der Grubenlampe, pg. 18/20, Wien 1973)