Acetylene Welding Equipment @museum.de

Just in case you're wondering – no, we haven't had any deep-sea divers in here who forgot their oxygen tanks. These high-pressure tanks were once found on virtually every building site and supplied the energy for soldering and welding right there, on site.

There was a degree of risk involved, because a complex chemical reaction took place inside the tank. The cutaway model shows it clearly. The high-pressure tank contained calcium carbide – a solid substance, white in colour. If the calcium carbide comes into contact with water, that is, if it drops into the area painted blue, C2H2, or acetylene is produced, which, mixed with oxygen, supplies the energy for welding.

A pretty hazardous and highly explosive affair! So at some point, it was decided that the calcium carbide reaction should not be allowed to take place on construction sites. Instead, the gas acetylene (produced by that reaction) was delivered to the site in bottles. In safety terms, a very wise decision!