What year/car is this headlight carbide generator from?

[CaveBear]

I have an old picture from a cave I own in Arizona. The guys in the photo are using a carbide generator for lighting the cave. These generators were used for headlights on roadsters and touring cars (EMF) around 1908-1912. Maybe other ones that I don't know about also. I'm trying to figure out the exact year/model of car that the generator is from. This will help me determine the year that the cave was first visited. Also, I was curious about the goggles on the one guy, can I assume he was driving a car without a windshield? He kind of looks like a chauffeur with that hat. The picture lists a "Dr. R. J. Ropper" in the group visiting the cave. Maybe the Doctor was some important guy being driven by his chauffer??

Thanks for any info.

Tom

[1937hd45]

It could be from just about any Pre 1915 automobile. They were bolted to the running board, not designed to be quickly removed. Clever way of lighting a cave, thanks for posting the photo.

[Terry Bond]

It looks like the one on my Model T Ford, but as was already mentioned, they were sold for a wide variety of early autos. In the early teens they started to get replaced by prestolite tanks (compressed gas) because it was cleaner and more convenient. Some of the running board mounted units saw subsequent use just like in your picture. Of course these tanks were sold separately and could be purchased for any use at all, so there is reasonable chance it never was even on a car.

Terry

[CaveBear]

The base of the generator is wider than the canister, and most of the pictures I found online don't have that wide base. Terry is right with the Model T's! I just found a picture of a Model T on this site: 1914 Model T. So it looks like they used that style generator from 1908 to 1914. When I do an image search on Google for 1915 model T's they no longer have the generator. So "1937hd45" is also totally right on the pre-1915 autos.

Thanks guys for the info, you guys are good! -Tom