If you want any light out of those carbide lamps, you better use acetylene
in them or else fit them with mantles.  To convert the Westy LP tank into
an acetylene tank, drain and clean it, then fill it with a proprietary
matrix of I forget what -- florist's foam might do.  Saturate the foam with
acetone, get the correct fittings from a junk acetylene tank you have lying
around and install them.

Then drive to Canada, because that's where they fill the tanks.  Also, the
process takes about 8 hours as they have to gradually saturate the acetone
with dissolved acetylene.  I don't know whether the Westy will fit on their
production conveyor system (if they have one) or whether their manifold
hoses are long enough to reach without removing the tank.  Oh yeah -- the
tank should be reinstalled in a vertical position with the valve installed
at the top, to avoid getting acetone into the lines.  Any resulting
protrusion into the living spaces can be easily covered with an attractive
papier-mache cover.  This also will give convenient access to the
regulator.  Warning:  Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES attempt to increase the output
of your lights by using more than 15 psi, as acetylene is unstable in these
conditions and may explode spontaneously (that's why they dissolve it in
acetone).

:)
d

At 14:11 4/1/2000, ed wrote:
>has a few Stutzes or Hupmobiles in the back.  Since you have a Westie, you
>could
>plumb them into the propane tank and then not have to worry about carrying
>calcium carbonate to make acetylene.

David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"