Methanometer

A methanometer is an instrument used to measure methane gas in the air of a mine. The Mine Safety Appliances Company Ltd. manufactured the first type - W8 Methanometer around 1950 and it was approved for use by the Ventilation Regulations of 1947. The Methanometer could be powered by an Edison battery cap lamp and it could be carried on a miner's belt with other tools. Methane is the main gas present in firedamp. It is highly explosive and had previously been detected by the blue halo effect it gave to the flame of a safety lamp.