Reuse Old Firefighting Equipment to Make a Lamp.

I found several items of old firefighting equipment, just lying around. I kept them to do something with, so I am trying. I decided to make some lamps, since I had some fixtures, too. I started with an old SCBA mask. This is the old type masks we wore fighting interior fires. Normally, we are blind, and in the dark. So, this should be an ironic spin.

I started by gathering the SCBA mask, a 2.5" brass coupling, and a small lamp fixture. I also needed a drill bit and two wire nuts.

I started by drilling a hole in the hose jacket. The brass is heavy enough to be a steady base. Push the wire through to the inside of the hose and tie a knot or use the wire stop, to prevent pulling the wire out.

Next, I drilled a hole through the exhalation valve, into the chin cup, inside the mask. Once that was done, I placed the wire stem through, and fed the wires. Inside the mask, a bracket was used to position the bulb socket better.

Wiring these lamp kits is very easy. Put the ends of wire, from the mask and the coupling, together using the wire nuts. On simple circuits, like this, it shouldn't matter which wires match up. I twisted the two wires together, placed a wire nut over the connection, and repeated the same on the other two wires.

Once the connections are complete, pull the wire out of the coupling, to the desired length. Make sure the wire nuts are secure to prevent a short. Then set the exhalation valve in the top of the hose. When it's complete, plug it in, turn it on, and see if it works. This small fixture only allows for small wattage bulbs, and therefore makes a great night light, or desk lamp.