Rhode Island Lighthouses
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Next| Top of Lantern in David Melville's Plan of the 1754 Beavertail Lighthouse |
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| Courtesy of the National Archives-Northeast Region (Boston) |
Lightning Rod - A device used to protect buildings from damage from a lightning strike.
Wind Vane - An instrument used to show the direction of the wind.
Ball Vent - A hollow ball on top of a lantern that covers a vent that allows smoke and gas to escape from the lantern. Ball vents in late 19th century and in the 20th century had small holes cut all around them to allow smoke and gas to escape. With this design it didn't matter which way the wind was blowing. The ball vent at Beavertail Lighthouse had a pipe attached to it to let smoke and gas escape. With this design the keeper had to watch the wind vane to see which way the wind was blowing and turn the pipe away or else the wind would blow the smoke and gas back into the lantern.
Wind Vane - An instrument used to show the direction of the wind.
Ball Vent - A hollow ball on top of a lantern that covers a vent that allows smoke and gas to escape from the lantern. Ball vents in late 19th century and in the 20th century had small holes cut all around them to allow smoke and gas to escape. With this design it didn't matter which way the wind was blowing. The ball vent at Beavertail Lighthouse had a pipe attached to it to let smoke and gas escape. With this design the keeper had to watch the wind vane to see which way the wind was blowing and turn the pipe away or else the wind would blow the smoke and gas back into the lantern.