We still hang brattice and run a 30 kW aux fan down a 200 m dead-end, but what’s the earliest documented method mines used to push fresh air — furnace at the upcast, bellows, trap doors? Bonus trivia if you can name the first operation that went mostly to rock bolts instead of timber sets.
, we’re still hanging brattice and a 30 kW aux for 200 m, but the earliest real “push” I know is the furnace at the upcast — Agricola’s bellows are in 1556, and Buddle’s Newcastle pits were running furnace ventilation by the early 1800s (https://archive.org/details/deremetallica00agriuoft). Bonus: first big swing to mostly rock bolts is often credited to St — joseph Lead in SE Missouri in the late ’40s via USBM writeups, though coal lagged a bit.
Before steam fans, the Cornish windsail was the go‑to “push,” a canvas tube off the collar to shove breeze along headings. On a “200 m dead-end” we’ve picked up about 0.5 m/s at the face by hanging a 350 mm windsock into the duct and adding a hoop every 5 m so it doesn’t collapse — just be ready to flip it if the wind turns.
Quick add: we rigged a small trompe off the spray line in a 180 m heading and got about 0.2–0.3 m/s to the face without a fan; earliest “push” I’d trust in print is Agricola’s water‑wheel bellows (1556), and for the bonus I’ve seen the big Missouri lead outfit credited in the late ’30s for going mostly to anchors. @brian_hal31 that windsail take tracks ours, but the trompe trick saved us a cable run on a wet panel — ever tried it?
I’d call the earliest documented “push” the bellows‑on‑pipe rigs — Biringuccio (1540) even pre‑dates Agricola — while furnace ventilation is really a pull. If you’re tinkering today on a long dead‑end, a small compressed‑air eductor in the line will nudge the stream without a fan — medieval HVAC with a nozzle. Bonus: first mostly‑bolted operation is often pinned on Island Creek’s Itmann No.