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    Posted 7 years ago

    rja1235
    (1 item)

    I am a Fire Inventory Tech With Tempe Fire Dept. I work in the warehouse where we issue and repair Equipment. From time to time I run across some interesting items from yesteryear but these two have me baffled. There are two of them, I don't want to call them home made because they are very well constructed but they have no markings as having been built by a factory.
    It is made from a steel pipe 3 3/4 outside diameter, 12 1/2 tall and has two pieces of flat steel 4 inches long welded to ether side. The pipe has been turned down on the end so the long aluminum cone will fit snugly on the end. The cone has a small hole in the end and I am not sure if this serves a purpose or needed to make the cone. The best guess we have so far is you can stand on the two flat parts and stabilize it and maybe the cone was used to stretch something. If anyone knows or want to take a guess please contact me.

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    Comments

    1. pickrknows pickrknows, 7 years ago
      Could this be for stretching the hose prior to attaching it to a new coupling?
    2. rja1235, 7 years ago
      That is a good guess, my father-in-law who was a firefighter from the 50s -80s suggested the same thing but just a guess he had not seen one.
    3. lzenglish lzenglish, 7 years ago
      Is the steel pipe open on the end with the flat stock welded to it? Is what appears to be a squared off section toward the bottom of the steel pipe, just that?
    4. lzenglish lzenglish, 7 years ago
      Cancel that last question, as i can see it is round all the way, now that i have zoomed in on it.
    5. lzenglish lzenglish, 7 years ago
      It appears the aluminum cap is no more than a protective, friction fit storage cap, with bleed hole? Guess #1... A brass hose nozzle storage container?
    6. frisco frisco, 7 years ago
      You still alive rja1235? I'm still waiting for some sort of response from you, to the questions asked, so i can offer my own opinions?
    7. rja1235, 7 years ago
      Sorry Frisco but I do not see your question.
    8. rja1235, 7 years ago
      lzenglish it could be for storage but it does not have any holes to secure it to anything. I guess there is also the possibility it was never completed.
    9. frisco frisco, 7 years ago
      No problem rja1235. The question he asked was "IS The Bottom of the Tube Open? Or is it Capped"?
    10. rja1235, 7 years ago
      Sorry yes it is open at both ends.
    11. lzenglish lzenglish, 7 years ago
      Since it is open on the bottom, my last best and final guess is this: A high pressure (500 gpm or so), fire hose and nozzle stabilizer. The idea being, the hose slides thru the tube, the nozzle is attached, and the two bars are firefighter handles to help control the high flow. It does not look like a factory production piece to me,(whatever it truly is), but more so an idea a fireman had, then took to the local fabrication shop, and had built. Good Luck in your search, and please let us know the final answer if you find it. PS: Stick around, as someone else on CW may solve it.
    12. rja1235, 7 years ago
      Thank you for your thoughts, your probably right about someones Idea, for now it's a nice conversation peice in sitting my office.
    13. Horseradishman1 Horseradishman1, 7 years ago
      Is there any large o-rings around? Could be an o-ring installation tool. O-rings would be loaded on straight pipe using the cone. Cone removed and fitting inserted in pipe and o-rings rolled off pipe into groove eliminating possibly cutting o-rings on threads. Never saw one this big but if you had alot if of 3" o-rings to replace it would help...
    14. rja1235, 7 years ago
      Interesting idea, have not seen any orings here that big.
    15. AccordionBen AccordionBen, 7 years ago
      Could it be for stretching the ends of canvas fire hoses so that the couplings could be fitted? Does that size seem like a hose size?
    16. rja1235, 7 years ago
      This is a popular belief .
    17. lzenglish lzenglish, 7 years ago
      The more i think about it, the more i like the hose I.D. expander theory. The only thing i could not figure was why the cone was a friction fit, as it seems it would turn, as you were twisting and turning the hose on to it. Then it occurred to me that maybe the designer wanted to push the hose onto the cone, then remove both, and let soak in water? Question, did you find any spare cones laying around? I think the hole in the cone tip was to maybe relieve any air psi trapped in the hose, that may have hampered this operation. Just another WAG !

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