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Posted 7 years ago
barefootyeti
(6 items)
I was told this went on a tap ?? but the bottom bowl inside contains mercury. Does anyone know what this is i have exhausted all on google looked under faucets-taps-spigots bathroom -plumbing items vintage as well as antique .no marks on item at all item is 14 cm tall chrome and glass
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A NAME TO THIS ITEM WOULD BE GREAT
looks like a glass sediment bowl assembly used in fuel lines
Agreed. It's a sediment bowl. It maybe from a tractor.
OK. So what's the mercury for?
I was told it goes on a tap for water and when the water passes through it the bowl that contains the mercury spins ?? if a sediment bowl ok but ?? what does the mercury do thanks to those who have commented but i dont think im there yet as to what it is called or actually used for .
The mercury is a weight and the glass bulb it is in is a float to shut the valve on or off. Just a guess from a old mechanic.
If the mercury spins as liquid passes through the outer bowl I would think the mercury acts as a type of centrifuge to disperse contaminants. I seem to think this type affair was used on old tractors that were multi fuel.
Why would the mercury spin as fluid passes through the outer bowl? The mercury doesn't touch anything except the bulb it is in. It can't impart any centrifugal action. Sediment bowls are generally on the input side of a fuel filter and simply hold large particles pending clean-out.
Have you taken the device apart? Is the bulb with the mercury sealed? Is it solidly fixed inside the outer chamber? Or can it float and act as a shut-off valve?
Here's a thought: It's a water trap. Fuel floats on water and would have less buoyancy than water. The mercury globe is precisely calibrated to just under the specific gravity of water but greater than gas/diesel fuel. As water in the fuel accumulates at the bottom of the outer bowl the mercury vessel flouts on the water and eventually shuts off fuel flow before the water can enter the carburetor/injection pump.
Quite the puzzle! Pretty fancy for fuel or oil on a tractor. Output looks chromed like a water spout? Does this spout rotate for off and on? If it does rotate does this raise and lower the mercury filled ball? Just thinking out loud
Just read your logic UncleRon. I like it. Is this an automatic water seperator?
Look up a water trap using mercury - search the images - doen's look or sound like one.
I AGREE IT LOOKS LIKE A FUEL /WATER FILTER BUT THEY HAVE AN IN AND OUT THIS HAS A SPOUT THE BOWL IS SEPARATE TO THE MAIN BOWL WATER COMES IN AND THEN THE BOWL SPINS (ONE WITH MERCURY)THE WATER UNDER PRESSURE COMES OUT THE SPOUT.AGAIN THANKS TO THE PEOPLE WHO COMMENTED HOPEFULLY ONE PERSON WILL SAY WHAT IT IS ?? I HOPE LOL
OK then: it's some kind of "visi flow gauge." They provide visible evidence that fluid is flowing through the unit. Large ones - about the size of a quart can - were used long ago (1930s) on gasoline pumps so that a motorist could see the gas flowing out of the pump when the attendant was filling his tank. In the 1960s I remember seeing little clear domes, with a red spinner inside, on the front of gas pumps. The spinner rotated as you pumped the gas. I don't know what this one would have been used for - the coupling does appear to be made to attach to a faucet - but it does the same thing.
Uncle ron you could be getting close but whats it called ?? i think from your comments its getting there LOL
It's called a visi flow gauge. There are many different designs and they are still made. Google it. Also, keep in mind that a tube could have been clamped onto the "spout" so you wouldn't necessarily be able to see if something was still flowing. It may have been used in manufacturing or in a laboratory, to keep an eye on fluid flow from a distance while you did something else.
STILL NOT IN THE BALL PARK IT ADDS UP BUT NO ONE CAN EXPLAIN THE MERCURY BOWL INSIDE THE LARGE ONE WHAT IS ITS FUNCTION ??AS TO THE METAL IT LOOKS LIKE ?BRASS BUT ALSO HAS A STAINLESS STEEL LOOK SOMEONE SUGGESTED TO ME IT COULD BE FOR A VINTAGE-ANTIQUE MILKING MACHINE ??ANY ONE HAVE ANY IDEA AS IM SURE STUMPED WHAT IT IS ??