Posted 12 years ago
JDW
(1 item)
Found - no previous history and there is no markings on this item to help indentify. This item is approx 16" tall and 8" dia. the wooden base and upright being hand carved. The sterling silver tank is 8" tall and 6" wide and has a electric heating element. There is a switch on the right side that works on the counter-balance principle when the silver pot is filled will allow the heating element to start heating. When the liquid boils it exits from the bottom of the pot and when allthe liquid is boiled the weight of the now empty pot trips the electical switch to "off".
We have no idea what this is or its origin. Any questions or additional info please contact us. Any help as to its use and age is appreciated
Thanks
I have no idea what it is, but it is way cool.
I agree, it's a dam nice one! I am going to make a guess, could be a syrup or honey heater? I don't quite understand all of your description, is there any valve to dispense whatever it held? Also you say that the tank is sterling? Is it marked?
From the wiring and construction I would say it dates in the 1930's. I would also guess the wood stand was made for it and is not original to it. I think it was made to mount on a wall in a restaurant or bar. You might unscrew it from the stand to see if there are any marks on the mounting bracket. Sorry probably more questions than answers.
Thanks rocker-sd for the reply - I will try to answer/clarify my item. There is no valve or spiggot - on the bottom is just 3/8" hole. How it works is you add liquid to tank and as liquid comes to boil the steam pressure inside tank forces the liquid up and out the bottom hole. There is a center double-wall tube fasten to the lower part of tank. Also the tank has gaskets so when assembled for use it creates a steam tight seal, to allow pressurerwithin tank. I did try with water @110v and it took 30min to boil water and it did come out as hot water at bottom hole. I suspect that this european and was made for 220v which would greatly improve boil times. There is no marking on silver tank but appears to sterling silver, haven't polished yet as I did not want to change it's antique value, if any. I believe the wooden was make for the tank unit, it is well made and follows the tank mounting contours. I did remove tank from stand and opened the switch area - there is no id markings of any sort. This unit is too well made to be "homemade" in my opinion.