The knowledge on this site continues to amaze me. Maybe because I was not in the trades someone will know what this is and probably even used it. 

Maybe a home made sand blaster? Does that connection on the chamber accept an air hose? 

Drainable expansion chamber.

It reminds me of a regulator on a gas line just before the burner.  We had something like this in about 1960 for a floor furnace that use liquid propane gas.  Hmmmm.....I wonder.  

Water hammer arrester.

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, HandyDan said:

Water hammer arrester.

See this is why I don't let the hammer and the water heater get together.  Bad things happen and then I have to get an arrester.  

 

Always something!!!  

 

44 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said:

Bad things happen and then I have to get an arrester.

 

They're out there just waiting for you to screw up.

 

 

 

Nothing connects to it what you see is the whole deal

Hey Gerald, where did you acquire this piece from?

I did not buy it altho it might have come in handy. Saw it in a antique store in Arkansas while on a trip last week. And the funny thing is I did not know what it was when I saw it but I do remember seeing one in a mechanics shop when I was a teen.

Time for the reveal.White has torch. Never saw one used but do remember seeing one

Not so sure about that Gerald.  I had and used white gas torches and the all looked like this one or similar.  They for sure had a flat area so they could be set down while burning.  Mostly used for lead repair in body shops where I ran across them.  Maybe that one had a base it could be set down on.

 

Edited October 5, 20196 yr by HandyDan

Could have . You know what u see in these places is what they found

It just has that plumbing look to it for me.

 

yep I can see that now

We had those in our first apartment after we got married. They were on the old cast iron radiators and were used for bleeding the excess air out of the system. You would open the capped drain (right side of Gerald's first photo) until you got water coming out, then close the plumbing valve, let the chamber drain, close the capped drain, then reopen the plumbing valve. The capped drain faced down.

Edited October 6, 20196 yr by Larry Buskirk

I was thinking if it did have something to do with white gasoline that may be a tank and pump assembly for a camp stove.

 

The bronze end of the first picture appeared to have been in a very hot situation like a gas fire.  It is also the size of the tube from the tank to the burner.  It looks just like what we had on the floor furnace, but that was about 60 years ago.  Memory is failing and technology has moved on.  

Its part of an old iron... One of many that I have...

 

 

Edited February 18, 20206 yr by Kevin Beitz

Well all be danged, you got it Kevin!