STILL or BOAT PART ?

[jeff of pa]

A friend found this in the bottom of a drained lake.

We are trying to find out what it is.

I Think STILL

My Friend thinks Boat part. Did boats run on Water Pressure ?

This is the same lake, I found the Slot Machnes, which, the state Police threw in after Raids.
seems to me, a possibility, this MAY be part of an Illegal Still raid ?

 

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[The Beep Goes On]

I say a condenser for a still.

HH!
TBGO

 

[jeff of pa]

.

 

[jeff of pa]

.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

What about a steam engine whistle ?? Kinda tightly wound for a still.

 

[kenb]

Hey Jeff,
It could be a condenser for a water cooled still, is it copper?. kinda looks like steel in the picture

 

[jeff of pa]

Copper. I edited the pics to try and get better clarity.

photo 5 may be Brass. is heaviest part

Photos 9 - 10 & 11 Remind me of a Flower Sifter or an early coffee pot inside.
? ? ? ? ?Altho no holes like in a sifter.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Did boats run on Water Pressure ?

The African Queen did.? Steam launches were common in the 1890's up to 1930's.? Just like a locomotive engine but it turns a prop shaft instead of a wheel.

I can't say that your object is from such a thing.? Looks too small for that application.? It looks like a garage door spring with a Tiki umbrella in one end from the photos.?

Your bigger detail shot does make the lollipop end appear to be a pressure regulator valve of some type. The creases would allow it to expand and contract like a flat barometer. Hmmmmm.

 

[The Seeker]

The spring looks like something romn one of those old garage doors...But who knows !!! It's just a guess........

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Or what about a steam safety spring valve ...from steamboat?

 

[Gypsy Heart]

You know Jeff....I think that you are pulling our legs here...thats really the freon coil you hacked out of your refrigerator yesterday....isnt it!!!

 

[jeff of pa]

? ? ? The spring looks like something romn one of those old garage doors...But who knows !!!? It's just a guess........

No it's definately copper tube.

Not a Spring.

it's Very Heavy Copper tubeing also.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

I dont know Jeff....the coils seem to be a little different in size....

 

[jeff of pa]

Cool Still Gypsy.

Looks like it's sitting along a Highway.

Well IF that's what all stills look like then it definatly Isn't.
Even so... now I'm wondering if the Coil He found would even do the job,
unless it was a Very Small operation.


It's still a "Frankenstein" Contraption. (Built with spare parts of different things)

 

[Charlene]

Gentleman here with me says it reminds him of a bellow type thermostat, they came on some old boat engines and also old 1930's truck engines, Diamond Reo's in particular.

Just a guess. But he stresses very old.

 

[jeff of pa]

Gentleman here with me says it reminds him of a bellow type thermostat, they came on some old boat engines and also old 1930's truck engines, Diamond Reo's in particular.?

Just a guess.? But he stresses very old.

The lake itself, Had boats on it since the 30's,
and I have found a makers Plate from a Late 1800's to Early 1900's,
in the same lake.
so he may be right.

 

[littleneckhalfshell]

looks like a condenser from a "Naphtha launch" to me. A Naphtha launch was sort of like an "Africa Queen" kind of boat, but instead of a steam engine, the boiler used Naphtha for the expansive agent as well as for the fuel. The vaporize Naphtha would have to be condensed back to a liquid and such an arrangement as presented in your picture would be just the thing to do the job. I would assume that there originally was a water jacket around the coil where lake water could be pumped through, with the Naphtha condensing in the coil. At least that is to my understanding. I read about it when living in Michigan near a lake that used to have such a boat that went to a pavilion on an island in the middle of the lake. In fact the boat may still be down in that lake, last I heard it had been seen many years ago, moored near the Pickle factory docks.

 

[littleneckhalfshell]

http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/POWER/petrol/petrol.htm is a site that has information on Naphtha Launches, from the picture it looks like the condenser might have just been a pipe running the legnth of the bottom of the boat. the pictures of the part still look like there is a chamber around the coiled pipe. It is somewhat reminiscent of the old Kerosene weed burners, but maybe it still could be the "boiler" section of a small naphtha launch. Anyone else have other ideas? I am sure it is NOT part of a still, and would say that it is some kind of boat part. Knowing the size of the part and better pictures would help, also, how big of a lake is it, if the lake was drained, it does not sound like it could have been a very big lake, and that would limit the size of the boats that would be on it. The lake in Michigan I mentioned in the last post was in Lakeview MI, and was not very deep, I assume that Naphtha Launches could be small or large depending on the waterway in question it was supposed to be used on.

 

[jeff of pa]

The Lake has? roughly 60 acres of water.

? Years ago They had Motor Boat Races on it, But In later years,
it was Changed to Non Motor boats only.

Sorry, it would be next to impossable to get better pics of the part with my camera.