1952 Vac-U-Tronic Vacuum Tester

[aeoliandave]

Little item I snagged off eBay for US$5.24. I took a chance it was what it seemed to be, tho' I thought it was much larger.
Now the Canadian dollar is at par, that's CN$5.24.

The case measures 8" H x 6.5" W x 2.5" D. Cute as the dickens with a bakelite handle and the plug-in electric probes.

There is a 1 5/8" Dia. cutout on the side within which resides a 1.5" solid & still spongey rubber ball with a copper nipple line running to the gauge. The electric section is separate from the Vacuum water inches gauge.

 

[aeoliandave]

Face plate

 

[aeoliandave]

Interior

Of course I took it apart, adjusted the gauge reading to a known source and tightened all the connections...

 

[aeoliandave]

Now for the bonus surprise ending...

Case back panel. 1952.

Darn right it works. Sensitive and accurate. Dang thing is so compact I can take it everywhere I go. What a fun instrument and really really awfully useful for my player piano work since my other vacuum gauges are handheld or they fall over. In addition it has its own circuit tester and plug socket.

Only vacuum I have on the chart is the Air-Way 66 and its reading 64". I'll be re-testing all the vacuums around here for another definitive comparison soon, dontcha know.

Dave.

 

[industrialist]

Wow i would love to get my hands on one of those! I have an old growler and motor tester but a suction tester of that magnatude is really neat, great find

 

[charles~richard]

Lucky you! I saw this but did not bid on it because it appeared in the photos on the listing that the black circular component on the lower-left corner of the front was an empty socket for a vacuum tube. Just my luck, I thot, that the missing tube would be some obscure tube such as a blue-glass Arcturus Wunderlich!

 

[tolivac]

The tester shown may not work with some newer vacuum cleaners-they can produce suction levels over 100".Most twin fan motors can do over 100".I have a Riccar 1800 that can do over 120".Mieles get close to 115".

 

[crevicetool]

Great job Dave...

I too pasted this one up. Had I known about the back cover I think I would have been bidding against you. I see that the Universal Jet99 is surpassed only by the one GE model. When I finished mine, I was rewarded with a machine that I thought delivered quite a strong suction. The motor in that thing has an armature almost two inches long, with two five inch X 1/2 inch fans. I don't know the engineering aspects of electric motors, but the armature is considerably larger than the Lux XXX, and by looking at the chart on your tester, well, you know. By the way, I saw on another thread that you had attended a Steam Thresher event. OMG, please don't tell me you are into steam also!

 

[Real1]

Wow...small world

I'm so excited! I just bought one of these off ebay. Except it has a carrying case and is split into two units;one for the vacuum suction test and one for the amp draw test. I don't know what that means....if it's older or newer. Seller had a terrible feedback rating, but I went through all the feedback and it's one of those classic cases wherein if you're a seller and don't sell much, ONE bad feedback can ruin your rating. Still doesn't exonerate this seller, but I'm willing to take the gamble given the evidence.

I'll post some pics when I get them cleaned up and working

Kevin

 

[kenkart]

Steam Threasher!!!

We go to the Old Threashers Reunion July fourth in Denton NC every year!!!!