19th Century Hot Water Heaters

[elginkid]

I'm looking for a 19th century hot water heater for my kitchen, but I haven't been able to find any good resources for purchasing one (it's a crapshoot) and I also can't find many images of installations. I know this is a little earlier than what most people are into on here, but hey, if people are crazy enough to collect automatic washers, I'm sure there are a few out there for water heaters too!

I was looking at the one below:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200467118666&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

But then I looked at another link, and I'm worried that it may be incomplete.

Wes

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/whh/pages/historypages/humphrey.html

 

[tomturbomatic]

While it probably is an instantaneous type, I don't think the seller has properly described the heating process. The water flowed through tubes heated by the flame and "hot gases." I'm sorry but that made me think of an episode of South Park. Google "flaming gases" to see why I'm laughing.

You will have to deal with the venting of the combustion byproducts with any type of gas-fired water heater.

 

[westingman123]

I'm not certain

this will be helpful, but I recall Mama telling us she had to light the water heater prior to each use, and remember to SHUT IT OFF. There was at least one instance that this important step was forgotten, leading to a rather steamy explosion in the utility room.

 

[elginkid]

It probably won't be hooked up for awhile anyway, it will receive a dummy installation, and then when I actually "restore" the kitchen, that's when it would get hooked up. That could be years from now!

Wes

 

[whirlcool]

I remember my mother telling me that it was pretty common for hot water heaters to explode and come rocketing through the roof of a house years ago. Sometimes these tanks would kill people by landing on them.
I think something like this happened at a restaurant in Seattle a few years ago and landed in a parking lot some distance away.

I always test our pressure relief valve every 6 months or so.
Just in case.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/33094_boom28.shtml

 

[58limited]

I don't know much about these old water heaters, but if you had a picture of that model, you could probably have missing parts fabricated. I suspect that they are pretty rare, and having the insulated bucket with it is probably more rare. There is a mansion here in town still using their 1905 copper 20 gal. heater.

Thanks for posting the link to Water Heater Rescue. Good resource. I bookmarked it in case my 1948(?) RUUD decides to quit. (I e-mailed Water Heater Rescue to see if they can date mine).[this post was last edited: 6/20/2010-17:45]

 

[launderess]

The Hotter The Water, The Whiter The Wash!

Now *Dis* is a hot water heater!

 

[58limited]

Launderess

I snapped a pic of my RUUD with monel tank - similar to the one in your ad, but older I think. Not shown in the picture - it sits atop three 6" Art Deco legs.

 

[brisnat81]

I wouldnt want to use the water heater you've pictured in the link, the water that comes out of the unit is mixed with the combustion wastes.

It description is accurate, the water is sprayed throught the hot combusion gasses and then collected and drained out through the spout.

Its something you might wash with, but its not something you'd want to consume.

 

[hunter]

Lehmans or Cumberland General Store

You might consider Lehman's or Cumberland General Store. They both sell wood cook stoves and water jackets that go with them. If you want a facade for a more modern water heater that might do what you are after - using one of them as a shell around a tankless something or other.

Hunter

 

[launderess]

58Limited

I love DAT Ruud!

Apparently there are hundreds if not thousands of Ruud hot water heaters from all vintages (early 1900's to the last years of production), still going about their business.

Many plumbers are either amazed or have to call an "old head" for assistance when they come into contact with one, as they've never seen nor heard of such beasts.

Sadly out of ignorance regarding operation, safety concerns, or homeowner's desire for something "new", perfectly working Ruud hot water heaters are ripped out and chucked away. Smart plumbers and others snap them up for scrap as that Monel and perhaps copper is worth good money.

Ruud also made boilers that provided heat/hot water, and a copper hot water heater called "Sanimaster" (made right through the 1960's). Can tell you right now the "copper thiefs" in many areas would rip that thing out while one wasn't home in a NYC minute to sell for scrap. The B*****ds have been known to enter a church, cap off the mains, and rip out the copper pipes.