Hollow wire tank id please

View attachment 88601 Just wondering if you guys can identify this tank. I've looked all over and can't find anything.
Stenciling is missing on the left side. But here's what I see.


???? LIGHT SYSTEM
???? MADE BY
???? T LIGHT CO
???? ON, OHIO


The gauge says US GAUGE pat 1906.

Any ideas? Thanks

 

Looks Knight Light but being Canton it could be Sun Vapour Street Light Co.
@Matty

 

.....or Best

 

I like Anthony's second suggestion as a strong possibility. The 1906 The Best Light Co catalog has a 5 gallon tank which this looks similar to and weighs 23 lbs. See page 26. Have you the diameter and height and weight of the tank?

 

I don't think that's it. Hard to tell from the drawing.

The tank is 9'' diameter, roughly 20''-21'' tall. My scale said 10 pounds but I don't trust it at all.

I think I see a T before LIGHT CO. So ????T LIGHT CO

 

@Anthony all is well that ends well. Best Light Co for sure

 

That ad says the small tank weighs 23 pounds. Mine weighs 10 pounds.

But I think I might see ??? ST LIGHT CO. ??? T LIGHT CO for sure.

 

I don't think there is any chance the tank weighed 23lbs empty. I suspect it is with fuel or a misprint.

The tank may have been stencilled 'The Best Light Co'

 

Anthony,

That Best hollow wire illustration is post 1918?

 

1921 Matty

 

Yes, all very interesting and good the manufacturer has been resolved. My purpose for asking for the measurements was to see if it happened to accord with the one on the page I mentioned. There was also a 2, 5 and 10 gallon on the next page for home and church use which may have been lighter gauge, but I am guessing there. They do emphasise in the catalog the weight is evidence of the exceptional quality.

The dimensions now provided when the volume is calculated pretty much suggest the tank IS 5 US gallons. Ten pounds weight sounds like the scales are out as @Quick Cal has intimated.

I have a 2 gallon (imperial) simplex brand steel fire extinguisher which is similar construction to the one posted with rivets etc and it weighs just under 14lbs empty, and it is just a 2 gallon one. Be interesting to know the real weight of the Best 5 gallon tank posted which Is 9” diameter compared to 6” for my extinguisher which is same approximate height. In any event I am pleased @Matty and @Anthony have zeroed down the make for @Quick Cal

 

Thasnks

I saw one word in the advertisement that to me is a sure sign that the lamps were post 1918. This was a bit of a self test so thanks.

 

Without wishing to be too pedantic, I think fire extinguishers were made of much heavier grade steel than hollow wire tanks.

I just went to weigh a Knight Light tank with a gauge and brass plaque on the tank but I must have blown up my scales the last time I used them - I'm so fat.

I just picked up a full 8kg bag of dog food and it is clearly heavier than the Knight Light tank. I would guess the Knight Light at being 5 or 6 kgs.

 

I sure would like to see a pic of another tank proving it's a Best. I'm not doubting you guys. I would just like better proof,,,lol.

 

That ad says tested to 200 pounds. Will never exceed 40. Mine says something about 50 pounds.

I swear I'm not trying to be difficult. Just want to be sure. I want to see a pic.

 

Fair enough too I think.

I have looked into Best, Doud, Knight light, Gloria, Acorn, Sun Vapour and Wizard and Best is the only tank I can see that has an outlet at the top of the tank like yours.

The ***ton would be Canton wouldnt you say ??

 

Well, you have the whole wide world of the internet at your disposal. You can narrow your search down to Canton, Ohio companies, which The Best Light Co was one of. That is, unless you think ????on, Ohio stands for something else. Let us know how you go.

 

I was typing at the same time as you guys. Read my last post above yours.

But yes, it makes sense. But it could be Dayton, Ohio. Being a newb I don't know how many companies were in Ohio?

When you say the Best has the outlet at the top of the tank, are you going by the drawing. Or have you seen a pic? Thanks

 

You need to remember that Best was around for 25 years and lamps and tanks changed.

I think there is likely a very good reason as to why manufacturers stopped using the 200lb pressure threshold. I suspect some less than intelligent users would put as much pressure as possible in the tank/s and that meant the lamps wouldn't work as they should. So, it was probably something the manufacturers did consciously, they lowered the safe pressure maximum to save the public from themselves.

That is, unless you had a regulator. Then you could put 150lbs of pressure in the air tank and regulate it to the 10lbs to 15lbs working pressure of the lamps.

 

What word ???

 

Anthony,

Forgive me if I keep it to myself for the time being. It is the type of thing that I wish to publish on my own medium, perhaps not in the too distant future.

 

Thanks @Matty good to hear re the weight of similar tank. Happy to accept that. The Simplex tank is rated at 300psi vs the one above being possibly 200psi but my initial inclination was one of similarity.

@Quick Cal There were several lamp companies in Canton, OHIO alone. Best products are scarce and photos are a real gem. Good luck.

 

@Sedgman

I found this really interesting when I read it many moons ago. I have not fact checked it.

How many PSI can a 2 litre bottle hold?

Most two litre bottles begin to fail at pressures around 1,034 kilopascals, or 150 pounds per square inch. The pressure at which the bottle will burst is more than it would normally encounter during packaging or normal use

I suspect why fire extinguishers are made of such heavy gauge steel is because they are used in an emergency situation where panic can be a factor. A user might bash the extinguisher into the sharp corner of a cupboard or similar and puncture the tank. Hollow wire tanks were designed generally to be set up in a set position.

 

Interesting and I guess judging by pictures they are hand pumped.

 

There were different tank set ups and I believe it more or less came down to costs as to why generally one tank would be used for both air and fuel. Yes, they would be hand pumped.

It is actually really interesting how the optimum tank set up would work. Inventors realised that the lights/lamps would perform better if the fuel was saturated with air but also heated prior to entering the generator. I have seen set ups where a burner is used to heat the hollow wire tube, thus the fuel, prior to the fuel entering the generator/vapouriser. Twin tanks would be used so the fuel would pass through as much air as possible prior to leaving the tank/s.

Then, the use of water as steam to create a extremely hot flame and a mix that would also keep the jet clean. The water would be super heated to steam. Most of us tend to think of steam as the cloudy vapour that you see come out the end of a boiling kettle. True steam is colourless and is superhot.

So, there would be three tank sets ups with fuel, water and air. The water would be piped to the burner and instantly be superheated as it went into the burner. The invisible super hot steam would create a much hotter gas mixture and that gas mixture would burn much brighter. The steam would keep the jet clean by blowing out particles from the generator and also not allowing carbon to build up in the generator or the jet.

 

Coleman tank posted several years ago is:- 250mm Dia, 825mm High Stencil on side says run at 20 PSI

 

I've asked around trying to locate a Best Light Co, tank, contemporary with the OP.

One bloke showed me his Best Street Light Co tank and @Sedgman he told me it weighs 40lbs. The tank is of unusual design and I believe is possibly made for a specific situation, perhaps a problematic situation. Something like a store front where people traffic could bang things into it. Of course, that is pure speculation.

 

This is from a 1906 Best catalog, though I'm told despite what the year on it says there is a question about it. Anyway it mentions a 40 lb 10 gallon model.



@Matty @Anthony

 

@Sedgman
The tank you refer to above is the 40lb the collector showed me.