What's this gadget in our 1960s laundry?

[dennisyy66]

Just wondering who know what's this gadget in the laundry room of an old house circa 1960? It has a power switch but I have no clue what it does? Thanks much in advance!

[redracer01]

Hello @dennisyy66 

Thanks for sharing your question about your laundry gadget. Do you by chance have a solar roof heater system installed in your home? What is the current hot water system installed in your house? Is it gas, electric, solar or a combination of them? It's possible that this device could be a precursor to the boost switch we often see on solar hot water systems. But it all depends on what's installed in your home.

Let me call on our experienced members @CSParnell, @TedBear, @MikeTNZ and @JoeAzza for their opinion on what it could be.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[CSParnell]

@redracer01 @dennisyy66 

It looks like an old bell timer to me.

Can you turn the face of the black circular device? If so this is the time mechanism, the switch is the on/off for it.

That's my thoughts on it. I believe I have seen one before in my travels.

[JacobZ]

Hi @dennisyy66,

I can only hazard a guess, but like @CSParnell has said, it looks like the base of an old bell timer.

I'm very intrigued to see what our community members come up with.

Jacob

[TedBear]

Hi @dennisyy66 , it is hard to be sure from from just one view. Is the black bit coming out of the wall or the ceiling?  The round part looks like the end of an adjustable garden watering nozzle, but what size is it? 

When I was a child we didn't have running hot water in our house so we had a shower head that had a built in electric heating element and it had a switch on the wall to turn it off and on. Could it be one of those perhaps?

[JoeAzza]

Hi @dennisyy66 have you tried using the Google identify app, I think you use it by taking a photo of the the part u=you want to identify, 

Hopefully it will help.

[dennisyy66]

Thanks I think it's some kind of timer as well. You can't turn the face of the device but if you turn the switch on, the wheels inside will start running. 

There is no solar installed. Hot water is gas.