is it a air compressor?

What is that? I have never seen it before. I'll sit through the henway jokes for an answer. Lol

 

the car is from the movie = the league of extraordinary gentleman

 

i wonder if it could be a old homemade diving compressor. lots of the diving equipment back in the day was homemade before suba tanks and equipment was available just a thought

 

...and an early prototype for the Tyrrell P34 F-1 car:

 

Damn, thought there was something old and opulent I haven't seen yet. Thanks.

 

That was my first thought when I saw the picture. I used and old belt drive refrigeration compressor for many years for my garage air compressor. Worked great.

 

You guys do know that you can take an older, stronger, Mason Jar, put some rocks in it so it will sink, then put some calcium carbide in it, then a bit of water, screw the lid on tight and pitch it in a pond and go fishing shortly!

Dam Acetylene self-ignites at not much pressure at all is why.

I want to say that acetylene bottles are filled with of course it along with some sort of light filler like cotton??? and then acetone that actually disolves the acetylene so that it can be pressurized, but PLEASE check me here.......

pdq67

 

-------------------------
True story- No Henway jokes this time.
When I was a kid, maybe 11 or 12 years
old, back in the early '60's, we used to
blow up paint cans with calcium carbide.
I don't know how we survived our
stupidity back then but we did. We'd tale
an empty 1-gallon paint can - the kind
with with a snap-on lid, and then take
a hammer and a finishing nail. and make
about an 1/8 inch or so diameter hole in
the side of the can, right near the bottom.
Then we'd put about a teaspoon or two
of calcium carbide in the can, add
about a teaspoons of water, and snap the
lid in place. Then we'd stand back and
wait a couple of minutes for the acetylene
gas to build up inside the can. When we
figured we'd waited long enough, an/or
the sides of the can would start to bulge
from the pressure (!), the bravest - actually
- the stupidest - among us would get down
on their hands and knees and creep up to
the can. Then crouching down as low as
possible and as far back from the can as
the their arm's reach would allow, light
a match and hold the flame in front of
the nail hole. The flame from the match
would instantly ignite the escaping
acetylene gas and suddenly there'd be
a huge, thunderous "KABOOM", a huge
orange fireball, and the lid from the
paint can would blast up into the sky
like a rocket, sometimes rising 70, 80,
100 or even more feet into the air!
Most times we'd see the lids come back
down and find them again, but a few
others just kind of 'disappeared' into
the ether, never to be seen again! God,
we must of been totally insane back
then!

Mart3406
===========================

 

It does kinda look like the air compressor my Dad made in the fifties. I still use it in the garage!

 

Acetylene generators made their own pressure as the gas was made .The carbide powder would drop into the water tank and create acetylene gas . I have a book with pictures of a pipeline being gas welded . The acetylene generators are in horse drawn wagons. So i think someone replaced a broken gauge with what they scrounged up.

 

plug it in and see, at your neighbors house.

 

Heres one i dont know the age of it

 

Torture device.

 

Does it have "ACME" stenciled anywhere on it, or a "Property of Wile E. Coyote" tag?

-Brad

 

the guy that lived next to me when i was a kid had one and claimed it was for inflating his girlfriend!