First, the numbers Ron supplied.
MA 14151 indicates the pump was made in December, 1930
MC 21722 indicates the pump was made in December, 1932
The address for the Service Station Equipment Co. in Chicago, is actually the address for the parent John Wood Company.
Service Station Equipment Co. purchased Bennett in 1928. Then John Wood Co. purchased SSEC. In 1932, SSEC closed the Muskegon Plant and moved everything to Conshohocken, PA. During this time the ID tags would have SSEC name on them, not Bennett. Around 1938 the company returned to Muskegon, and started using the Bennett name again. I would have thought that Ron's first pump would have a Bennett name on it, but you can have all the literature in the world and then something different comes up.
My literature (dated 1950) states that the serial number had letters (one letter or two letters) followed by five or six numbers, no letters at the end.
The letters are what tell us the month and year.
It would be interesting to know what name you have on your ID tag, but I would guess your pump was made in the mid-30s.
Someone asked about the 4th Edition of the Blue Book. For some unknown reason I seem to be the only one with a copy. It covers pumps through 1961. I also have dating literature that I got directly from the Bennett and Tokheim Pump Companies.
In my spare time (yea, right) I have been consolidating all four editions using Excel. Everything will be in order by model (or cut) number. It will also include every piece of equipment made by the companies that I can find a record for and it will go all the way back to when the companies went in business. When it is finished I will offer it on a CD, can't afford to print anything anymore.
Jack Sim
Author, 1st & 2nd editions of Gas Pump ID book, 3rd edition is now available at
www.gaspumpbible.comAir Meter ID book also available