Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Eco 97 (1948) restoration

I got this meter a couple years ago and finally had time to break it down and put it back to new. Although it looks rough on the outside the internals were really in good shape with minimal corrosion (except the insides of the lower cast plenum that houses the diaphragm (pix to follow). Jack Sim has provided the necessary pieces to make it operate and look new again. His book has been invaluable. Thanks Jack (and Cindy too!)

Before:

This is a 1948 model according to Jack and is the 2nd year for this model (Eco 97). There are a few features on this model (according to Jack) that are not found on later models. I'll point them out as I go on.

Here are the guts broken down for mechanical and cosmetic restoration (notice the original brass bell after a bit of elbow grease and quad ought steel wool):

This pin is located at the top of the mechanism box and holds the top geared wheel in place. It is wire-tied to a small boss near it. I believe this pin went away in later models.

This copper "drain tube" which is behind the main valve is supposedly not found on new versions of the tireflators....

This is a "felt oiler" at the end of the tireflator spring that Jack has stated were removed from future designs or during maintenance....

Here is what was found in the diaphragm plenum. I'm thinking that the system missed a daily moisture purge, or two over the years! I used a strong concentration of muriatic acid to eradicate the rust on the inside of the cast iron diaphragm housing......

Parts ready for reassembly following mechanical and cosmetic restoration....







I wanted to use the original face as the reproduction faces have a different message. The few "warts" on the face are acceptable to me....

Insides getting put back together. I'm waiting on frame, shroud pieces, and base mount at the powder coaters for final assembly....

https://youtu.be/e3lAMWORJsY

Not so good at embedding a video, but this link is a quick test to ensure the systems work. Surprisingly it was only off by one psi prior to calibration.

Looks really good!

Nice progress update. The restoration looks like a first-class job. Make sure to post pics when the bodywork gets back from the powder coating place.

BrianH

Neat to see the before and after pictures. Really nice workmanship.

Nice work, you went the extra mile.

Looks great.

Thanks guys. Have really enjoyed working on this. The design is quite impressive and robust. Very few pieces needed to be replaced. I will have to leave the back end of the tireflator open to show off the mechanical visual features when its operating and in my shop. BTW, I am finishing up a refurb of my detached garage and the air meter will mount in this area....

Nice job! looks like new.

Impressive thanks for sharing job well done!!!!

Nice breakdown , Fantastic job . Thanks for sharing this with us.

Love what looks like a vintage American Flag!!
Great work on the air meter!! Wow there are a lot of parts in that thing!!
Look forward to seeing it done!

Thanks, the flag came out of a northern Kentucky grade school that was torn down (and left behind!) recently. It has great patina and the cast iron base looks just right. It has 50 stars - so newer than 1959.

More pictures of your shop area if you don't mind. So clean!!

Ha, "so clean"! Well it is getting there, but this is a working garage and used for max storage as well, so it does look busy. I have a bunch of furniture that needs to be disposed of which is taking up one whole bay of my 2.5 car shop. My detached shop was built in '03 by previous owner. We moved in in '14 and I inherited a blank slate (interior-wise) in a solid brick construction build (see photo) and it fortunately had a 100 amp service. Slowly but surely I have refurbished it to add insulation, dry wall, wainscoting, overhead oscillating fans, heating (propane), a/c (window unit), professionally epoxied floor, shelving, additional 110/220V lines throughout, compressor with air lines throughout the shop, and a lift (requiring re engineered trusses to provide additional height).




By the way, the antique Western Electric phone on the wall is fully operational and connects to another W. E. phone set in the house which we use as an intercom.

Thanks for the pictures, great setup, like the work station with the hanging lights!

Finished this up last spring. Easy to calibrate and quite accurate when done.

Very nice job. Looks great.

-Steve

Mockingbird, nice place. Off subject but is there a benefit to that copper tubing & elbows on your air supply? Chris

....and why the up and down radiator type pattern on the supply line?

Thanks fellas. I picked copper tubing for a couple of reasons. First off, it is strong, durable, and relatively low cost and easy to work with. There is some really good info on Copper at this web site to help with planning:

Copper Tube Handbook

My second reason is because it looks really good and it goes well with my retro theme of my work shop. So, I externally mounted it to show off its wonderful look.

The back-and-forth weaving of the copper tubes near the compressor is to provide a long run of tubing in a small space to cool the compressed air in order to remove the moisture (via a trap with a valve located off to the left of the compressor), before it gets to the pneumatic tools used down range.

Ya I was askin bout the bak & forth tubing also. Thanks 4 the reply. Chris

Yeah - I got that you were asking that.

I thought it was for water or condensation! Nice job Sam, and great manual! Great job on eco also!