12.06-3: Tuthill 1929 Single Stage Rotary Gear Pump

Description:

A single stage rotary gear pump, with cast and machined steel body, two hole flange and barrel mount and two point drive coupling for close, direct motor drive; with original oil piping, it would be part of the 3rd wave in engineering design, characterized by compacted, fuel oil pump assemblies, Tuthill Pump Co. Chicago, Circa 1929

Image Gallery (6 Images)

Group:

12.06 Pressure Atomizing Oil Burner Equipment and Systems - Fuel Pump Assemblies

Make:

Tuthill

Manufacturer:

Tuthill Pump Co. Chicago

Model:

Unknown

Serial No.:

Size:

5 x 3 x 6’ h

Weight:

5 lbs.

Circa:

1929

Rating:

Exhibition, education, and research quality, illustrating the engineering and design of early, single stage gear pumps for automatic home heating in Canada in the late 1920’s, a period in which the trend was to increasingly compacted fuel pump assemblies, here with barrel and flange mount for direct motor drive and close coupling .

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Provenance:

From York County (York Region) Ontario, once a rich agricultural hinterlands, attracting early settlement in the last years of the 18th century. Located on the north slopes of the Oak Ridges Moraine, within 20 miles of Toronto, the County would also attract early ex-urban development, to be come a wealthy market place for the emerging household and consumer technologies of the early and mid 20th century.

This artifact was discovered in the 1950’s in the used stock of T. H. Oliver, Refrigeration and Electric Sales and Service, Aurora, Ontario, an early worker in the field of agricultural, industrial and consumer technology.

This assembly was used in York County [York Region] north of Toronto in the 1930’s

Type and Design:

Single stage rotary gear pump, exquisitely crafted
Cast and machined steel body, barrel and two hole flange mount two point drive coupling for close, direct motor drive, original oil piping, all part of the 3rd wave in engineering design, characterized by increasingly compacted, fuel oil pump assemblies.

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Technological Significance:

From the vantage point of the early 21st century, the evolution of oil fired, automatic home heating equipment would be seen as generally advancing in four broad waves, each of which would take place over a considerable period of time, each producing many variations of the genre: Vaporizing, non-motorized and non-electrified, technology [see Group 11.01 artifacts, no. 11.01-1] Elemental, motorized, platform mounted technology with peripheral piping and valving components [see Group 12.01, artifact no 12.01-1, and pump assembly 12.06-1] Compacted motorized technology with inherent, peripheral component parts engineered into the pump assembly [see pump assembly Group 12.06, artifact, and 12.06-2] Functionally integrated, motorized technology, beyond being compacted, a number of functions would be smoothly integrated into a single pump assembly, including piping and valving [see Group 12.01, artifact 12.01-2 and pump assembly 12.06-2] Seen here is an early, compact rotary gear pump, for close coupled, direct drive application, beginning to reflect the drive configuration to be found on the mainstream of oil burners through the balance of the 20th century. This pump assembly stands as a late example of the 3rd wave of fuel oil pump assemblies The close coupled, direct drive configuration used here would be an early application of the design commonly found throughout the industry to the end of the 29th century

Industrial Significance:

This requisitely crafted and machined gear, miniature gear pump would be a marvel of engineering design and production of the day Tuthill would be widely acknowledged in the industry as an early innovator in the field, providing many of the engineering ideas, principles, products and breakthroughs which the industry would bill on ‘ see for example ID#271.

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Socio-cultural Significance:

In spite of an inherently cautious Canadian public and its attitude towards new fangled, electro-mechanical contraptions in the early years of the 20th century, consumer interest in automatic oil heating equipment for the home grew surprisingly rapidly - amongst those that could afford to aspire to such luxuries in a period of national economic depression. Household machines, refrigerators and oil burners in the basement, would be the “show and tell” subjects of the day for many upper-middle class homeowner, those with interests in ‘conspicuous wealth’, anxious and willing to demonstrate their latest life style purchases. The master narrative told here, the one to which almost all others relate, is that of the emergence of ‘machinery in the Canadian home’. As the 20th century dawned, Canadians, accustomed to their resource-based, extractive economy were used to transportation, traction and motive power machines in farm, mill and factory, where they seemed to rightfully belong. With the 1920’s, however, all that was about to change ‘ and change dramatically Here-to-for, the familiar motive power, rotating machines of farm, mill and factory were driven by central station power plants, water, steam and later internal combustion engines. But it was with the advent of motive power packaged in unitary, moveable forms, as in the ‘stationary’, gasoline engine [explosion engine] and the electric motor that a new era in motive power was made possible for home, as well as for farm, mill and factory applications It was principally the fractional horsepower, single phase, induction electric motor [see note #1] that made possible the introduction of machinery into the home, and with it ‘the end of quiet’ [see historical artifacts Classification Group 16,00, see Reference #1].
With the introduction of self powered machines into the home also came the introduction of automated, self regulating machinery, machinery that would turn itself on and off, without the touch of human hand - the refrigerator, oil burner and water pump. These automated, inanimate objects also introduced new rhythms into the home, each with its distinctive hum and beat, each coming on and off with its own unique operating rhythm. The aroma of oils, vapours and materials, once foreign in the household, would also fallow. The 20th century ‘electro- mechanical’ Canadian home had arrived, much the same as the digital Canadian home would arrive in little more than half a century later ‘ changing all. The consequences were profound, spelled out in terms of the social, cultural and economic changes wrought.

Donor:

G. Leslie Oliver, The T. H. Oliver HVACR Collection

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Bibliographic References:

1. Instructions for Installation, Fess Automatic Oil Burners, TypyJR, TypeF, DA, DS, DAE, D3, BI, Fess Oil Burners of Canada Limited, Toronto, undated
2. Fractional Horsepower Electric Motors, Cyril Veinott, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1948

Notes:

Possibly Fess Oil Burners of Canada, suggested by the black/green enamel characteristic of the manufacturer For an account of the construction, operation, installation and servicing of fuel oil pump assemblies see ‘Better Oilheating, A service Guide, Operation and Maintenance of Oil Burners, Second Edition, 1959, Fueloil and Heat, N.Y.

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