5.02-16: Universal Cooler 1952 Compressor

HHCC Accession No. 2003.123	HHCC Classification Code: 5.02-16

Description:

AN INTEGRAL HP COMPRESSOR (2 TO 3 HP), BY UNIVERSAL COOLER, TYPE A, CIRCA 1952 ‘ With 12 inch flywheel, designed for twin V belt drive, this twin cylinder, open system compressor, among the last of a breed, would mark the movement to increasingly higher compression speeds, a precursor of the then imminent move to direct drive, high speed hermetic motor compressor engineering.

Group:

5.02 Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Compressors - Commercial

Make:

Universal Cooler

Manufacturer:

Universal cooler

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Size:

12x12x17’h

Weight:

110 lbs.

Circa:

1952

Rating:

Exhibit, education, and research quality, illustrating the engineering trend to higher compression speeds in the second half of the 20th century, prior to the introduction of direct drive, high-speed, hermetic motor compressors.

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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.

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Donor:

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