MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Stanley]

Sorry, no. One clue, redundant these days I think.

[Tizer]

So it won't be a taser then?
Is it for lighting the gas?

[Gloria]

A label embossed???

[Cathy]

A large engraving tool.

[Stanley]

You are all getting further away. Think automotive electrical systems......

[Marilyn]

Manual spark producer for a sick battery?

[Gloria]

Tester for amount of voltage in live wires??

[Stanley]

Gloria is so near I have to give it to her I think.



It's a Davenset high rate discharge battery tester. In the days when the lead connecting links were exposed on the top of an automotive battery you bridged a cell with the copper points and this was almost a dead short, moderated by the resistance inside the tester which glowed red hot. This gave you a good idea of the health of the cell. Most batteries died because one cell had shorted internally because of the lead paste filling of the plates falling to the bottom of the battery and shorting the plates out. A temporary cure was to shake the battery, drain off the acid and refill with fresh acid at the right strength. A very well made and useful tool which is now completely redundant, lovely shape and design. So redundant that I can't find it! I might have given it away....
Next for shaving?

[Pluggy]

Gloria is so near I have to give it to her I think.



It's a Davenset high rate discharge battery tester. In the days when the lead connecting links were exposed on the top of an automotive battery you bridged a cell with the copper points and this was almost a dead short, moderated by the resistance inside the tester which glowed red hot. This gave you a good idea of the health of the cell. Most batteries died because one cell had shorted internally because of the lead paste filling of the plates falling to the bottom of the battery and shorting the plates out. A temporary cure was to shake the battery, drain off the acid and refill with fresh acid at the right strength. A very well made and useful tool which is now completely redundant, lovely shape and design. So redundant that I can't find it! I might have given it away....
Next for shaving?

Lead Acid batteries last a lot longer nowadays than they used to, My old Skoda ran for 9 years on its original battery. When I started out in cars you tended to have to replace them every 2 or 3 years. Exhaust systems are the same. Said Skoda still had its original when I sold it for a pittance.

I just had a look on https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ . The old brute has had its MOT renewed but its not taxed, which suggests its sat on a forecourt somewhere.

[Stanley]

Try this one.....

[Cathy]

Your truncheon.

[Stanley]

Is that a double entendre Cathy? Look carefully at the light coloured object, the darker items are the protective case.

[Cathy]

Thermometer?
At first glance I thought the white length was a tape measure.

[Gloria]

Thermometer for use with large animals....cows??

[Tizer]

Assuming the photo was taken with the thermometer having been at room temperature, the level of the mercury is very low down in the range suggesting it's intended to measure higher than body heat, more like up in the several hundreds range. Therefore I'd say it's either meant to sit, in its protective jacket, in a processing vessel or in a pipe carrying hot fluids such as steam.

[Stanley]

Tiz has got it, it's a thermometer for doing just what he says, inserting in a pocket in a pipe carrying superheated water under pressure at up to 450F. It was Newtons economiser thermometer. Ill bet it would cost a lot to replace it!
Next one?

[Tizer]

What's this?

[PanBiker]

Not semaphore, railway or maritime but they look like some kind of signalling flag.

[Tizer]

Correct so far, Ian! But communicating what message, and what else might be special?

[PanBiker]

Just had a thought are they for signalling impending blasting operations in a quarry?

[Tizer]

Good try, but no. I've just noticed that I said `correct so far' to your last post but now realise you said `not maritime'. So I have to admit (and give you a clue) that `not maritime' is incorrect. Hope that makes sense!

[PanBiker]

So they are maritime then, not standard signalling flags though.

[Stanley]

Hazard markings on containers?

[Tizer]

Sorry Stanley, no. Ian's right about them being signalling flags and they are maritime, but what do they signal and what else is unusual about them? I've got a feeling this is going to be difficult but we'll let it run a bit longer. I'll give you a clue - the signal is not something that you would usually expect to see in busy shipping lanes. It might happen rarely but would be more likely to be used near the shore.

[Stanley]

Flags to denote what type of fishing gear you are using?