Hi @Sdarmstrong , thats a lot different to Cement Mixers! That is indeed variously a "Hydra Burner", Hydra Cooker, Cooker, Gasoline, Single Burner No.1, or No.1 Burner etc. That one would be called a Type E as it has the last version of the assembly but fitted with the toroid shaped burner vapouriser. At their most basic they are a pressurised tank of petrol which is set up to fire a horizontal jet of flame along a trench or under a set of cooking vessel supports to enable cooks to fry/boil/bake food. They came into their own with "Insulator" Cookery, whereby 6-Gallon cooking vessels of veg/meat/rice etc were brought to a boil for a predetermined length of time and then removed to insulated "Hay Boxes" to continue cooking in their own heat for a further predetermined time before they were served. In this way the use of the Petrol for cooking could be optimised (And the food kept warm for travelling/serving etc). Smaller 3-gallon "Dixies" were also used for smaller volumes and for tea-making duties etc. Ovens could also be set on the stands/trench plates for baking and roasting. They were also employed as alternative sources of heat for Soyer Cookers, Shower Units, Disinfection Units, Laundry Boilers etc. A useful portable heat source I am working on a history of them, taking a while but I am getting there..... They were introduced in 1939, and the design modified/improved until the "final" styles of Types E & F were in place by 1944. They then saw nearly continuous service until the early 1990s when the mass use of Diesel as a fuel rather than Petrol did away with them. They were also long in the tooth (albeit safe if serviced/used correctly). No.5's were converted to Propane, as were the trailer mounted No.4's and continued in service, but the No.1 was consigned to history. Great units, easy to use/maintain, show them lots of respect and only run them on additive free Naptha/Panel Wipe, you'll have years of fun use out of them Alec (Hydra Fanatic ) France 1939 Loch Broom 1953 Anzio Bridgehead April 1944 Jungle Operations 1970s (I think) Powering Soyers, Jordanian Desert 1958
Hi . Apart from cement mixers , my interests lie in road making , dairy equipment and anything that runs on paraffin….. like about 400 of them from blow lamps and stoves to lights and weed burners . So this is a fairly natural progression for me !!! I’m now looking for the containers to do a demo for the road gang while making lunch at one on our displays next year . Why panel wipe instead of petrol ?
The additives in petrol fracture out in the vapouriser, leading to rock hard deposits that choke tubes and block jets. Its not as big a problem as old leaded petrol, it was the worst, even in 1944 they advised against using leaded petrol because it chokes them up after a few hours. Unleaded is only a little better. After many years running Naptha, I've had not one blockage or failure Alec.
