Can anyone ID these very old looking burners ??? Found in Qld Australia.

I think they are for heating the oil pans/engines of farm equipment in the winter time...

 

@Marko57

I’ve never seen them before…

They look very interesting! I hope you took them home with you.


Cheers

Tony

 

I pondered brooding equipment and possibly kersoene fridge heaters. Both really don't need pressure for a workable design. Does the pump operate on fuel and air pressure or on hydraulic pressure on the fluid? Seems like the heater end goes into or under something like on a kero fridge.
You do find some interesting stuff.
I have no better idea though. Good luck.

 

@Tony Press @Sedgman
My son picked them up for me and he phoned a couple of hours ago to tell me they do have brass name tags on them.
The waiting for the pics of the name plates is driving me crazy, he did say Lighting Co is the last words in the name.
I will have them at my place tomorrow.

 

I’m waiting, too…

Interesting!!!


Cheers

Tony

 

@Tony Press
ATHENA EQUIPMENT
Sold by LOSCAM Trading Co pty ltd
I found an add 1954 so not as old as they look, maybe be older with more research.
Ideal for camp cooking and heating.

 

There are a few “LOSCAM” companies in Australia, but one was registered in Victoria and deregistered in 1993.

I haven’t found anything useful yet on "Athena Equipment", although there are a few "Athena" businesses in the farm and logistics sector.

Was the ad you found in the Weekly Times (Melbourne) 1 December 1954?

Cheers

Tony

 

From my professional career I associate “Athena” with steam autoclaves.
You’d need a good heat source for them if you were operating in the field.
Just a thought.…
Rodger

 

They were advertised in the ad I saw as "ideal for camp cooking and heating" (1954).


Tony

 

Interesting units and I looked at Trove a fair bit and whilst the company appears as two different but similar names (Loscam Pty Ltd and Loscam Trading Pty Ltd) at same address from 1947 to 1954 ads for the Athena at 20 shillings seem to be only from early 1954 through to the end of 1954. The company appears to have traded in everything under the sun including mattresses, sheaf knife covers, flooring etc.

Puzzling units as they still look odd for cooking. Hope to see images of one burning some day.

PDF of ads from Trove and Weekly Times attached.

 

It's a typical design (generically) for industrial type heating- insert under your fixed water tank. One classic use was for domestic hot water systems (after wood stoves but before propane). Industrial uses too. On a farm, possibly pasteurising milk or some other vat heating requirements.

That said, I'd have wanted my control valve dial to extend out to my pump/handle. Easy to add or reduce pressure, but actual adjustment of the flame via the control looks ... painful.

 

@Scrambler
I was thinking Bath/Hot water when I first seen them.
Now I'm over the moon to be able to add another maker to the Australian list.

 

@Sedgman
Thanks for spending the time to find all these adds, it seems odd they all are from 1954 when these burners have the look
of being made in the 20s-30s.
Cheers Marko.

 

@Tony Press
Hello Tony, All the adds so far have been from 1954.
My son arrived today with them, Dad, they are heavy. They were both full with kero.
I just finished giving them a bath, both burners were full of mud wasp nests.
Tomorrow I will attack them again with a bucket of hot soapy water.
Cheers Mark

 

Excellent!


Cheers

Tony

 

These are very interesting and unusual. How large are the burners and the tanks? It is hard to tell the scale by the picture.

 

Hello @Chumango
They are 600mm long.
The tanks are 220mm Dia and 100mm thick.
The very thick cast iron burner heads are 100mm Dia and 120 tall.
Cheers Mark.

 

Serious burner heads, Mark!


Tony

 

@Tony Press
1.800 kgs each. I can now see why the adds say used as a Heater.

Merry Christmas
Cheers Mark.