Dole No3 Air Vent

Mike Cascio

I bought a few of these on Ebay NOS. They appear to be from the 80’s. I have an old one from a junk lot that could be from the 50’s. Both vents are identical. Very slow rate similar to a 1933 I think except this vent is significantly larger and retained a copper siphon tube. What is the difference between this no 3 and a 1933? And when did they start making these? They have a very art deco looking appearance similar to a hoffman 1.

Hap_Hazzard

As far as I can tell, Dole never made a #3 vent. They made a 3A, 3B and 3C, but none of them has a ⅛" side connection. The Dole 1933/Tunstall 11P has a ⅛" side connection and a 1/16" vent port, but it doesn't look quite like yours. The vent port is on the top. What you have looks like a USAV #884, which has a 3/32" vent port. How big is the vent port on yours?

Mike Cascio

This vent has a 5/64 port on it. I have an example from the 50’s-60’s based on the lettering on it, and these NOS ones from Ebay that look like they are from the 80’s. Here are some close ups of the 80’s valve.

Mike Cascio

I found this entry in a 1959 hvac catalog on archive.org. The no 3 was priced higher than the 1933 but less than the 1a valve.

Hap_Hazzard

Yeah, the 1A was the adjustable model. I have one, but the siphon is bent. I also have a handful of the 1933s. The 1A has a faceted body, like your vent, and the bottom says, "THE DOLE VALVE CO. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS." The 1933s are rounded, bullet shaped, with a cylindrical projection on the top. Two of them say, "THE DOLE VALVE CO. MORTON GROVE, ILL. U.S.A." and the other two say, "EATON YALE & TOWNE | DOLE DIVISION CAROL STREAM, ILL."
I had thought that the faceted style was an older design, before the company was bought by Eaton, but since your vents are faceted, and the boxes say Eaton, I'm not so sure now.