Old and Unique Device....does anyone know what it is for??

JUGHNE

I came across this during a remodel.
Anyone here old enough to ever have installed one?

EBEBRATT-Ed

not me

JUGHNE

Late 1940's restroom item.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, Was it installed in the water supply to a toilet? Did the small tube go to a floor drain? Maybe a trap primer? What’s the name on the side of the thingie? Questions! 🤪
Yours, Larry

JUGHNE

You are getting warmer.....the name is "Kohler USA".

I could hear this operate thru my first 8 years in school.

mattmia2

Is it for one of those refill and flush after some period of time automatically urinal tanks?

PC7060

Haha, this is the part you mentioned during the tour of the Catholic school!   I believe @mattmia2 got it right. 

JUGHNE

Yes, you are the winner!

I had to study this for awhile and I think now understand how it works.

Auto syphon flush valve.
It was on a wall hung tank above 2 floor mount urinals.
Constant water fill.
Water would enter thru the bottom of the large cylinder and fill to where it would come out of the small tube and start the syphon down the outlet pipe to the urinal spuds.

Full flow emptying the tank until the syphon was broken by the larger tube (with 2 holes drilled in the end) sucking air when the tank was nearly empty.
Refill the tank and repeat.

Flush frequency varied by water fill flow rate.

This was still working fine when the restroom was remodeled.
In the basement of a church that housed the grade school I attended.
Restroom plumbing was added to the 1911church after the war in the late 1940's.
Outhouses until then.

JUGHNE

Pretty simple device, no moving parts other than water.
You could shut the water valve nearly down and still get an occasional flush.

Would be considered a water waster today.....but how does a floor drain trap primer work? This could have been used for that with a little piping.

But when this flushed it was a full tank of maybe 4 gallons and cleared the drain line, cigarette buts and all......not that anyone would have thrown their butts in there. The WC did a better job of removing that evidence.

EdTheHeaterMan

JUGHNE said:

Pretty simple device, no moving parts other than water.
You could shut the water valve nearly down and still get an occasional flush.

Would be considered a water waster today.....but how does a floor drain trap primer work? This could have been used for that with a little piping.

But when this flushed it was a full tank of maybe 4 gallons and cleared the drain line, cigarette buts and all......not that anyone would have thrown their butts in there. The WC did a better job of removing that evidence.

Why would there be cigarette buts in a Catholic School urinal. I remember that no one would dare get caught smoking in grade school or Sister Teresa Trashcan would wrap you on the knuckles with a yard stick. LOL

Steamhead

EdTheHeaterMan said:

JUGHNE said:

Pretty simple device, no moving parts other than water.
You could shut the water valve nearly down and still get an occasional flush.

Would be considered a water waster today.....but how does a floor drain trap primer work? This could have been used for that with a little piping.

But when this flushed it was a full tank of maybe 4 gallons and cleared the drain line, cigarette buts and all......not that anyone would have thrown their butts in there. The WC did a better job of removing that evidence.

Why would there be cigarette buts in a Catholic School urinal. I remember that no one would dare get caught smoking in grade school or Sister Teresa Trashcan would wrap you on the knuckles with a yard stick. LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwY4Yxjlm_c