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Dug this out of a box today

Tinman
Tinman Member Posts: 2,808
edited August 2016 in THE MAIN WALL
Pulled this off of a boiler I replaced about 20 years ago. I believe the boiler predates WWII because of some of the castings on all of the burners. The signs that were cast were accepted socially pre-WWII because it had a different meaning.

Then, a certain psychopath got a hold of it and changed its meaning entirely.

I may have learned that from Dan?
Steve Minnich
GordySWEIKC_Jonesrick in AlaskaChrisJHilly

Comments

  • Danny Scully
    Danny Scully Member Posts: 1,416
    It was a Burnham I'm assuming?
  • Tinman
    Tinman Member Posts: 2,808
    Everything on it said Bryant. I still have the data plate and it said Bryant manufacturing as well.
    Steve Minnich
  • Danny Scully
    Danny Scully Member Posts: 1,416
    Wow, how did I miss that on the gauge? Burnham had a boiler called the Swasteeka, I've seen a few of those.
  • Tinman
    Tinman Member Posts: 2,808
    I'll post a picture tomorrow. I kept the valve, 3/8" pipe assembly, and orifice for one of the burners. Two swastikas on that one short piece. I had six of them but it made me uncomfortable having them. On each of the cast iron sections, there was a swastika too.
    Steve Minnich
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,042
    OK, I have looked at this 10 different times over the last 2 days and don't see what I had anticipated would be there. Just from reading your text I figured what to look for but don't see it.

    So point it out for an old guy with the beginning of cataracts.
    I have even undressed and gutted the dog several times looking for this. ;)
    HatterasguyRomanGK_26986764589
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    Maybe you posted the wrong pic?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Danny Scully
    Danny Scully Member Posts: 1,416
    What we're referring to is casted into the boiler sections and isn't pictured.
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,583
    Yes, it had a very different meaning to everyone before WWII.

    Here's the inside of the Spirit of St Louis's propeller spinner, though I believe it wasn't used as it cracked before he left for France.

    I believe it was a symbol of good luck before WWII.




    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • Pumpguy
    Pumpguy Member Posts: 645
    At one time I was told that symbol is of Native American origin. It was used in mirror image at a Boy Scout camp I attended back in the '50s.
    Dennis Pataki. Former Service Manager and Heating Pump Product Manager for Nash Engineering Company. Phone: 1-888 853 9963
    Website: www.nashjenningspumps.com

    The first step in solving any problem is TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM.
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,583
    edited August 2016
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

    The swastika (also known as the hakenkreuz, gammadion cross, cross cramponnée, pellahydren, or tetraskelion) (as a character: 卐 ) is an ancient religious symbol that generally takes the form of an equilateral cross, with its four legs bent at 90 degrees.[1][2] It is considered to be a sacred and auspicious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism and dates back to before the 2nd century BC.[3] It continues to be commonly used as a religious symbol in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

    @Pumpguy looks like it's from India.
    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • Tinman
    Tinman Member Posts: 2,808
    edited August 2016
    I'll be at the shop within a couple hours. I'll post the part with the symbol I was referring to then. Sorry for the confusion.
    Steve Minnich
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    "Witching" a couple hours?

    http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com/
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
    Tim Potter
  • rick in Alaska
    rick in Alaska Member Posts: 1,457
    I see the name Fred Rohr on the propellor. Any relation to Hot Rod do you suppose?
    Rick
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796

    I'll be at the shop within a couple hours. I'll post the part with the symbol I was referring to then. Sorry for the confusion.

    ;)
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Tinman
    Tinman Member Posts: 2,808
    Here tis. Every main burner had this set up.
    Steve Minnich
  • SWEI
    SWEI Member Posts: 7,356
    You could probably sell those on eBay as German collectibles...
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,272
    Hi: That symbol was used by Crane Company also. You'll see it on their older valves. If I remember correctly, it's listed as a trademark in their catalog from 1925. B)

    Yours, Larry
  • Tinman
    Tinman Member Posts: 2,808
    Yeah, I realize they are probably valuable to someone, but I'd hate to be part of a transaction where they could end up in some hate-mongering individual's hands.
    Steve Minnich
    jonny88
  • Tinman
    Tinman Member Posts: 2,808
    edited August 2016
    Here's the boiler data plate. Looks like it may be from '45 which would be a little late to still use it.
    Steve Minnich
  • BobC
    BobC Member Posts: 5,476
    The Hull town hall had a tile floor that had swastika's laid into the pattern when it was installed.

    ================

    Massachusetts Town Votes To Remove Indian Swastikas

    Reuters
    Published: January 14, 1990

    HULL, Mass., Jan. 13, 1990— Officials of this seaside community near Boston have decided to remove a floor whose tiles have American Indian swastikas inlaid in them. The floor was laid in Town Hall 66 years ago, before the Nazis adopted the ancient mystic emblem.

    Selectmen voted Wednesday night to carpet over the mosaic floor after protests from the Jewish Defense League. It will eventually be altered to eliminate the swastikas.

    For American Indians, the swastika is an emblem of peace and good luck. Nazi Germany saw to it that the crooked cross was associated with virulent anti-Semitism and the deaths of six million Jews.

    Hull, a coastal community about eight miles from downtown Boston, is home to about 1,000 Jews, town officials said. The inlaid floor was first criticized six years ago by a local newspaper columnist who is Jewish.

    ============

    Bob
    Smith G8-3 with EZ Gas @ 90,000 BTU, Single pipe steam
    Vaporstat with a 12oz cut-out and 4oz cut-in
    3PSI gauge
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    Symbolism......
    Canucker
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 15,583
    SWEI said:

    You could probably sell those on eBay as German collectibles...

    Perhaps, but the symbol is incorrect for the Third Reich. It needs to be spun 90 degrees.

    Single pipe quasi-vapor system. Typical operating pressure 0.14 - 0.43 oz. EcoSteam ES-20 Advanced Control for Residential Steam boilers. Rectorseal Steamaster water treatment
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    ChrisJ said:

    SWEI said:

    You could probably sell those on eBay as German collectibles...

    Perhaps, but the symbol is incorrect for the Third Reich. It needs to be spun 90 degrees.


    Actually turned 45 degrees..........90 degrees gives the same resulting image.
    RomanGK_26986764589
  • Tim McElwain
    Tim McElwain Member Posts: 4,612
    That symbol was actually used as a mechanical symbol on a lot of pre WW2 equipment and had no connection whatsoever to Nazi Germany at that time.