General Information

Serial #

43536

Part Number

1

Total Parts

5

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Cast iron body & parts./ Copper piping inside & out.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

N/A

Width

73.0 cm

Height

105.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Domestic Technology

Category

Plumbing

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Ruud

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Pennsylvania

City

East Pittsburgh

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

The Ruud Mfg. Co. became established in Canada in 1908 with a factory in Toronto, they later expanded from this base.

Function

Used for heating large quantities of water for households. This model was considered the standard size for a 'modern' household, having a kitchen, 2 bathrooms & a laundry (Ref. 1)

Technical

An exclusive feature of Ruud water heaters was to provide a means of diverting condensation from lower coils to outside of heater - thus protecting heater coils, burner and base against condensation damage. The double gas valve system provided greater control and prevented overheating water and wasting fuel (Ref. 1)

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Mfr.'s plate reads:"RUUD INSTANTANEOUS AUTOMATIC/ WATER HEATER/ SIZE No. 4/ TYPE F/ SERIAL No. 43536/ PATENTED/ SEPT. 6, 1898/ SEPT. 10, 1901/ FEB. 23, 1904/ MAY 31, 1904/ [RUUD LOGO] RELIABILITY EFFICIENCY DURABILITY ECONOMY/ PATENTED/ [See Pat. reference for dates]/ AND OTHER PATENTS PENDING/ RUUD MANUFACTURING COMPANY/ PITTSBURG, PA." ; "RUUD" cast on front ; "No. 4" cast on back ; 2 round award plates...1st plate reads: "[EAGLE] GOLD MEDAL/ LOUISIANA PURCHASE/ EXPOSITION" ; 2nd plate reads: "To/ Edwin Ruud/ for his/ AUTOMATIC WATER HEATER/ 1904/ AWARDED BY THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE" ; 2 instruction plates...1st plate reads: "TO START HEATER/ 1ST - GAS COCK 'A' AND PILOT VALVE/ 'B' MUST BE CLOSED./ 2ND - REGULATE FLOW OF WATER BY/ VALVE 'C' TO RATED CAPACITY./ 3RD - OPEN VALVE 'B' THEN LIGHT/ AND ADJUST PILOT-LIGHT TO A/ SMALL FLAME./ 4TH - TURN GAS COCK 'A' FULL OPEN." ; 2nd plate reads: "CAUTION/ SHOULD THE PILOT-LIGHT BECOME/ EXTINGUISHED, DO NOT APPLY ANY/ LIGHT TO BURNERS OR PILOT-LIGHT/ BEFORE GAS COCK 'A' HAS BEEN/ CLOSED FOR THREE MINUTES./ THEN LIGHT THE PILOT. LIGHT AND/ TURN THE GAS COCK 'A' PULL OPEN./ FOR FURTHER INFORMATION SEE/ PRINTED DIRECTIONS."

Missing

N/A

Finish

Black enamel exterior. Gold enamel highlighting on cast decorative elements. Gold coloured awards. Nickel plated door handles. White & black enamel instruction plates.

Decoration

Scroll-like motifs cast on lower panels, front & back; Plant-like motif cast on upper door panels, front & back. Fleur-de-lys-like pattern cast around the top.