Colonial Instruments Inc

07/21/2022

Here at Colonial Instruments, Inc. we work hard, but we also enjoy getting creative and having a bit fun from time to time. So, we decided to do a Throwback Thursday Vintage Gauge Showcase.

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I purchased two of these vintage pressure gauges from an estate auction in Kansas last year. Based on my research, they are a circa 1940 pressure gauge manufactured by the Ashcroft Manufacturing Company, at the time, a division of Manning Maxwell & Moore. (Henry Manning, Eugene Maxwell, Charles Moore)

These particular pressure gauges are an Ashcroft Model Number 1078. The gauge featured a 24” Illuminated Dial and was a termed a “Master Gauge”. This gauge is extremally unique and very rare in many ways. I am aware of only one other of these 24” Ashcroft gauges still in existence. To start it has a very large 24” diameter dial and was used as the master gauge of a boiler room. These gauges are designed to be suspended from a ceiling, at a centrally located point, for ease of reading from a distance. This particular 24” gauge is double-sided and is illuminated through milk glass dial faces on both sides. One of the dial faces of this gauge was broken upon arrival, so the decision was made to not replace the dial, and instead, leave it open to see the workmanship that went into this gauge.

I was blown away when I opened the case and found it had 8 Bourdon tubes inside. Four Bourdon tubes and two independent movements for each dial side drive the two pointers.

Eugene Bourdon patented the Bourdon tube in Paris on June 18, 1849. Some, 175 years later Bourdon tubes are still the standard measuring element in a modern pressure gauge. Another notably unique feature of this gauge is the wish-bone, or double spring design, of the Bourdon tubes. This double spring bourdon tube improvement design was patented on February 22, 1859 by Thomas W. Lane of Meredith New Hampshire, patent number 23,032. I have been in the pressure gauge business since 1979 and up until a few years ago I had never seen or heard of this double spring bourdon tube, as it's no longer used today. To open this gauge and find this design inside, again blew me away.

Last week the restoration work on this gauge was completed and it is now suspended and illuminated as the center piece in our office. I hope you all enjoy these photos as much as we have enjoyed restoring this “Master Gauge”.

We Go the Extra Mile, It’s Never Crowded!

Brian Carmona
President
Colonial Instruments, Inc.
Nashua, NH

01/23/2020

At Colonial Instruments, Inc. we occasionally like to have some fun. As the old saying goes, “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy.” So to lighten things up a bit (pun intended), we embarked on a journey through time, back to the age of old, when steam power reigned supreme.

Everyone at the office designed and built our own unique “steampunk” themed lamp. We used original vintage instrumentation and some elbow grease and would now like to show off the fruits of our labor. We hope you enjoy.
So what is “steampunk”? Well we just thought it was plain old cool….but if you want to know more
“Steampunk is a retro-futuristic subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.” Read More on Wikipedia

Colonial Instruments Steampunk Lamp Project

At Colonial Instruments, Inc. we occasionally like to have some fun. As the old saying goes, “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy.” So to lighten things up a bit (pun intended), we embarked on a journey through time, back to the age of old, when steam power reigned supreme.

Everyone at the office designed and built our own unique “steampunk” themed lamp. We used original vintage instrumentation and some elbow grease and would now like to show off the fruits of our labor. We hope you enjoy.
So what is “steampunk”? Well we just thought it was plain old cool….but if you want to know more
“Steampunk is a retro-futuristic subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.” Read More on Wikipedia

12/15/2019

Colonial Instruments Company Christmas Party

10/29/2019

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/ALL-NEW-Website---Colonial-Instruments.html?soid=1128084944463&aid=6OFnfqprY1M

Check out our ALL NEW website. https://colonialgauges.com

12/12/2017

12/01/2017

Happy Holidays from the Everyone at Colonial Instruments!

04/25/2017

Busy day for the boys in the Colonial Instruments Shop.

04/25/2017

Custom Built DP Gauge and 5 Way Valve Manifold Assembly for Natural Gas Service

02/17/2017

Vintage Fire Truck Pressure Gauge Restoration is coming along nicely. Almost complete. We just finished laser engraving the dials.

10/06/2016

Protect your Pressure Instruments from Heat. Excessive exposure to heat can cause your pressure gauges and pressure transmitters to read inaccurately. Most Bourdon tube pressure gauges will exhibit an additional 0.4% error in span for every 18°F above reference conditions (68°F). So if your instrument is running at a temperature of 200°F that's an additional 3% error in reading added to the manufacturer's stated accuracy. Keep your instruments accurate on critical applications by using diaphragm seals and properly selected additional heat dissipating elements. Pictured here we have unit shipping today for a customer that consists of a Wika 232.34 Process Gauge with an 8" cooling element and a Wika L990.10 Diaphragm seal with high pressure bolting and a silver plated inconel X-750 process gasket, and a special high temperature silicone system fill. This unit can run at process temperatures up to 750°F without any significant loss of accuracy.

At Colonial Instruments we can help you select the proper instrumentation to assure you get accurate measurements.

12/08/2015

Restoration Photos

12/08/2015

The Colonial Instruments Vintage Holiday Gauge is Officially Lit.