All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Thanks Bill! Good advice. As we remove the pump from the foundation, we'll try to keep intact - it's in great shape, so would guess it would be a good collector's item. I read somewhere that the plungers in those days were leather, so it will be interesting to see what we find. I'll post another photo for y'all. And, I did find the padlock on a padlock collector's site, so I do believe there's value there...

Again - thanks, all!

Hi K. Marie,

Yes, they wanted out based on the pump. There was an initial concern about underground gas tank because the pump was initially designed for gas (applicable to any similar liquid), but the Enpro assessment addressed that. Also, even if there was a suggestion of an abandoned gas tank, the MA EPA regs state that any abandoned-use underground residential petroleum tank under 1100 gallons requires neither permit, inspection, extraction, nor is one even liable for 3rd party damages. See Reg 527 9.05. So the EPA basically says "no hazard" so no action needed, and Enpro said "it's a water pump" but still not enough. Per Enpro, a test for gasoline is only conclusive if there's standing gasoline floating on water, which after probably 70 years is not going to be found. It is a residential house in Lynn, near the beach. So...I hope you've all benefited from my research. I have!

Ok, so here's the final chapter. EnPro technician looked at pump and said, "There's no way this pump was used for gasoline, because the washers are made of rubber, and gasoline would corrode those very quickly. So given the plumbing to your basement, the style of the spigot on the pump and the rubber washer, I believe it was used for a rainwater cistern as well." This however, was not enough for the buyers, so they pulled out. I think they were looking for a "hazard" to knock the price down, unfortunately. So - back on the market! I'm dismantling the pump tomorrow, so we can have a clear view of the cistern. Thanks all who commented here! Renee

I looked again at the Gilbert & Barker company timeline, and realized that although the Gilbarco brand was in use after 1929, the labels on products still read Gilbert & Barker until 1965, when the corporation took the brand name as the company name. This puts the date of this out further as Bill Gully suggested. Bill, how could you tell it's brass? I couldn't tell until I pulled the handle up and the brass color was evident. Thanks! Renee

Thanks, everyone! The pump has been identified as a Gilbert & Barton (pre Gilbarco) Vertical Long Distance System, and was designed for gasoline use, but could be used for any liquid. It dates back to between 1912 and 1934. I wrote to Derek Bishop, an antiques collector who featured a similar pump 3 years ago on Collector's weekly (http://www.collectorsweekly.com/user/chevy59) about it. He replied: "Looks like cistern hand pump, to pump out the cistern (which stored rain water). Gilbarco hand pumps were used for this process as well. I am positive it was not used for gasoline." ~Derek Bishop

It's not definitive, but in chorus with all other comments here. Does anyone else have ideas about how I could be certain it was used for water and not gasoline? It has no smell of gasoline, but after 60+ years of disuse, would gasoline smell even still be present?

Renee

Thanks, Ann! It just occurred to me to look at the pipes coming underground from garage to basement laundry room. Several hold electrical wires, but one is clearly for water, which supports my friend's assumption. There's a capped line that probably went to the washing machine, and faucet at the end for direct access. Attaching new photo.

Hello all,

I've got a circa 1900 property with a pump in the garage, and there's no record at city hall of what it is for or when it was installed. There's a small padlock lock at the end of that chain on the right that must have hooked to the loop on the bottom of the handle primer. Can anyone identify it and what it was used for? My plumber suggests that because it has a pump primer it was for fluid - either water or gasoline.

A friend who was in the construction business his whole life said this: "Back in the days people gathered rain water from the roof and had cisterns (sp) in the house to collect the water and hold it so it could be used to wash cloths, dishes, etc. I guess just that and the pipe was went into the cistern and in the garage they had a compressor to pump the water into the house when needed. 99% certain if this was a game of chance."

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

RB in Massachusetts