Guess What Year This Flow Meter Was Made
Last week a co-worker of mine was cleaning out some old marketing demos and found the beauty pictured below. This is an old Full-View variable area flow meter. We took guesses amongst ourselves as to what year this was manufactured. The product manager, Jim Dillon, had to find out. So he went and pulled technical microfilm … that’s right, I said microfilm! It took a a few days because the machine to read the microfilm needed a new fuse. This was turning into quite the project!!! Well … we found out the year. You can see the order form pictured below. I blocked out any indication of what year this was produced. Can you guess?
Take a guess before the year is through (deadline is 12/31/11) and the first ten (10) responders that guess the correct year this product was produced will win a 4GB memory stick shaped like our new GF40/80 thermal mass flow meter/mass flow controller.
-
- Guess the year this Full-View was made!
-
- Full-View Tag Close-up
-
- Order Form for Meter
-
- Win this 4GB Memory Stick
I say the year was 1954
My guess is 1958.
I will guess 1953. (We might even have a couple around here that are that old. eeek.)
I’m guessing that it was 1948.
Definitely it was made on 1951 !!!
Am I right?
My guess is 1955. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 TO EVERYONE !!!
OK, Jim, this is interesting, although all I can do is guess since you haven’t offered many clues. My guess is 1951.
You said the first ten people to guess correctly get a memory stick. Does this mean they all share a memory stick or each one gets a memory stick? It looks like you only have 3 or 4 entries.
Since you appear to be posing as an authority on rotameters, I have a couple of questions for you. When was the original rotameter invented and by whom? What company made the first rotameter? Why is it called a rotameter? What company now owns the original rotameter company? (OK, that one’s too easy). Who are the top three suppliers of rotameters? See my January article in Flow Control on VA meters for answers to some of these questions.
Jesse … since 5 people guessed the correct year, those 5 people each receive a memory stick. As for your trivia questions, I consulted with our VA product manager Jim Dillon, our answers are …
When was the original rotameter invented and by whom?
- We believe 100+ years ago by Rota in Germany.
What company made the first rotameter? Why is it called a rotameter?
- Two possible explanations … the float spins or rotates and/or since it was made by Rota.
What company now owns the original rotameter company?
- Yokogawa
Who are the top three suppliers of rotameters?
- Brooks, Krohne, Tokyo Keiso
The correct year is … http://www.brooksinstrument.com/blog/2012/01/guess-the-year-the-flow-meter-was-made-the-correct-year-is/
Rotameter in Germany may well be owned by Yokagawa now. I don’t know.
But Rotameter UK was located in Croydon and owns (or owned) the trademark everywhere except Germany.
They then became part of GEC Flow Measurement which Became Fisher Controls.
Fisher sold out here interests to KDG. (Houdec in France were also part of the group).
KDG merged with Solartron and somehow boith became owned by Roxboro. Both were then sold to Emerson.
Emerson Micromotion acquired the Solartron business (but not the name) and stopped manufacture of the Rotameter. Those who worked at Rotameter claim it was the better meter than the existing Emerson owned VA meter but that’s not for me to say.