Today's what is it?

[Hemlock]

I went to an estate sale today. Found a few tools worth buying, but not worth putting pictures up. A file, Craftsman slip joints and magnetic pick up, that sort of thing.

Also two Foley aluminum items, one is a citrus juicer, the other may or may not belong to it. Either it's for juicing into a glass, or it's an unrelated funnel. I had to straighten the funnel part a bit, but it came out nicely. Anybody know anything about them?

The last item is a mercury switch marked Minneapolis Honeywell. Anybody know anything else about it? The leads are very flexible, insulated with individual ceramic "beads".

 

[beamrider]

Honeywell is HVAC equipment, sounds like a mercury switch for a type of industrial thermostat.

 

[The Cobbler]

yup a mercury switch for perhaps a hot water heating system (pipe temp) an outdoor controller or something like that

 

[larry_g]

The juicer set is just that. Check if the funnel doesn't just fit into the opening of a mason jar.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[jask]

That is a canning funnel, my Grandmother had the same.

 

[Hemlock]

Thanks guys. The juicer and funnel fit well together, but I didn't think they were really a set. Any idea what the mercury switch was used for? Some kind of float application, like for a sump pump maybe?

 

[kalamerm]

search for "mercury switch"

 

[notlob]

Any idea what the mercury switch was used for? Some kind of float application, like for a sump pump maybe?

From Wikipedia: "Honeywell came into being through the invention of the damper flapper, a thermostat for coal furnaces, by Albert Butz, in 1885 and subsequent innovations in electric motors and process control by Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company tracing back to 1886. In 1906, Mark C. Honeywell founded Honeywell Heating Specialty Co., Inc. in Wabash, Indiana. Honeywell's company merged with Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company in 1927. The merged company was called the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company."

The switch is most likely from some type of a heat regulator, such as a thermostat. Many old thermostats operate by a mercury switch attached to a bimetallic coil:

 

[theoldwizard1]

Also two Foley aluminum items, one is a citrus juicer, the other may or may not belong to it. Either it's for juicing into a glass, or it's an unrelated funnel. I had to straighten the funnel part a bit, but it came out nicely. Anybody know anything about them?

I am pretty sure it is a funnel for filling Mason jars with fruit for home canning.

 

[benny42]

The mercury switch is from an old thermostat or a mercoid. Pretty common back when...
Not worth much now, most a/c supply houses will legally dispose of it for you. Don't
break it.