MTFCA Forum

I just acquired this brass Carbide Generator. It looks as though someone took it all apart to do a restoration on it. All the brass is straight. I've never seen one of these apart before. It is missing the basket for the carbide, and I think some sort of rubber gasket to seal the top and the bottom of the tank? also some sort of other tank that goes inside the top water tank? So a few questions as to how these things are assembled:
There are two pieces of piping a short and a long which holes do they mount to and come out of on the switch and the bottom plate?

The levers on the sides that hold the top and the bottom tank together, how are they fastened to the inside of the tank?

There is a bottom plate with two screws and nuts attached that I presume goes to the top of the water tank, is there another piece that attaches to this bottom plate?

It came with three pieces of metal that has a slight curve in them. I have no idea what these are for.

From the looks of this tank it appears to be an early E and J but not sure.
Perhaps someone on this forum has taken apart one of these before. Really it just needs to be assembled. The brass is in really great condition just needs a polishing.

Thanks guys for your help!
Mike

Mike, Looks like you have a Corcoran Generator. It is identical to a Jno Brown except for the base and Jno Brown tag. I have a completely restored Jno Brown that I could send pictures to you for reference. If you call me I can give you some advise on modifications, missing parts, incorrect parts and restoration tips for a correct Jno Brown 1911-12 generator. 586-243-7202 AL

My understanding is that brass era Brown and Corcoran generators are nothing alike in their general appearance other than being dimensionally the same. I recognize what Mike posted as a brass era Corcoran -- round base and cam clamps. Jno. Brown had a cast base with three feet and wingnuts for clamps (among other small differences). When Brown went to black-and-brass, the style looked more like a brass era Corcoran and it wouldn't surprise me if not all manufacturers made their own generators, but sourced them elsewhere and had them made under their name. Even amongst all the different designs they will share several similar features like the concentric rings stamped into the bottom plate and the valves appear very similar. The shared manufacturing is just a theory on my part.

Question for Walter: Thanks for posting this photo of the Jno Brown unit. Is this example correct for late 1912?

Forgot to add if this unit is correct for a 1912, what is the Center distance from one base hole to the next? I’m hoping it’s 6”. Thanks!

Darren J Wallace wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 07, 2020 1:12 pm

Forgot to add if this unit is correct for a 1912, what is the Center distance from one base hole to the next? I’m hoping it’s 6”. Thanks!

I have a 3-foot unit that does not have a tag on it. In all respects it looks identical to other early Browns that I've documented (originals, not reproductions) and the mounting holes measure 6-7/16" c-to-c. I compared that to photos I have of an original with its tag and it measured the same. I also have a similar looking 4-foot unit that was bartered to me as a Brown unit that I now believe is not for a number of reasons and the base on it is bigger-yet when measuring the bolt circle as radius from the center-out. Not really relevant to this discussion I guess, but thought I'd throw that out there should somebody run across one. Even if it was manufactured by Brown, I don't think they were used on T's.

As to whether or not they were used on a 1912, I cannot say. I have heard someone say that the all-brass Brown generators weren't used after 1910, but that seems unusual if what they say is true that the lamps were sold by the manufacturers as full sets, generators included. We know from era photos that a lot of 1912's were outfitted with 19's, 100's and 105's and that later there was a black-and-brass Brown generator, so I don't know what the justification is for saying there was a gap in their use.

The few 1912 photos I have that show cars with Brown lamps aren't good enough to tell what the generator is. E&J's are easy enough to pick out because of the big clamps, but you can't see enough of the details on a fuzzy photo of a Brown or Corcoran to tell the difference.

Many thanks for the insight!

I did figure out what those three pieces of steel are with a slight bend. The attach on the inside of the bottom tank under a lip. I’m not sure what function they serve though. Perhaps to keep the basket from jumping around? I saw this picture that helped me figure it out. Perhaps someone else can chime in?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1913-1914-Mode ... SwNaxegSTh

Know little of generators, but can share this photo found on past forum post. Appears to show the metal strips to hold the basket up.

Ok I’ve been looking over pictures and have been able to put most of the parts together. Can anyone verify if there is a gasket between the top tank and bottom?
Thanks

Hello Mike
Yes.... .06" flat rubber or thicker (old inner tube or rubber roofing) or composite sheet (standard gasket stock).

Regards,
Scott