Collins water heater

[Ken Meyer]

Anyone seen this brand before? Any help on the age would be appreciated.

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[hausdok]

Hi,

I'm going to go out on a limb here and theorize that the manufacturer incorporates the year into the model number. The model is really a 110 and the 5 is pre-placed to represent the fifties. All the factory has to do then is stamp on the last digit as it corresponds to that year.

1957 - That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Bain]

It seems oxymoronic that the manufacturer's name is "Collins Concrete and Steel Pipe Co."

What do concrete and steel pipe have to do with water heaters?

[Richard Moore]

Well, Google isn't going to help much...

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The last time I saw a stamped data plate like that on a water heater I was never able to find anything on it either. Some other weird brand. In that case I "surmised" it was the same age as the house...38 years. It also had a real funky looking TPR valve. The fact that yours felt the need to boast of being "automatic", presumably meaning it has one of those new-fangled thermostat thingies, would seem to date it even more. How old was the place, what did the TPR valve look like, and do you have a photo of the whole thing?

[AHI in AR]

Seems kinda funny that the data tag states "for use only on AC circuits."

Ummmm, what else was there after the really early days long before any water heater with a stamped aluminum tag would have been made?

For the record, I would also assume 1950's just based on the style of the tag. I think Mike probably nailed it.

[Brandon Whitmore]

Ken,

nice photography skills. I doubt I would have gotten all of those numbers to show.

Just to be different, I will say that it's based on the serial number. It was manufactured February of 1955 since the first digit is the month, and the next to are the year. [:-slaphap

We're only 2 years off either way....

[Ken Meyer]

Thanks, everyone. The house was built in 1958, the water heater was in a hall closet with shelves built around it. From the outside, it was in remarkably good condition. I didn't think to take a photo of the whole thing,but the TPR valve did look a bit different. It could very well be as old as the house.

A couple of months ago, I had one that was wrapped in a thick blanket of insulation, so I could not determine it's age, and no one was willing to give me permission to remove the insulation. The buyer got a home warranty and less than 2 months later the WH conked. It was 41 years old.

Thanks for the compliment Brandon. My little Olympus 1050SW takes great closeups, and it's tough. I did do some Photoshop adjustments to make the numbers more visible.

[Kyle Kubs]

Thanks, everyone. The house was built in 1958, the water heater was in a hall closet with shelves built around it. From the outside, it was in remarkably good condition. I didn't think to take a photo of the whole thing,but the TPR valve did look a bit different. It could very well be as old as the house.

A couple of months ago, I had one that was wrapped in a thick blanket of insulation, so I could not determine it's age, and no one was willing to give me permission to remove the insulation. The buyer got a home warranty and less than 2 months later the WH conked. It was 41 years old.

Thanks for the compliment Brandon. My little Olympus 1050SW takes great closeups, and it's tough. I did do some Photoshop adjustments to make the numbers more visible.

At that age, likely not a TPR valve but a PR valve.

There is a web site, www.waterheaterrescue.com hosted by a great guy, Larry Weingarten, who has a love of old water heaters and maybe the biggest collection of water heaters since the time when they were a vessel that you poured water in the top and put a couple chunks of coal underneath. If anyone would know about the really old one's... He also sells a DVD video of a tour through the ages of water heater history, not real expensive and worth every penny if your into mechanical stuff.

Maybe we can get him to poke his head in here once in a while...

[Jim Katen]

Well, it's been a few years, but I found the soul mate to Ken's water heater. This house was built in 1956. It's out on NE 138th.

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