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(OT) How did those old gas station bells work?
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olds...@tubes.com
Sep 21, 2017, 1:46:50 PM9/21/17
to
Back in the 60s, when I was a kid, I remember that most gas stations had
a rubber hose (about the same size as an air compressor hose), that laid
across the driveway, by the gas pumps.
When a car pulled up to the pump, and drove over that hose, a bell would
ring inside the station. This was back when the station attendant would
come outside and fill your tank. Also when many stations were also auto
repair shops. Thus, if the attendant was working on a car, he needed
that bell to alert him that there was a customer.
What I remember, is that those hoses were plugged on the end, (where it
laid on the driveway). I also recall seeing that bell inside at least a
few gas stations.
What I dont know, is how it worked.
I recently was in a small rural town, and saw an old gas station, which
appeared to have been closed for years. In that lot, laid that old
rubber hose. That brought back memories as well as leaving me with a
question.... How did they work?
I considered googling them, but I dont know what they were called, so I
decided to post this question here. I'm assuming the bell was powered by
electric, unless it ran off compressed air.
I can only guess that driving over the hose in the lot would cause the
air inside the hose to trigger some sort of switch, maybe by a some sort
of sensitive diaphram.
Does anyone have more information about these? As a kid, I thought they
were fascinating, and now I'd like to know how they worked. It's a thing
no longer used, but the memory lives on.... As well as the memory of gas
station attendants who not only filled your tank, but would check your
oil, wash your windows, and even handed you some S&H Greenstamps based
on the amount of gas you bought.
a rubber hose (about the same size as an air compressor hose), that laid
across the driveway, by the gas pumps.
When a car pulled up to the pump, and drove over that hose, a bell would
ring inside the station. This was back when the station attendant would
come outside and fill your tank. Also when many stations were also auto
repair shops. Thus, if the attendant was working on a car, he needed
that bell to alert him that there was a customer.
What I remember, is that those hoses were plugged on the end, (where it
laid on the driveway). I also recall seeing that bell inside at least a
few gas stations.
What I dont know, is how it worked.
I recently was in a small rural town, and saw an old gas station, which
appeared to have been closed for years. In that lot, laid that old
rubber hose. That brought back memories as well as leaving me with a
question.... How did they work?
I considered googling them, but I dont know what they were called, so I
decided to post this question here. I'm assuming the bell was powered by
electric, unless it ran off compressed air.
I can only guess that driving over the hose in the lot would cause the
air inside the hose to trigger some sort of switch, maybe by a some sort
of sensitive diaphram.
Does anyone have more information about these? As a kid, I thought they
were fascinating, and now I'd like to know how they worked. It's a thing
no longer used, but the memory lives on.... As well as the memory of gas
station attendants who not only filled your tank, but would check your
oil, wash your windows, and even handed you some S&H Greenstamps based
on the amount of gas you bought.
Rob
Sep 21, 2017, 2:07:42 PM9/21/17
to
olds...@tubes.com <olds...@tubes.com> wrote:
> I can only guess that driving over the hose in the lot would cause the
> air inside the hose to trigger some sort of switch, maybe by a some sort
> of sensitive diaphram.
It is just a firm hose (that will go back to its original shape after
> I can only guess that driving over the hose in the lot would cause the
> air inside the hose to trigger some sort of switch, maybe by a some sort
> of sensitive diaphram.
a car has driven over it) closed at one end and with a pressure activated
switch on the other end. When a car drives over the hose, the air in the
hose is compressed and the switch activates.
The switch closes a circuit wired to the bell and a power supply.
Such pressure sensitive switches are used for other purposes as well,
e.g. to control the inlet of water in a washing machine. They are
commonly available.
John Larkin
Sep 21, 2017, 2:11:11 PM9/21/17
to
On Thu, 21 Sep 2017 12:45:31 -0400, olds...@tubes.com wrote:
>Back in the 60s, when I was a kid, I remember that most gas stations had
>a rubber hose (about the same size as an air compressor hose), that laid
>across the driveway, by the gas pumps.
>
>When a car pulled up to the pump, and drove over that hose, a bell would
>ring inside the station. This was back when the station attendant would
>come outside and fill your tank. Also when many stations were also auto
>repair shops. Thus, if the attendant was working on a car, he needed
>that bell to alert him that there was a customer.
>
>What I remember, is that those hoses were plugged on the end, (where it
>laid on the driveway). I also recall seeing that bell inside at least a
>few gas stations.
>
>What I dont know, is how it worked.
>
>I recently was in a small rural town, and saw an old gas station, which
>appeared to have been closed for years. In that lot, laid that old
>rubber hose. That brought back memories as well as leaving me with a
>question.... How did they work?
>
>I considered googling them, but I dont know what they were called, so I
>decided to post this question here. I'm assuming the bell was powered by
>electric, unless it ran off compressed air.
>
>I can only guess that driving over the hose in the lot would cause the
>air inside the hose to trigger some sort of switch, maybe by a some sort
>of sensitive diaphram.
The air pressure spike probably rang the bell directly, no electricity
>Back in the 60s, when I was a kid, I remember that most gas stations had
>a rubber hose (about the same size as an air compressor hose), that laid
>across the driveway, by the gas pumps.
>
>When a car pulled up to the pump, and drove over that hose, a bell would
>ring inside the station. This was back when the station attendant would
>come outside and fill your tank. Also when many stations were also auto
>repair shops. Thus, if the attendant was working on a car, he needed
>that bell to alert him that there was a customer.
>
>What I remember, is that those hoses were plugged on the end, (where it
>laid on the driveway). I also recall seeing that bell inside at least a
>few gas stations.
>
>What I dont know, is how it worked.
>
>I recently was in a small rural town, and saw an old gas station, which
>appeared to have been closed for years. In that lot, laid that old
>rubber hose. That brought back memories as well as leaving me with a
>question.... How did they work?
>
>I considered googling them, but I dont know what they were called, so I
>decided to post this question here. I'm assuming the bell was powered by
>electric, unless it ran off compressed air.
>
>I can only guess that driving over the hose in the lot would cause the
>air inside the hose to trigger some sort of switch, maybe by a some sort
>of sensitive diaphram.
required. It was no doubt mechanically clever.
Traffic monitors are similar, but they are electronic.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing precision measurement
jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Lasse Langwadt Christensen
Sep 21, 2017, 2:17:27 PM9/21/17
to
https://youtu.be/mjVz-72r44g
rickman
Sep 21, 2017, 4:25:30 PM9/21/17
to
compressing a few inches of a hose that many feet long would be pretty
small. The work produced would be far too small to ring the bell hard
enough to hear it.
--
Rick C
Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998
Jeroen Belleman
Sep 21, 2017, 5:59:13 PM9/21/17
to
work without electricity. A car passing over the hose displaces plenty
of air to launch a little piston against the bell. No switches required.
Jeroen Belleman (really!)
Martin Riddle
Sep 21, 2017, 6:22:59 PM9/21/17
to
very well.
Cheers
Lasse Langwadt Christensen
Sep 21, 2017, 6:41:39 PM9/21/17
to
work too good ;)
Lasse Langwadt Christensen
Sep 21, 2017, 6:43:28 PM9/21/17
to
Tom Biasi
Sep 21, 2017, 9:21:28 PM9/21/17
to
just a plunger that struck the bell when a vehicle squashed the hose.
That's not to say that some did not use electricity but the ones I saw
did not. What got me looking at it was when the power was off in the
whole town and the bell still rang.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Sep 21, 2017, 9:29:16 PM9/21/17
to
>Back in the 60s, when I was a kid, I remember that most gas stations had
>a rubber hose (about the same size as an air compressor hose), that laid
>across the driveway, by the gas pumps.
>
>When a car pulled up to the pump, and drove over that hose, a bell would
>ring inside the station. This was back when the station attendant would
>come outside and fill your tank. Also when many stations were also auto
>repair shops. Thus, if the attendant was working on a car, he needed
>that bell to alert him that there was a customer.
>
>What I remember, is that those hoses were plugged on the end, (where it
>laid on the driveway). I also recall seeing that bell inside at least a
>few gas stations.
>
>What I dont know, is how it worked.
A simple air pressure switch. stem on the hose, or drive over it, and
>a rubber hose (about the same size as an air compressor hose), that laid
>across the driveway, by the gas pumps.
>
>When a car pulled up to the pump, and drove over that hose, a bell would
>ring inside the station. This was back when the station attendant would
>come outside and fill your tank. Also when many stations were also auto
>repair shops. Thus, if the attendant was working on a car, he needed
>that bell to alert him that there was a customer.
>
>What I remember, is that those hoses were plugged on the end, (where it
>laid on the driveway). I also recall seeing that bell inside at least a
>few gas stations.
>
>What I dont know, is how it worked.
the volume of the hose is reduced, so the pressure increases, closing
the switch that powered the "clapper" on the bell. Dirt simple.
>
>I recently was in a small rural town, and saw an old gas station, which
>appeared to have been closed for years. In that lot, laid that old
>rubber hose. That brought back memories as well as leaving me with a
>question.... How did they work?
>
>I considered googling them, but I dont know what they were called, so I
>decided to post this question here. I'm assuming the bell was powered by
>electric, unless it ran off compressed air.
>
>I can only guess that driving over the hose in the lot would cause the
>air inside the hose to trigger some sort of switch, maybe by a some sort
>of sensitive diaphram.
>
>Does anyone have more information about these? As a kid, I thought they
>were fascinating, and now I'd like to know how they worked. It's a thing
>no longer used, but the memory lives on.... As well as the memory of gas
>station attendants who not only filled your tank, but would check your
>oil, wash your windows, and even handed you some S&H Greenstamps based
>on the amount of gas you bought.
>
You got it right
>I recently was in a small rural town, and saw an old gas station, which
>appeared to have been closed for years. In that lot, laid that old
>rubber hose. That brought back memories as well as leaving me with a
>question.... How did they work?
>
>I considered googling them, but I dont know what they were called, so I
>decided to post this question here. I'm assuming the bell was powered by
>electric, unless it ran off compressed air.
>
>I can only guess that driving over the hose in the lot would cause the
>air inside the hose to trigger some sort of switch, maybe by a some sort
>of sensitive diaphram.
>
>Does anyone have more information about these? As a kid, I thought they
>were fascinating, and now I'd like to know how they worked. It's a thing
>no longer used, but the memory lives on.... As well as the memory of gas
>station attendants who not only filled your tank, but would check your
>oil, wash your windows, and even handed you some S&H Greenstamps based
>on the amount of gas you bought.
>
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Sep 21, 2017, 9:52:35 PM9/21/17
to
an electric bell switched by the "air pulse" from the squeazed hose.
Most were "miltons" -a few "tru-flates",.
Every one of them had to be plugged in to the electrical supply - we
unplugged them at night to prevent them from triggering the alarm
system if someone drove over them after hours.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Sep 21, 2017, 9:55:43 PM9/21/17
to
On Thu, 21 Sep 2017 21:21:20 -0400, Tom Biasi <tomb...@optonline.net>
wrote:
Had to have a fat hose.
wrote:
olds...@tubes.com
Sep 21, 2017, 11:22:46 PM9/21/17
to
mentioned this to a friend who used to work as a mechanic in several
service stations. He's about 15 years younger than I am, but he said
that he worked at one station that still had one of those bells in the
late 70s or early 80s. He said it quit working, so his boss told him to
try to fix it. After checking the hose, he opened it, and found a bell
with a transformer, which he said looks like a common home type doorbell
transformer.
At the end of the hose inlet, he said there was a diaphram connected to
an electrical switch. The diaphram was torn, so his boss ordered a
replacement and that fixed it.
I'm guessing that the transformer is either 16V or 24V like most
household doorbells.
He also told me that the hose they used on the lot, was just a standard
air compressor hose with the outside end plugged.
Tom Biasi
Sep 22, 2017, 12:56:58 AM9/22/17
to
rickman
Sep 22, 2017, 3:16:33 AM9/22/17
to
time after a power failure. It's hard to imagine such a small change in
volume producing enough work to ring a bell.
Foxs Mercantile
Sep 22, 2017, 8:13:45 AM9/22/17
to
On 9/22/2017 2:16 AM, rickman wrote:
> Might have run off the air compressor which remains pressurized for
> some time after a power failure. It's hard to imagine such a small
> change in volume producing enough work to ring a bell.
In the 4 stations I worked at as a gopher in the late '60s, NONE of
> Might have run off the air compressor which remains pressurized for
> some time after a power failure. It's hard to imagine such a small
> change in volume producing enough work to ring a bell.
them had electric bells.
And NO, the hose wasn't full of air. It was full of oil.
The striker would hit the bell going up when someone rolled over the
hose, and again on the way down when they rolled off the hose.
Hence the da-ding every time.
--
Jeff-1.0
wa6fwi
http://www.foxsmercantile.com
bloggs.fred...@gmail.com
Sep 22, 2017, 5:12:04 PM9/22/17
to
bloggs.fred...@gmail.com
Sep 22, 2017, 5:14:42 PM9/22/17
to
bloggs.fred...@gmail.com
Sep 22, 2017, 5:21:13 PM9/22/17
to
Dan
Sep 24, 2017, 1:31:38 PM9/24/17
to
Here is a you tube explanation for the old bells.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjVz-72r44g
<olds...@tubes.com> wrote in message
news:j4r7sc95jk4be9pni...@4ax.com...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjVz-72r44g
<olds...@tubes.com> wrote in message
news:j4r7sc95jk4be9pni...@4ax.com...
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Sep 24, 2017, 7:17:57 PM9/24/17
to
On Fri, 22 Sep 2017 07:13:29 -0500, Foxs Mercantile <jda...@att.net>
wrote:
Hydraulic bells may have been common somewhere, and I can see how
they would work - but they were unheared of here. As often as we
replaced the air hoses, the oilw ould have been all over the apron.
wrote:
they would work - but they were unheared of here. As often as we
replaced the air hoses, the oilw ould have been all over the apron.
Tom Biasi
Sep 25, 2017, 4:22:18 PM9/25/17
to
On 9/24/2017 1:31 PM, Dan wrote:
> Here is a you tube explanation for the old bells.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjVz-72r44g
>
That's how the electric ones worked.
> Here is a you tube explanation for the old bells.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjVz-72r44g
>
Message has been deleted
John Doe
May 24, 2022, 3:27:45 AM5/24/22
to
Kathy Kehoe <kathy...@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm guessing you might need to adjust your Google Groups settings so that it
does not remove crossposted groups, or so that it does not post only to the
group you are subscribed, or something like that.
I'm guessing you might need to adjust your Google Groups settings so that it
does not remove crossposted groups, or so that it does not post only to the
group you are subscribed, or something like that.
DecadentLinux...@decadence.org
May 24, 2022, 12:19:28 PM5/24/22
to
Kathy Kehoe <kathy...@gmail.com> wrote in
news:120a0591-fd50-45b6...@googlegroups.com:
> On Friday, September 22, 2017 at 8:13:45 AM UTC-4, Foxs Mercantile
The hoses were air filled with capped ends, and the pressure
differential flipped a switch and that powered a solenoid which then
struck the bell.
Same thing for road lane vehicle counting machines which cops put
out in place to place from time to time.
Air works just fine.
news:120a0591-fd50-45b6...@googlegroups.com:
> On Friday, September 22, 2017 at 8:13:45 AM UTC-4, Foxs Mercantile
differential flipped a switch and that powered a solenoid which then
struck the bell.
Same thing for road lane vehicle counting machines which cops put
out in place to place from time to time.
Air works just fine.
Lasse Langwadt Christensen
May 24, 2022, 12:41:06 PM5/24/22
to
John Sanders
May 30, 2023, 10:49:40 PM5/30/23
to
quantum vacuum. When the car rolled over the
hose it collapsed the wave function and a muon
was fired down the hose. The round thing at the end
of the hose, mounted on a wall usually, accelerated
the muon to super luminal speeds at which point
thousands of leptons were released and when they
hit your head, it made you think there was a ringing
sound due to the observer effect.
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