Lucien's most challenging picture puzzle yet... what does this box do?

[Lucien Nunes]

You've seen some curious stuff in my vintage picture puzzles before but what can you make of this black box? I want to know not only what's inside but also its main electrical specifications; there are two in particular for which I need the actual figures.

There will be a few picture clues to help you along...

 

[Lucien Nunes]

1 - yes, originally, but well maintained and strategically updated.
2 - yes.
3 - not necessarily but in this case yes.
4 - no.
5 - yes.

Work is getting busy now so might be away for a bit.

 

[Pete999]

A 2 pole filter

 

[andyb]

Is it an inverter? maybe a small hydro installation?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Now we're getting somewhere. I need the correct name for the device in the box, and the specifications of its output. There is another one in the house but this one is different in a specific way. To know why it is different, you need to identify what else is in that first picture.

 

[andyb]

Maybe a transformer then to step the voltage down.

 

[Darkwood]

Hmmm... some kind of change over unit maybe a contactor array to swap supplies from socket a to socket b or simply energise socket b.
Is their a sensor possibly looking at humidity or temp' , maybe it kicks in power to the other socket which has a dehumidifier plugged in or a frost stat that brings on a heater to counter frozen pipes issues?

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Transformer was ruled out in post #6. Box does not control those MK sockets on the wall. There are however two different sockets on the box, one of which a kind of sensor was plugged into. If we get really stuck I'll show a close-up of them. In the meantime here's another pic to nip the transformer idea in the bud. This data plate is not the one on the box but it makes a clear case for the need to use it. Once this is sorted, we can return to why the unit inside is a special version.

 

[Pete999]

Transformer was ruled out in post #6. Box does not control those MK sockets on the wall. There are however two different sockets on the box, one of which a kind of sensor was plugged into. If we get really stuck I'll show a close-up of them. In the meantime here's another pic to nip the transformer idea in the bud. This data plate is not the one on the box but it makes a clear case for the need to use it. Once this is sorted, we can return to why the unit inside is a special version.

View attachment 41962

A Voltage Regulator , rotary frequency changer

 

[Darkwood]

Pete got there first, I was just about to post the same.. Voltage regulator but brings up the question of a sensor and why the need for one, so I would 2nd guess and say it its a frequency inverter of some nature to change a motor/pump speed

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Some good buzzwords in there and some of the right concepts, just need to shuffle them around a bit. I do need the proper name for the unit. The sensor is connected to the box so that the unit inside doesn't operate when it's not needed.

There's some crucial info on that plate. It's a mile or so from the valve and maybe half a mile from the box too. Why the two sockets in a bedroom? What does the other unit-like-this-one-but-different do? Why can't it also serve the purpose of this one?

Instead of giving picture clues, I could mention something about two contracts in Japan, I could show you the ten-pin flasher unit in our pickup truck, or a hole that Gatti dug in London. But the info is there in the first pic. Well, the important bit is out of shot - in fact it's missing entirely. I could show you the hole it was mounted through, I suppose.

 

[Darkwood]

Is the sensor a float of some nature or a pressure switch to check mains water pressure IE detecting a burst mains?

 

[Darkwood]

Ah wait ... is this anything to do with ice which was originally stored underground ?
Are we looking at some kind of cold room where the box is acting to cool the air temp with the use of very cold water like an early air conditioning unit?

 

[Deleted member 26818]

Is it something to do with Radon gas and a fan?

 

[marconi]

In the first image, the polished metal hinges on the brown cupboard doors and the shape/thickness of the doors remind me of those on the doors of the freezers/cold rooms at the butcher's shop I worked in as a teenager. Gatti was famous for ice production and underground storage of it.

The 10 pin flasher in your old pick up has a bi-metalic hysteresis arm switch, and the strip is warmed by the current of the load.

Why two sockets? In winter the round pin supplies a heater powered by a local hydro electric scheme. In summer the hydro electricity is used to run fans and refrigeration plant to make ice (and blow chilled air tocool the house?) So the box is connected to a differential thermometer ( -the reference to the flasher) sensing the difference between indoor and outdoor ambient temperatures to decide whether to heat the house or cool the house.

 

[marconi]

The heaters can be run at whatever voltage the hydro electric scheme provides. However the motorised refridgeration and fans require a minimum voltage and frequency to start-up and run - so perhaps the box contains some control logic/functionality to determine when the hydro supply is suitable - operating as a low-voltage and low frequency detector and cut off - and some feedback to the turbine throttle to open up/close down water flow to regulate coarsely supplied V and f.