The Ashton catalogs not only had new products and the regular offerings but always a firm statement of the company's purpose and intent. They make for interesting reading. First up, the 1896 catalog.
The ideal alarm gauge was another practical item that could come in handy if the boiler room mechanic happened to fall asleep! When the pressure went too high, a loud alarm would go off.
Mullens Paper Tester Ever wonder how the strength of paper or textile material is figured? In 1877 B.F. Perkins invented the Mullens Paper Tester. The gauge,(many of which were produced by Ashton Valve) would read the pressure at which the paper burst. These machines are still produced today. https://books.google.com/books?id=JL...page&q&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=4B...page&q&f=false https://www.mullentesters.com/testers.html
Ashton Valve sanitary bubbler At the beginning of the 20th century people refreshed themselves at public fountains and all drank from the same COMMON CUP, as it was called. Well, sickness and death soon followed and Ashton Valve soon had their line of sanitary bubblers on the market. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/histo...357064sanitary https://safedrinkingwaterdotcom.word...he-common-cup/ https://jdbengineering.com/weird-mep...ry-common-cup/ Here is an article from the 1911 METAL WORKER journal.
Patents for steam whistles. https://patents.google.com/patent/U...&q=patents&oq=+steam+whistle+++patents&page=3 https://patents.google.com/patent/U...&q=patents&oq=+steam+whistle+++patents&page=5 https://patents.google.com/patent/U...&q=patents&oq=+steam+whistle+++patents&page=6 And more: https://patents.google.com/?q=steam&q=whistle&q=patents&oq=+steam+whistle+++patents
The above article on "historic gauges" mentions the Utica gauge. Here is more information on this gauge.
Ashton ammonia diffuser In the early days of refrigeration, ammonia gas was given off and people living close to the plants were getting sick and dying from the fumes. Ashton Valve came up with a gauge, diffuser, and relief valve that helped to make the air around these plants safer.
I'm re-posting the company history as the previous link has become invalid. http://www.rypn.org/forums/download/file.php?id=16920