Wanted: Water Bowser Fittings

[horsa]

Marco in Italy (on the FB Trailer Forum as well) is the one that hoped to make copies of the filter. He hasn't had time to go to a museum in Rome to get measurements of an example they have on one of the bigger trailers.

We also have a second person here in Texas in need of both filter and pump so there are quite a few people that would buy them if available.

[Owen Evans]

These are incredibly hard to find items. Seemingly when these water tanks were processed out, the folks that bought them binned the filters and pumps. Either that, or the military took them off for future use.

I found a company that will cast new ones, but I need original examples as a basis. To make a new pattern from scratch would cost a small fortune.

I'm looking at replicating a couple of 'lookalike' filters. If anyone else wants to try this, the attached drawing from the Metafilter instruction manual may be of use.

Regarding the hand pumps, the attached photo shows a different style (semi rotary). Maybe a different tank manufacturer?

Owen.

[Andy Mitchell]

You need to try and get hold of Ian Litchy on HMVF - he seemed to corner the market in UK for these trailers lol

[Alex van de Wetering]

the attached photo shows a different style (semi rotary). Maybe a different tank manufacturer?

To me the tank also looks different....more like egg-shaped.....a lot like the one someone posted yesterday in Pete's D15T thread on HMVF.


Did the Canadians fit British (licence?) made pumps and filters to the water Bowsers? or were the Canadian ones from a different manufacturer? That might widen the search area a bit.

Alex

[Owen Evans]

Originally Posted by Andy Mitchell

You need to try and get hold of Ian Litchy on HMVF - he seemed to corner the market in UK for these trailers lol

Thanks. I spoke with Ian about a month ago. He sadly doesn't have any spares. He also kindly explained how difficult they are to find.

Owen.

[horsa]

I've managed to track down the original manufacturer for the water bowser / water truck filters in the UK. Explained that there was a small number of people that were preserving these British military vehicles and most were in need of the filters.

They took this to their weekly admin meeting and currently seem interested in helping us out. They asked how accurate we needed them in terms of internal and external features and I told them that the most important aspect was the external look. Internal fittings would be very expensive to replicate and likely everyone could live without the canister filtering as long as water could still pass through it and thus allow the device to not require the hose lines to be re-routed for the pump to work.

Plan right now is they will get quotes for 1, 2, 5 and 10 filter canisters. The canisters will look as cosmetically correct externally as possible and will have a pipe inside to allow the water from the in and out hoses to pass through so that it appears to be functional. Finish would be unpainted so that people can match their own trailer or other fitting colors. They will also see if the original manufacturer for the cast nomenclature plates on the filters can help out. Failing that they will do a laser etched plate which should serve as a satisfactory placeholder that could be replaced by individuals over time if a suitable replacement becomes available.

Will update once I know more. This would likely be a one time group purchase where everyone gets them at cost. Price will likely be cheaper as the quantity increases.

[Owen Evans]

Originally Posted by horsa

I've managed to track down the original manufacturer for the water bowser / water truck filters in the UK. Explained that there was a small number of people that were preserving these British military vehicles and most were in need of the filters.

They took this to their weekly admin meeting and currently seem interested in helping us out. They asked how accurate we needed them in terms of internal and external features and I told them that the most important aspect was the external look. Internal fittings would be very expensive to replicate and likely everyone could live without the canister filtering as long as water could still pass through it and thus allow the device to not require the hose lines to be re-routed for the pump to work.

Plan right now is they will get quotes for 1, 2, 5 and 10 filter canisters. The canisters will look as cosmetically correct externally as possible and will have a pipe inside to allow the water from the in and out hoses to pass through so that it appears to be functional. Finish would be unpainted so that people can match their own trailer or other fitting colors. They will also see if the original manufacturer for the cast nomenclature plates on the filters can help out. Failing that they will do a laser etched plate which should serve as a satisfactory placeholder that could be replaced by individuals over time if a suitable replacement becomes available.

Will update once I know more. This would likely be a one time group purchase where everyone gets them at cost. Price will likely be cheaper as the quantity increases.

That is potentially great news, well done sir! Not sure how many other members want them, but mark me down as interested in three filters.

If this is a goer, I have quite a few photos of the filters as well as a manual for the Type 2 Metafilter. Happy to email copies through, if it helps in any way.

Owen.

[horsa]

I sent them photos when I initially made inquires as to them being the original manufacturer. Apparently they still have drawing plans so its really a question of them having an economical way to make a modern copy, less the guts. I'm sure they don't have the ability to stamp one out like they did during the war.

Will update this thread and the facebook trailer group when they post back an update. Likely be a week at least since they are looking into things on their end.