Chip Water Heater

c. 1960
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Overview

Commonly known as a “chip-heater”, they provided domestic hot water from about the 1880’s until the 1960’s.
In Australia the invention of the “Chip” Bath Heater in the 1880’s provided a great solution to the problem of a hot bath, and ingenious invention, it was a cylindrical unit with a fire box and flue and a small water tank a pipe was run through the heater, and this circulated the water through the firebox. The heater was installed in the bathroom usually on a raised area at the end of the bath and when bath time came around was fed with paper, chips of wood and pinecones, this heated the water quickly, but if you ran too much into the bath it would go cold, it was an art to have the bath at the right temperature. In some homes a linking of pipes would provide a shower over the bath.
The heaters tended to make a roaring sound with the sound of fire and the boiling water.
This chip heater made by Jason Industries probably dates c.1960. Jason Industries commenced as a sheet metal business in 1932.

Details

Details

Registration number
cwa-org-124-2023.26
Width
260 mm
Height or length
1400 mm
Year
c. 1960
Busselton Historical Society

Busselton Historical Society

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Water Heater
Water Heater

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