# Pneumatic temp controller



## zoltan (Mar 15, 2010)

I got to tour the bowels of my old jr high school, built in 1917. This old control panel and compressor(?) were still in place


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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

That's awesome!


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## zoltan (Mar 15, 2010)

It just dawned on me that this was probably an early Johnson Controls product!


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

I do work in a building all the time that has pneumatic thermostats with two black pressure tubes each.


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## canbug (Dec 31, 2015)

That's a great compressor. Low RPM and will run forever. 

Tim.


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

in place or in place and in use?


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

zoltan said:


> It just dawned on me that this was probably an early Johnson Controls product!


Yeah man!

Everybody starts somewhere!


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

canbug said:


> That's a great compressor. Low RPM and will run forever.
> 
> Tim.


Old pneumatic controls seemed to run forever, unlike th enewer stuff where the diaphragms rot fairly quick.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

zoltan said:


> I got to tour the bowels of my old jr high school, built in 1917. This old control panel and compressor(?) were still in place


Could you do me a favor and go back there and move that gray wire that's laying across that vintage piece of industrial art? I'll kick in for materials if necessary, or I could even go do it for you if you PM me an address.


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## zoltan (Mar 15, 2010)

MikeFL said:


> in place or in place and in use?


Just left in place/decommisioned. Building was turned into condos and offices a few years ago. 

Each unit now has central air.


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## varmit (Apr 19, 2009)

Long ago there were pneumatic "PLCs". They were used mainly in hazardous (explosion proof) areas. I have worked on some in older power plants. They work, or worked, just like a modern PLC, except with physical air operated AND and OR gates. These had lots of components and tubing, but worked fine except for air leaks. It does not take much of an air leak to mess up a 3 to 15 PSI analog.


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## scotch (Oct 17, 2013)

60's and 70's were the time for "fluidics" ...the Russians used them as controllers on their early space equipment before electronics were hardened enough to survive in space .Corning had etched glass plug-in cards for "digital" control....5 psig supply air....very clean air ! I remember Foxboro having it on their manual stations in the 70's.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

splatz said:


> Could you do me a favor and go back there and move that gray wire that's laying across that vintage piece of industrial art? I'll kick in for materials if necessary, or I could even go do it for you if you PM me an address.


LV guys, pfft!

1% do neat work, the rest......................


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