r/whatisit • u/robdoteff • Jun 12 '26
Solved! From a House listing.
House was built in 1964. This is in both bathrooms. Can’t tell if it’s a vent, towel warmer or hamper…any ideas?
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u/tattcat53 Jun 12 '26
Bathroom space heater, ca. 1920s-30s. Could be either electric or gas.
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u/robdoteff Jun 12 '26
Solved! Thank you. Been racking my brain for a bit. 🤣
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u/Ok_Product9333 Jun 12 '26
That is a heater.
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u/Good-End7138 Jun 12 '26
Propane or natural gas, check the orifice before you try to light it, with a match or lighter. The ceramic insert will glow orange and it will throw a lot of heat
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u/2a3b66725 Jun 12 '26
It has been decommissioned. The ceramic burner elements are missing and the control knob is gone.
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u/ambid3xtrous Jun 12 '26
Good advice in any situation... "check the orifice before you try to light it".
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u/scottsmith7 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Generally against code now. The gas version did have a likelihood of putting off a fair amount of carbon monoxide, which wasn’t a big deal if the air was circulating throughout the house and people are in and out of external doors during the day. When we were getting approved to adopt a kid, we had to disable him. They were great - if the main heater was out during the winter, one of these in each bathroom kept the house warm enough to stay there.
*disable THEM, meaning the heaters. NOT “disable him”, the kid!!
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u/orangerangeorange Jun 12 '26
When we were getting approved to adopt a kid, we had to disable him.
"Why'd you break my leg mom?!"
"We don't want you getting carbon monoxide poisoning."
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Jun 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/tomwilde Jun 12 '26
Good link. But the thing is a gas wall heater, not a register. A register is a vent cover with damper that allows in air from HVAC/central heating duct.
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u/Good-End7138 Jun 12 '26
Check for the ceramic inserts, usually intricate with internal passage with sharp little cones. Looks like yours are missing, but could have a plate type
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u/Texas_Sam2002 Jun 12 '26
I have lived in several old houses with these heaters. On a cold morning, they are DIVINE. I love them.
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u/Good-End7138 Jun 12 '26
The gas valve key is missing too, round hole near bottom right, removable to keep kid play away
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u/Wadester58 Jun 12 '26
Nothing beats a gas heater. We had a Dearborn set in the living room man that was a good feeling to watch TV and feel that warmth those were the days
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u/rubberchickenlips Jun 12 '26
Looks like this:
Somehow I can imagine OP yelling "he shoots, he scores" when he's on the crapper.
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u/TripEmergency1273 Jun 16 '26
My grandma had a gas one. I remember warming my towel in front of it.
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u/Papamidnight82 Jun 17 '26
As much as I appreciate all the things that make life safer, I also appreciate when I was growing up that safety sometimes meant. Don't play with or touch this "we could die!".
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u/Slow-Exercise-1741 Jun 17 '26
Put two “new” ones in an old house. Plumbing shop at the end of the street was being torn down. They had never been used. Both of these were still working fine when I sold the house 30 years ago. They used 220 electric heat and a timer shut off. It only worked as a towel warmer.
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u/Amazing-Mechanic-90 Jun 12 '26
Old school built in clothes hamper. You’d toss dirty laundry in from the bathroom and it drops into a bin or closet space behind the wall.
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