If my friends and I rode our bikes past a gas station and someone noticed the bell hose we all would double back to ride over it. Brought back some great memories MrPete!
I remember that sound very well! The very first job I had as a boy was at a full service gas station and we had one of these Milton bell's! I worked the full service pump's gassing up folks cars and airing up tires, checking batterys, etc. Whatever the customer asked for! I also worked in the light service bay. It was a neat experience looking back. A full service station with an attendant was already a rare thing when I did it, I'm glad I was a part of that history.
I definitely miss hearing these...the sounds of my childhood. I could pop a wheelie on my bike and time it so perfectly as to land on the hose each and every time. Those were the best days of my life! Thank you!
I had to get all the way to adulthood to learn that this was an electrical device. As kids we thought the harder we stomped on the hose the louder it was. So my three brothers and I would be seen stomping on the hose arguing who made it the loudest. Great series Mr. Pete.
Thanks for taking the time to post this. When I was but a wee lad, I started working in what was at first an Esso station, later becoming Exxon. Fantastic learning experience. Everything from repairing cars to driving the wreckers after some basic training. We naturally had one of those bells, but I never gave it a thought, I just plain worked. In the winter we had to bring the hose in so the snowplow wouldn't drag it away and ruin it. Good times.
Yep, we still use it in our restaurant drive thru today, it gets cycled over 400 times a day. It's been going strong for about 20 years. We just have to replace the hose every 6 months or so, and keep the air chamber clean. Excellent product
I thoroughly enjoyed this video. From the stories growing up to the commentary on made in America and times when you'd actually fix things, to the how it works portion. Thank you. This was posted 8 years ago. Hope you are still alive, my friend.
Thanks Mr. Pete, great idea for a series! Starting with a Milton product is a sure winner in my book. Most of my Milton stuff is older than my son and still works perfectly. You are demonstrating why companies like this are still around after 72 years...just like you...simple, elegant, well thought out & Quality built! Look forward to more of these! ~PJ
Just great. I don't know how you thought of this but it goes right along with your program on helping others learn and understand. As many did, us kids would dip into the local stations, with our bikes, and ring the bell whenever we could. Can you imagine two rings for every bike. Sometimes we would know a kid that was working and we would really treat him. Cheers, Keep it up, Lee
This was a great one for curious guys like me who grew up in the city and didn't learn how to fix much past tying our shoes. I'll look forward to the next one.
Funny that this is the first episode. I just acquired mine last week and I'm definitely hooking it up on my house. Was hooked up in the basement at one point in an old home I'm currently repairing. Plugged it in at home and brings me right back to the 70's-80's when being in mom's Camaro and Firebird getting gas! Seeing that this is 6 years old and sub count is 266K looks like the idea took off 👍💯👊
Boy does this bell bring back memory's working in gas station as young as 13 year old , many years replacing hose from hot rodders burning rubber across island as they leave ! Thanks for the post !
That was interesting Mr Pete. Thanks for sharing. I still have an old Milton air chuck that was my dads. I still use it to this day to air up tires. It's got the rotary dial under a small lens to indicate the psi. Adam
I remember them when I was a kid in England but didn,t have a bike to run over the hose, we had to jump on it and run like hell. Thanks again Mr.Pete for a very interesting video. Your camera work as always first class.
I remember these when I was a kid but they disappeared as I got old enough to be taking an interest in mechanical devices. Thanks for that trip[ down memory lane.
I like the idea for the series. Suggestions for other possible episodes: A car differential, shock absorber, air pressure gauge, Carburetor, planetary gear reduction (electric drill), parallel rule on drafting table, starter motor throw-out, one-way bearings, liquid barometer, old-style car charging regulator, refridge compressor, gas pressure reducer/regulator, self-winding watch, steam cylinder D valve with reversing, hydraulic lifters, mercury thermostat, 3-way light switch, mechanical bathroom scales, truck scales, hydraulic gear pump, differential hoist, hydraulic jack, U-joint and CV joint, hand well pump, sewing machine stitching, mechanical variable speed pulley (a la drill press, etc), tractor dynamometer, pneumatic motor, making the original perfect 90 degree square, bike coaster brake, tapered tooling sockets (MT, R8, etc), various old toys, music box, clock escapement, odometer/speedometer, grain elevator, train air brakes, train rail switches, foundry flux, spot welder.
Dave Kellogg I particularly like the bike coaster brake. Anyone remember getting their legs beat on a very old direct-drive bike, before coaster brakes?
I think I will like this series!.....I was the kid that always had to take thinks apart to see how they worked!.....having ADD, I always went to the next item without putting the first one back together!.....drove my dad nuts! He eventually learned to appreciate it, and I way always the one he called to come fix something for him!
man when i was a kid my grampas gas station he had in chicago on 90th and halsted i still remember it!!!i jumped up and down on that making it ring !! fond memories !! he had a concord gas station and auto repair shop.miss you gus he was a great man !!
Thanks Mr Pete, I am repairing the one at my shop, the plunger was sticking, preventing the contacts from reopening. I can say that I have leveled up after completing this quest.
Takes me back seeing this, more so the sound than the looks. I was the type of kid who always took things apart to see how it does what it does but never put it back together & that ALWAYS would get me in trouble. "What makes it work" is a FANTASTIC idea I hope to see it continue as part of your regular videos
My grandfather had a feed store and sold feed for livestock, horses, dogs, etc. He also sold baled hay. The feed store was in a huge barn across the yard from my grandparent's house. Anyway, he had one of those signals with the bell attached to the side of the house so if he was working in the shop or doing some around the house, he could tell when he had a customer. There was enough space between a fence and the end of the hose for the grandkids to ride there bikes. If grandpa made a special trip away from what he was doing only to find one of us had rode over the hose, he was none to happy and we were the receivers of his unhappiness! The good one days . . . the late '50s!
I know that sound well! I have fixed one of these for a friend before. The points had been mis-adjusted where they touched all the time. That burned the coil. So, I adapted a washing machine water fill valve solenoid coil to it! Got her up and running. I definitely enjoyed your video, because you have such a great way of telling about the Good Old Days and explaining things in a simple and understandable way. I hope you have opportunities to do more What Makes It Work videos. Sincerely, David
thats awesome! I would have never thought that was a solenoid that rang the bell. I’ve been thinking about these for a few years now and thought that it was a ball bearing at the end of the hose and air pressure would push the ball bearing to ring it. Thank tou Mr Pete for showing this
Thank you we live out in the boonies and I have been wanting a way to tell when someone is coming down the drive. For a brief time in the mid seventies I was the guy who answered the bells call.
Outstanding Mr. Pete. Wonderful way to kick the new series off! I use to run over them at the ESSO station one block away in the early 1960's. The owner had to remember to roll up the hose in the winter lest the snow plows tear them off. Take care.
I own one of these. It's still in production and is sold by a guy here in Houston!!! It's not the same company as the Milton air hose/fittings!!! It's owned by a guy here in Houston and believe it or not his name is Milton!!! I bought a new one about 10 years ago from Milton and he said that he bought the Patten and right's to manufacture them and started selling them!!! It's still a very handy tool when you work in a shop by yourself and need to know when someone comes into your driveway!!! Very cool!!! Keep Rocking it out!!!
Very interesting ! The great old days...I don't recall ever seeing or hearing them at Service Stations - growing up in South Africa in the 1960's - 70's .
I like the series. I worked at several gas stations in my teens and remember dropping whatever I was doing to pump gas whenever that bell rang. For some reason I remember them giving two quick chimes for each axle. It would be Ding-ding, followed by Ding-ding after a second or so. Perhaps the rod I. The selinoid would bounce. If you have an old tireflator where you would set your pressure in the window by cranking the handle on the right hand sided, then put air in your tire until the bell stopped ringing, I would love to see that taken apart. Chris
Yes I remember when garages had these in use. In fact a farmer friend who sells potatoes from the house in sacks has one to advise when a customer arrives to buy a bag. Someone else uses it as a warning device of burglars in a vehicle coming up the long farm drive in the dark, it is only switched on at night.
Mr Pete, I am of a similar vintage as you and my remembrance is that in California where I grew up, the signaling hose had hard rubber ramps on either side so it was almost impossible for a bicycle to make the bell ring. Thanks for the show and tell
Hi mr Pete222 I just watch this video of yours 4 times now & still enjoy it please keep em coming. I just was at my local Goodwill to give away some of my item I had laying around & they had one of these at there donation area & I told then how they work. They thought I was real smart cuz no one knew how they work but now they do..
Nice and thanks. I had an idea of how it worked but wasn't sure. I must be getting old because I remember these too. As a kid we would get a group together and ride our bikes through the local gas station all at once. The bell would go nuts and so would the Italian guy working there. He would come out yelling at us in Italian. Its probably a good thing we didn't understand Italian. Back then that was fun.
Great video Mr Pete I for one would love this kind of series from you as it's one I find myself searching quite often on You Tube on quite days and I can't think of a person I would rather see do them than you. The video brings back memories of us as little kids jumping on the hoses in the station lots just to ring the bells on Sundays when they where closed if they where left on of course. Wow the things you seem to forget.
This series seems like it will be a hit! It is always fun to see how stuff operates internally and have to say I am amazed how simple this concoction is. Today it would have microcontrollers, lithium polymer batteries, WiFi with a web server and all bunch of stuff just to "ding" a bell. Anyway, had fun watching your review on this child hood memory! I didn't get the chance to do the bike thing, though ;-)
Reminds me of going to the full service gas statuon with my grandmother. The old man still did everything from fuel to tire pressure. Man I miss those days.
Terrific idea for a new series! When I was young back in the early 60's every gas station, A&W Root Beer stand and Ice Cream shop had one of these. We had a dutch uncle who ran a mortuary in town who wanted to install one of these but my folks always thought that would be in bad taste. LOL. I can think of several things you could feature in this series... old lawnmower points and condenser vs elec ignition; 2-cycle vs. 4 cycle (I think your original "how does a steam engine work" with the cutaway teaching aid is one of your best informative videos); coke machine coin changers (how do they make correct change mechanically); mechanical belt-driiven torque converters and what causes the speeds to change automatically, etc.. I had one of these on my Tote Goat minibike when I was a kid and thought it was magical. Always wanted to install one on a drill press by the way to see if it would work in that application. There are so many common simple mechanisms from my early years that today's kids will never be exposed to unless someone shows them. Any rate, thanks again Mr Pete! I look forward to future vids in this series. Keep 'em coming!
TheMainlinehobo Thanks--those are some great suggestions. Of course I have to find some of that stuff. Just today, I bought 4 old engines to cut apart. 2 c& 4 cycle.
Hi mrpete, nice idea for a series... Remember pounding the hose while may dad had his car filled with gas, I was told to STOP but when you're 5-6 yo. hearing is very selective... ;-)
Mr Pete, This brings back my youth working in a service station. I'm looking forward to more videos like this, which is a good idea for a series. Great job Bob Auer
I just got mine workin. My grandpa had a service station from the 70s. Its awsome....brings back good memories of Grandpa workin on cars and helpin pump gas with him. How do you tell the year of the this piece? Very simple.....I just cleaned all the points and connections and all is good mines exactly the same as yours to the T. I have alot of cool old stuff from the gas station.
Thanks, Mr. Pete! Back in the late 80s as I was coming up through high school and starting college, I worked for a service station with one full service island and two self service islands. I don't recall us having a driveway bell like this, but we did have a great tire inflater. You could crank a hand crank on the side and mechanical numbers would display the selected psi. Then, as you filled your tires, a bell would ring, as rapidly as the air flowed. When the bell ringing stopped, or when you got tired of waiting for the next bell, you knew you had the selected pressure. Do you remember those?
I am going to like this "What Makes It Work" Series. I used to hang around gas stations some and sure do remember the bell. I never knew how they did work.
Dear Sir. Thanks for that, I always thought that it was purely a pneumatic operation, but could not see, how driving over the hose would generate enough pressure to ring the bell. Now I know. Marcel.
Thanks ,lot's of fun.ran over them many times with my bike.Had them at the two gas stations I worked at in the late 60's.$.25 gas,could fill my 56GMC p/u for a few bucks.Made a $1.25 per hour.Happy as a clam.
The day after I watched this video, I went to my local Tire Shop. Pulled up, ran over the familiar black rubber hose, heard the familiar "Ding". On closer examination, that hose still had that "bolt in the end" to close the hose. But the OTHER end, now has some kind of blue tooth transmitter. No physical connection to the shop. And the "Ding" is a solid state recording, or it's a generated tone. Sounds like the same "Ding" that Mr Pete and I used to hop on with our Schwinn Sting Rays. Thanks - Lumpy
Thank you so very much quite enjoyable!!! You know , as I aggravated the service attendant I never stopped to ponder the workings of that gadget. I really enjoyed this and look forward to many more(I hope). God bless my friend!!
I used to jump that bell at the Local Texaco station just like you did. I also remember free air from a hand crank adjustable pressure regulator it wasn't very accurate but at least the air didn't cost $1 like it does now.
I cant figure out why there are any dislikes on this video whatsoever, some people just lacked the love growing up, now that I finally know the maker of these I will be trying to find one of these on ebay, I always wanted one to play with. Keep up the awesome work :-)
I forgot to say that I remember those driveway bells clearly, kinda miss the golden years & was nice to see one still in operation, & this one was a brand new Goodwill store only 3 weeks old.
A friend used one on his driveway. he lived on 9 acres and wanted to know if someone was coming down the drive. I always wanted to know what was inside because the friend took his apart, kept the air diaphragm at the gate and ran wires to the bell. he mounted the bell in his detached garage and a door bell in the house. Thanks for showing how it works.
As a kid growing up in the late 60's my buddies and I would ALWAYS ride through any service station just to hear that Milton bell ring and to Aggravate the attendant working there 😊😊😊😊 those were simple times then just like the Milton 805 driveway signal. Because of this video I was able to find one for sale online it's a new old stock in the original box dated 1958 and I've got the hose and anchor fitting coming too the wife doesn't know it yet but I'm gonna set it up in the driveway next time the grand kids are here and let them experience the joy of running over that black rubber hose and hopefully aggravating YaYa😅😅😅
In my hometown, there was one of these at a pizza restaurant that had a drive-through pickup window. I always thought that the bell was just powered by the pressure in the hose, but I guess that wasn't reliable enough to strike it all the time. And if you look at the bell casting, the raised edge around the word 'driveway' makes it look like it was on a separate part of the mold, and could be replaced with a different word. Maybe they made bells for other applications.
I'm pretty sure you've shown that before, but I enjoyed seeing it again. Excellent idea for a series, thanks for making these entertaining and educational videos.
Milton still makes them, around $50 on the 'net. Yes, still in Chicago. The points looked adjustable so maybe they could be adjusted to require a longer stoke caused by a bigger tire.
I worked in a gas station back in the 70's when I was in high school. It had a 4 bay garage and 2 pump islands. I remember the bell the owner had and it was hooked up to both islands. It rang in the office, but it was loud enough to hear in the far bay and was defining if you happened to be in the office. We would put a rag over it if we were in the office or when customers were in there waiting for their cars. The boss would get mad if someone unplugged it because we would not know if someone pulled up to one pump island that could not be seen from the garage. I always thought it was silly to have that bell in the office and tried to get him to move it to the garage bays. I was told that it was not allowed back there because of some law. Go figure, that was back in NJ were they have all kinds of stupid laws that make no sense and they have gotten worse since I left. But I have to admit that it was back at a time when you pulled in to a place like that and they not only put gas in the vehicle but would also check all the fluid levels and cleaned your windows as part of the service. Where I live now, you pump your own gas, clean your own windows (if the wash tank isn't dry or if the squeegee isn't missing) and you check your own fluids. That is for those of us that know how to do that stuff.
I liked this video a lot! I hope more like it are to come! I am new to machining and would like to know how all the power feed and lead screw system works.
Me and my buddy would ride our bikes for miles, and found a drive thru cleaners one night on one of our 30+ mile rides. they had one of these Milton bells and had the heavier hose, initially we had thought the bell was just disconnected (the shop was closed) but I found out using the edge of the heel of my shoe would set off the bell.. eventually it turned into a tirade of popping the tires up and slamming down on the hose to get the bell going. A couple of other kids joined in and we had the bell dinging in various intervals till a cop showed up because the ringing bell set off a silent alarm. The cop just had us go home but man.. reminds me of fun times...
"What makes it work" is a great idea! Looking forward to more. I remember when I was a youngster and our local garage (auto service station) had a similar bell with the tube stretched out along the forecourt. I used to think it was great fun to jump on the tube, which then made the bell ring...the garage owner/mechanic didn't think it was quite so funny, though :-/
That was interesting! More to that thing than I thought. I always wonder how so little air could ring that bell so loud. Never really seen one and never knew they had to plug into the wall. There is a beverage drive through by me that still uses one of those. Nice video!
I have a much older "gierco" driveway signal mine looks like an old fire bell, and it's got a wooden pressure switch with a rubber diaphragm to operate the switch. It still works
I hope this goes further than your Old Technology series, I was looking forward to that one, this one looks to be interesting as well love your vids keep up the good work!
We have one of these at the Goodwill i work at. Those bells are loud, and can be heard out behind our warehouse and still hear when someone drives up to our donations bay. The bay to the back of the building is well over 100 feet and around a corner next to a freeway. Also, nice video man, you earned a sub from me.
i bought one of the bell units and the electronic chime unit at a garage sell 20 plus years ago. and they still work great. one of the better deals i made in my life. 20 bucks for both.
I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS EVEN AN ADJUSTMENT FOR THE SENSATIVITY OF THE DEVICE. THE OLD DAYS WERE BETTER MR. PETE. THANKS FOR THE VIDEO. PLEASE CONTINUE THE SERIES.
If my friends and I rode our bikes past a gas station and someone noticed the bell hose we all would double back to ride over it. Brought back some great memories MrPete!
I remember that sound very well! The very first job I had as a boy was at a full service gas station and we had one of these Milton bell's! I worked the full service pump's gassing up folks cars and airing up tires, checking batterys, etc. Whatever the customer asked for! I also worked in the light service bay. It was a neat experience looking back. A full service station with an attendant was already a rare thing when I did it, I'm glad I was a part of that history.
I definitely miss hearing these...the sounds of my childhood. I could pop a wheelie on my bike and time it so perfectly as to land on the hose each and every time. Those were the best days of my life! Thank you!
I had to get all the way to adulthood to learn that this was an electrical device. As kids we thought the harder we stomped on the hose the louder it was. So my three brothers and I would be seen stomping on the hose arguing who made it the loudest. Great series Mr. Pete.
lol
Same here. I used to pop a wheelie so I would come down hard on the hose. Had no idea it was solenoid assisted
That brings back memories that I seem to have forgotten all about. Thank you.
mycompasstv Thanks for watching.
Thanks for taking the time to post this. When I was but a wee lad, I started working in what was at first an Esso station, later becoming Exxon. Fantastic learning experience. Everything from repairing cars to driving the wreckers after some basic training. We naturally had one of those bells, but I never gave it a thought, I just plain worked. In the winter we had to bring the hose in so the snowplow wouldn't drag it away and ruin it. Good times.
Yep, we still use it in our restaurant drive thru today, it gets cycled over 400 times a day. It's been going strong for about 20 years. We just have to replace the hose every 6 months or so, and keep the air chamber clean. Excellent product
I thoroughly enjoyed this video. From the stories growing up to the commentary on made in America and times when you'd actually fix things, to the how it works portion. Thank you. This was posted 8 years ago. Hope you are still alive, my friend.
I’m still alive, barely
I enjoyed all of these aspects as well and was happy to click on the channel and see videos are currently still being made! Thank you Mr Pete!
Thanks Mr. Pete, great idea for a series! Starting with a Milton product is a sure winner in my book. Most of my Milton stuff is older than my son and still works perfectly. You are demonstrating why companies like this are still around after 72 years...just like you...simple, elegant, well thought out & Quality built! Look forward to more of these! ~PJ
Just great. I don't know how you thought of this but it goes right along with your program on helping others learn and understand. As many did, us kids would dip into the local stations, with our bikes, and ring the bell whenever we could. Can you imagine two rings for every bike. Sometimes we would know a kid that was working and we would really treat him.
Cheers,
Keep it up,
Lee
This was a great one for curious guys like me who grew up in the city and didn't learn how to fix much past tying our shoes. I'll look forward to the next one.
Bike over the hose, sure brings back good memories, when bicycles had 1 speed and coaster brakes! Wonderful times that live only in memories!
Funny that this is the first episode. I just acquired mine last week and I'm definitely hooking it up on my house. Was hooked up in the basement at one point in an old home I'm currently repairing. Plugged it in at home and brings me right back to the 70's-80's when being in mom's Camaro and Firebird getting gas! Seeing that this is 6 years old and sub count is 266K looks like the idea took off 👍💯👊
Boy does this bell bring back memory's working in gas station as young as 13 year old , many years replacing hose from hot rodders burning rubber across island as they leave ! Thanks for the post !
John Brookbank Thanks for watching. I watches the teens do that too
That was interesting Mr Pete. Thanks for sharing. I still have an old Milton air chuck that was my dads. I still use it to this day to air up tires. It's got the rotary dial under a small lens to indicate the psi.
Adam
Abom79 those were "top of the line". Some had a sight glass for the guage, some had a brass rod/scale that would stick out.
Abom79 Hi Adam-THANKS for watching
WAVETUBE84 I remember those with the glass.
I remember them when I was a kid in England but didn,t have a bike to run over the hose, we had to jump on it and run like hell. Thanks again Mr.Pete for a very interesting video. Your camera work as always first class.
Nodrog Awson Me too.
Nodrog Awson Thanks for watching. lol
I remember these when I was a kid but they disappeared as I got old enough to be taking an interest in mechanical devices. Thanks for that trip[ down memory lane.
I like the idea for the series. Suggestions for other possible episodes: A car differential, shock absorber, air pressure gauge, Carburetor, planetary gear reduction (electric drill), parallel rule on drafting table, starter motor throw-out, one-way bearings, liquid barometer, old-style car charging regulator, refridge compressor, gas pressure reducer/regulator, self-winding watch, steam cylinder D valve with reversing, hydraulic lifters, mercury thermostat, 3-way light switch, mechanical bathroom scales, truck scales, hydraulic gear pump, differential hoist, hydraulic jack, U-joint and CV joint, hand well pump, sewing machine stitching, mechanical variable speed pulley (a la drill press, etc), tractor dynamometer, pneumatic motor, making the original perfect 90 degree square, bike coaster brake, tapered tooling sockets (MT, R8, etc), various old toys, music box, clock escapement, odometer/speedometer, grain elevator, train air brakes, train rail switches, foundry flux, spot welder.
Dave Kellogg I particularly like the bike coaster brake. Anyone remember getting their legs beat on a very old direct-drive bike, before coaster brakes?
Thanks--those are some great suggestions. Of course I have to find some of that stuff.
Show less
I think I will like this series!.....I was the kid that always had to take thinks apart to see how they worked!.....having ADD, I always went to the next item without putting the first one back together!.....drove my dad nuts! He eventually learned to appreciate it, and I way always the one he called to come fix something for him!
Jim Liechty Thanks for watching. I was the one my dad called too
They didn't fool me with the thicker hose ..I learned how to pop my front wheel up and ding the bell
not2fast4u2c Thanks for watching. LOL
man when i was a kid my grampas gas station he had in chicago on 90th and halsted i still remember it!!!i jumped up and down on that making it ring !! fond memories !! he had a concord gas station and auto repair shop.miss you gus he was a great man !!
This is a fantastic video series concept. Understanding mechanisms is interesting and important, and the bits of accompanying history is priceless.
Thank you, Sir. I bought one of these off eBay and couldn't make it work. Now I can.
Ian Brown Thanks for watching
Thanks Mr Pete, I am repairing the one at my shop, the plunger was sticking, preventing the contacts from reopening. I can say that I have leveled up after completing this quest.
Takes me back seeing this, more so the sound than the looks. I was the type of kid who always took things apart to see how it does what it does but never put it back together & that ALWAYS would get me in trouble. "What makes it work" is a FANTASTIC idea I hope to see it continue as part of your regular videos
Rosario W btw- these are still available for around $60 new
Rosario W Thanks for watching
My grandfather had a feed store and sold feed for livestock, horses, dogs, etc. He also sold baled hay. The feed store was in a huge barn across the yard from my grandparent's house. Anyway, he had one of those signals with the bell attached to the side of the house so if he was working in the shop or doing some around the house, he could tell when he had a customer. There was enough space between a fence and the end of the hose for the grandkids to ride there bikes. If grandpa made a special trip away from what he was doing only to find one of us had rode over the hose, he was none to happy and we were the receivers of his unhappiness! The good one days . . . the late '50s!
Swarf Rat THANKS for watching
Thanks for showing this. I don't recall seeing anything like this in Scotland apart from in TV programmes.
I know that sound well! I have fixed one of these for a friend before. The points had been mis-adjusted where they touched all the time. That burned the coil. So, I adapted a washing machine water fill valve solenoid coil to it! Got her up and running.
I definitely enjoyed your video, because you have such a great way of telling about the Good Old Days and explaining things in a simple and understandable way. I hope you have opportunities to do more What Makes It Work videos.
Sincerely,
David
davida1hiwaaynet Thanks for watching.
Wonderful video that my family enjoyed watching after noticing one at a service station near our home. Thanks!
👍
thats awesome! I would have never thought that was a solenoid that rang the bell. I’ve been thinking about these for a few years now and thought that it was a ball bearing at the end of the hose and air pressure would push the ball bearing to ring it. Thank tou Mr Pete for showing this
👍👍
Thank you we live out in the boonies and I have been wanting a way to tell when someone is coming down the drive.
For a brief time in the mid seventies I was the guy who answered the bells call.
+C. D. M. Thanks for watching
I remember these. Never thought to open one. Good stuff. Keep it rollin'
Outstanding Mr. Pete. Wonderful way to kick the new series off! I use to run over them at the ESSO station one block away in the early 1960's. The owner had to remember to roll up the hose in the winter lest the snow plows tear them off. Take care.
I own one of these. It's still in production and is sold by a guy here in Houston!!! It's not the same company as the Milton air hose/fittings!!! It's owned by a guy here in Houston and believe it or not his name is Milton!!! I bought a new one about 10 years ago from Milton and he said that he bought the Patten and right's to manufacture them and started selling them!!! It's still a very handy tool when you work in a shop by yourself and need to know when someone comes into your driveway!!! Very cool!!!
Keep Rocking it out!!!
Thanks
Very interesting ! The great old days...I don't recall ever seeing or hearing them at Service Stations - growing up in South Africa in the 1960's - 70's .
I like the series. I worked at several gas stations in my teens and remember dropping whatever I was doing to pump gas whenever that bell rang. For some reason I remember them giving two quick chimes for each axle. It would be Ding-ding, followed by Ding-ding after a second or so. Perhaps the rod I. The selinoid would bounce.
If you have an old tireflator where you would set your pressure in the window by cranking the handle on the right hand sided, then put air in your tire until the bell stopped ringing, I would love to see that taken apart.
Chris
shadowdog500 Maybe the cars were crossing the hose at an angle so all four wheels were compressing the hose individually.
shadowdog500 Thanks for watching
@@pappabob29 Probably. Either the hose was put across at an angle or it was cars turning in.
Yes I remember when garages had these in use. In fact a farmer friend who sells potatoes from the house in sacks has one to advise when a customer arrives to buy a bag. Someone else uses it as a warning device of burglars in a vehicle coming up the long farm drive in the dark, it is only switched on at night.
I got my behind 'blistered' more than once for jumping on the hose. Thanks for the memories.
lol
Mr Pete, I am of a similar vintage as you and my remembrance is that in California where I grew up, the signaling hose had hard rubber ramps on either side so it was almost impossible for a bicycle to make the bell ring. Thanks for the show and tell
David Haxton
David Haxton Good idea for the attendant--bad for the boys
Hi mr Pete222 I just watch this video of yours 4 times now & still enjoy it please keep em coming. I just was at my local Goodwill to give away some of my item I had laying around & they had one of these at there donation area & I told then how they work. They thought I was real smart cuz no one knew how they work but now they do..
+Dave Graham Thanks for watching--thats a good one
Loved it. Interesting to see a piece of American history at work,
Nice and thanks. I had an idea of how it worked but wasn't sure. I must be getting old because I remember these too. As a kid we would get a group together and ride our bikes through the local gas station all at once. The bell would go nuts and so would the Italian guy working there. He would come out yelling at us in Italian. Its probably a good thing we didn't understand Italian. Back then that was fun.
triac777 Naughty boys. THANKS for watching
Great video Mr Pete I for one would love this kind of series from you as it's one I find myself searching quite often on You Tube on quite days and I can't think of a person I would rather see do them than you.
The video brings back memories of us as little kids jumping on the hoses in the station lots just to ring the bells on Sundays when they where closed if they where left on of course. Wow the things you seem to forget.
I have one of these inside my house! I guess the previous owners set it up so everyone would know when dad’s home. 😊 thanks for explaining it!
This series seems like it will be a hit! It is always fun to see how stuff operates internally and have to say I am amazed how simple this concoction is. Today it would have microcontrollers, lithium polymer batteries, WiFi with a web server and all bunch of stuff just to "ding" a bell. Anyway, had fun watching your review on this child hood memory! I didn't get the chance to do the bike thing, though ;-)
Thanks for making this video. All my life I thought these were a completely pneumatic device, for some reason. But now I know how it *really* works!
Brings back a lot of great memories, of a much simpler time. Ding Ding Thank you
Reminds me of going to the full service gas statuon with my grandmother. The old man still did everything from fuel to tire pressure. Man I miss those days.
Excellent and thorough presentation. You sound like a Jimmy Stewart! Great job snd thank you.
Thanks again for all your videos they have taught me much. I've even started videoing my own repairs and such.
Brian
Great presentation, I used to work in a garage here in England in 1967 that had one , trying to get one for my driveway now
Excellent idea for a new series. I'm biased, no matter what you do I enjoy. Thanks from Belfast.
Darren Martin Thanks for watching
I always wondered how those things worked, thanks Mr Pete 222.
+Deane Richardson Thanks for watching
This series is a great idea. Please keep them coming.
Terrific idea for a new series! When I was young back in the early 60's every gas station, A&W Root Beer stand and Ice Cream shop had one of these. We had a dutch uncle who ran a mortuary in town who wanted to install one of these but my folks always thought that would be in bad taste. LOL. I can think of several things you could feature in this series... old lawnmower points and condenser vs elec ignition; 2-cycle vs. 4 cycle (I think your original "how does a steam engine work" with the cutaway teaching aid is one of your best informative videos); coke machine coin changers (how do they make correct change mechanically); mechanical belt-driiven torque converters and what causes the speeds to change automatically, etc.. I had one of these on my Tote Goat minibike when I was a kid and thought it was magical. Always wanted to install one on a drill press by the way to see if it would work in that application. There are so many common simple mechanisms from my early years that today's kids will never be exposed to unless someone shows them. Any rate, thanks again Mr Pete! I look forward to future vids in this series. Keep 'em coming!
TheMainlinehobo Thanks--those are some great suggestions. Of course I have to find some of that stuff.
Just today, I bought 4 old engines to cut apart. 2 c& 4 cycle.
Hi mrpete, nice idea for a series...
Remember pounding the hose while may dad had his car filled with gas, I was told to STOP but when you're 5-6 yo. hearing is very selective... ;-)
pierre beaudry True.
THANKS for watching
Mr Pete, This brings back my youth working in a service station. I'm looking forward to more videos like this, which is a good idea for a series. Great job
Bob Auer
I just got mine workin. My grandpa had a service station from the 70s. Its awsome....brings back good memories of Grandpa workin on cars and helpin pump gas with him. How do you tell the year of the this piece? Very simple.....I just cleaned all the points and connections and all is good mines exactly the same as yours to the T. I have alot of cool old stuff from the gas station.
Great explanation and demonstration of the moving parts of these signals. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!
👍👍
Very interesting! looking forward to watching rest of the videos in the series!
Thanks, Mr. Pete! Back in the late 80s as I was coming up through high school and starting college, I worked for a service station with one full service island and two self service islands. I don't recall us having a driveway bell like this, but we did have a great tire inflater. You could crank a hand crank on the side and mechanical numbers would display the selected psi. Then, as you filled your tires, a bell would ring, as rapidly as the air flowed. When the bell ringing stopped, or when you got tired of waiting for the next bell, you knew you had the selected pressure. Do you remember those?
I am going to like this "What Makes It Work" Series. I used to hang around gas stations some and sure do remember the bell. I never knew how they did work.
dan andy THANKS FOR WATCHING--more to come
Dear Sir.
Thanks for that, I always thought that it was purely a pneumatic operation, but could not see, how driving over the hose would generate enough pressure to ring the bell.
Now I know.
Marcel.
Thanks ,lot's of fun.ran over them many times with my bike.Had them at the two gas stations I worked at in the late 60's.$.25 gas,could fill my 56GMC p/u for a few bucks.Made a $1.25 per hour.Happy as a clam.
Thanks for fun old memory! Would love to see more of these video.
Hey Lyle!! It's good to see you back doing videos! Keep them coming.
Rolando Escobar I didn't know he had been away. mrpete seems to release a video most weeks. :-)
The day after I watched this video, I went to my local Tire Shop. Pulled up, ran over the familiar black rubber hose, heard the familiar "Ding". On closer examination, that hose still had that "bolt in the end" to close the hose. But the OTHER end, now has some kind of blue tooth transmitter. No physical connection to the shop. And the "Ding" is a solid state recording, or it's a generated tone. Sounds like the same "Ding" that Mr Pete and I used to hop on with our Schwinn Sting Rays. Thanks - Lumpy
I am disappointed to hear that
Thank you so very much quite enjoyable!!! You know , as I aggravated the service attendant I never stopped to ponder the workings of that gadget. I really enjoyed this and look forward to many more(I hope). God bless my friend!!
Eric Day Thanks for watching.
I always thought they were rang with air pressure only thanks for the insight. Will wait for the next short clip.
Excellent video. Looking forward to the next in the series. regards from the UK
+Gary C Thanks for watching
I used to jump that bell at the Local Texaco station just like you did. I also remember free air from a hand crank adjustable pressure regulator it wasn't very accurate but at least the air didn't cost $1 like it does now.
+Rob C Thanks for watching
I cant figure out why there are any dislikes on this video whatsoever, some people just lacked the love growing up, now that I finally know the maker of these I will be trying to find one of these on ebay, I always wanted one to play with. Keep up the awesome work :-)
Jason Windecker Theres trolls disliking in everyone of my videos. Thanks for watching.
Very nice explanation. I really like these type of videos and thanks Mr Pete.
I forgot to say that I remember those driveway bells clearly, kinda miss the golden years & was nice to see one still in operation, & this one was a brand new Goodwill store only 3 weeks old.
+Dave Graham Thanks for watching
Thanks so much for this video. The papa johns that I work at has one of these and I have always wondered how it works. Fascinating!!
👍👍
A friend used one on his driveway. he lived on 9 acres and wanted to know if someone was coming down the drive.
I always wanted to know what was inside because the friend took his apart, kept the air diaphragm at the gate and ran wires to the bell. he mounted the bell in his detached garage and a door bell in the house.
Thanks for showing how it works.
As a kid growing up in the late 60's my buddies and I would ALWAYS ride through any service station just to hear that Milton bell ring and to Aggravate the attendant working there 😊😊😊😊 those were simple times then just like the Milton 805 driveway signal.
Because of this video I was able to find one for sale online it's a new old stock in the original box dated 1958 and I've got the hose and anchor fitting coming too the wife doesn't know it yet but I'm gonna set it up in the driveway next time the grand kids are here and let them experience the joy of running over that black rubber hose and hopefully aggravating YaYa😅😅😅
👍👍
In my hometown, there was one of these at a pizza restaurant that had a drive-through pickup window. I always thought that the bell was just powered by the pressure in the hose, but I guess that wasn't reliable enough to strike it all the time. And if you look at the bell casting, the raised edge around the word 'driveway' makes it look like it was on a separate part of the mold, and could be replaced with a different word. Maybe they made bells for other applications.
I'm pretty sure you've shown that before, but I enjoyed seeing it again. Excellent idea for a series, thanks for making these entertaining and educational videos.
Milton still makes them, around $50 on the 'net. Yes, still in Chicago. The points looked adjustable so maybe they could be adjusted to require a longer stoke caused by a bigger tire.
You are wrong!!! They are owned by a guy here in Houston and no longer owned by the Milton corporation!!!
I worked in a gas station back in the 70's when I was in high school. It had a 4 bay garage and 2 pump islands. I remember the bell the owner had and it was hooked up to both islands. It rang in the office, but it was loud enough to hear in the far bay and was defining if you happened to be in the office. We would put a rag over it if we were in the office or when customers were in there waiting for their cars. The boss would get mad if someone unplugged it because we would not know if someone pulled up to one pump island that could not be seen from the garage. I always thought it was silly to have that bell in the office and tried to get him to move it to the garage bays. I was told that it was not allowed back there because of some law. Go figure, that was back in NJ were they have all kinds of stupid laws that make no sense and they have gotten worse since I left.
But I have to admit that it was back at a time when you pulled in to a place like that and they not only put gas in the vehicle but would also check all the fluid levels and cleaned your windows as part of the service. Where I live now, you pump your own gas, clean your own windows (if the wash tank isn't dry or if the squeegee isn't missing) and you check your own fluids. That is for those of us that know how to do that stuff.
that made me smile. i remember doing the same thing at our local station.Love your vids.
jeff clark THANKS FOR WATCHING
I liked this video a lot! I hope more like it are to come! I am new to machining and would like to know how all the power feed and lead screw system works.
MattsMotorz Thanks for watching.
Me and my buddy would ride our bikes for miles, and found a drive thru cleaners one night on one of our 30+ mile rides. they had one of these Milton bells and had the heavier hose, initially we had thought the bell was just disconnected (the shop was closed) but I found out using the edge of the heel of my shoe would set off the bell.. eventually it turned into a tirade of popping the tires up and slamming down on the hose to get the bell going. A couple of other kids joined in and we had the bell dinging in various intervals till a cop showed up because the ringing bell set off a silent alarm. The cop just had us go home but man.. reminds me of fun times...
I heard this a lot when I was in school working at the truck stop.
Very neat! Saves me the trouble of having to pull one apart now.
Hopefully you have a bicycle 3-speed hub planetary drive up next.
I remember when they had these driveway bells at gas stations all over town
"What makes it work" is a great idea! Looking forward to more. I remember when I was a youngster and our local garage (auto service station) had a similar bell with the tube stretched out along the forecourt. I used to think it was great fun to jump on the tube, which then made the bell ring...the garage owner/mechanic didn't think it was quite so funny, though :-/
One would think is that all you need is the pressure from the air to push up the thing that rings the bell🤔
Thank you Mr. Pete ! Please keep the videos coming.
That was interesting! More to that thing than I thought. I always wonder how so little air could ring that bell so loud. Never really seen one and never knew they had to plug into the wall. There is a beverage drive through by me that still uses one of those. Nice video!
Great video. Having grown up in the late 80s/early 90s, there really wasn't any full service gas that I can remember.
***** Born too late
***** You missed an era when service meant something, Something that we may never see again!
takes me back to my youth before all the little stations disappeared
Interesting video. We had the same in the UK, but I don't know where they were made. Many thanks :-)
I have a much older "gierco" driveway signal mine looks like an old fire bell, and it's got a wooden pressure switch with a rubber diaphragm to operate the switch. It still works
1944johndeerel Thanks for watching
I hope this goes further than your Old Technology series, I was looking forward to that one, this one looks to be interesting as well
love your vids keep up the good work!
We would run over those tubes to ring the bells when we were kids. If no bike, we'd jump on it to ring it.
Me too
We have one of these at the Goodwill i work at. Those bells are loud, and can be heard out behind our warehouse and still hear when someone drives up to our donations bay. The bay to the back of the building is well over 100 feet and around a corner next to a freeway.
Also, nice video man, you earned a sub from me.
Thanks
i bought one of the bell units and the electronic chime unit at a garage sell 20 plus years ago. and they still work great. one of the better deals i made in my life. 20 bucks for both.
Eric A good buy
I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS EVEN AN ADJUSTMENT FOR THE SENSATIVITY OF THE DEVICE. THE OLD DAYS WERE BETTER MR. PETE. THANKS FOR THE VIDEO. PLEASE CONTINUE THE SERIES.
ROBERT HORNER Thanks for watching
I have one just like that, The parts look like something direct out of a Electrical Mechanical Pinball machine.