Please,

I have just bought a very old soldered copper wax melter/filter and I
cannot understand how it works !

It is difficult for me to describe this without diagrams, but:

It apparently consists of a water jacket around a central cylinder.
At the bottom of the inner cylinder there there is a gate valve
leading to the outside, much like a honey valve.

At the bottom of the outer cylinder there are _two_ valves, one a ball
valve, the other a wing nut-type plug.  The latter is very tight and I
do not want to force it open, so I do not know if it is working.

On the outside of the outer cylinder there is an iron plumbing fitting
unthreaded, obviously for adding water.

The top is open.

On the outside there is a vertical glass tube, obviously to show the
height of some water, but definitely not the water in the inner
cylinder.

Into the bottom of the apparatus there is fitted an electric heating
element.  I do not want to power this up unless I am sure that it is
covered with water inside.

Now for the puzzle:

When I try to add water via the iron fitting, it is reluctant to go in
!  The water level in the glass tube does rise, but very slowly and
falls back down again when I remove the feed !  If I force water in it
squirts out through fine leaks from the seam between the inner and
outer coppers, with the water level in the glass still very low !
(This seam is soldered in only one spot.)

I am beginning to conclude that this is not just a plain water jacket
between two cylinders.  Might there be copper tubes in there ?  Does
this kit sound familiar to anyone ?

Puzzled.

Joe.

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