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Object numberCHREM:2013.23
Object categoryindustry equipment
DescriptionMather & Platt Ltd motor 'soft start' resistance starting switch, motor switch. A soft start - Even when you start a small electric motor such as a vacuum cleaner in your home, the lights can dim and sensitive equipment can suffer. Imagine the problem that electrical engineers faced in the years around 1920 when factories started to convert from steam to electricity and install hundreds of new electric motors. When a motor is started it places an initial very heavy load on the electricity supply. There are various ways of overcoming this so that fuses don't blow and other equipment - and the motor itself - doesn't suffer. One is to deliberately choke down or restrict the power to the motor in its first few moments of operation, which is what this soft start motor switch does. It was made by the famous Manchester-based company of Mather & Platt. The firm is best remembered for its textile machinery, pumps and fire sprinklers: but it also made a wide range of electrical equipment for industry, mostly from the period around 1900 to 1930
Production date 1900-01-01 - 1929-12-31
Persons keywordMather & Platt Ltd, Manchester
Dimensions
- Height: 1590 mm
Width: 510 mm
Depth: 590 mm