Fort Wayne Duncan Wattmeter, 1894-1898

THF168721 / Fort Wayne Duncan Wattmeter, 1894-1898
01

Artifact Overview

In the late 1800s, companies that supplied electricity to consumers needed a way to measure how much customers used--and then charge them accordingly. Thomas Duncan developed wattmeters for several companies before starting his own meter manufacturing business in 1901. This induction-type wattmeter was developed for the Fort Wayne Electric Works in the late 1890s.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Wattmeter

Date Made

1894-1898

Location

Not on exhibit to the public.

Object ID

30.470.68

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of General Electric Company.

Material

Metal
Glass (Material)
Paper (Fiber product)

Color

Black (Color)
White (Color)
Brown

Dimensions

Height: 95 in
Width: 9 in
Length: 7.5 in

Inscriptions

on plate: FORT WAYNE ELECTRIC CORPORATION/ FORT WAYNE, IND. U.S.A./ DUNCAN METER/ PATENTED/ JULY 4 1893 JULY 31 1894/ APRIL 17 1894/ PATENTS APPLIED FOR on readout: FORT WAYNE ELECTRIC CORPORATION/ FORT WAYNE INDIANA/ 30 LIGHTS/ AMPERE HOURS/ DUNCAN METER/ NO 20753 on sticker: Nagel & Smith/ ELECTRIC/ SUPPLIES, WIRING, & REPAIRING/ WAPAKONETA, OHIO.
Fort Wayne Duncan Wattmeter, 1894-1898