The operation of the Pederick Gas Producer is far more simple than the average motorist imagines. Assuming the Producer is filled with charcoal and the cleaners are in order, this is all there is to do to start and run the vehicle on gas.

1.  Start the motor on petrol and let it idle.

2.  Pull out the gas valve on the dash.

3.  Unscrew lighting plug from Generator.

4.  Remove lighting taper from small can attached to unit (it is part of the cap) light it and hold it to the charcoal through the opening made by removing the plug and the suction from the engine draws the flame in and lights the charcoal instantly.

5.  Replace plug and drive away on petrol.

6.  Open the air valve slightly.

7.  Place your foot on both petrol and gas accelerators together and in about one mile you will feel the gas coming through. You then drive on gas only, adjusting the air valve to get best mixture. If out of the city you can turn petrol right off, by special tap if fitted, and adjust water drip to about 50 drops per minute for continuous running.

8.  When stopping there will be no need to light the charcoal again unless the engine is stopped for more than about four hours. In re-starting after a stop, do so on petrol and again use both accelerators and gas will come through again in anything from 100 yards to about half a mile, depending upon how long the engine has been stopped.

1. Water Drip Tap.
2. Manual Water Control.
3. Air Inlets.
4. Flame Traps.
5. Lighting Plugs.
6. Bottom Lid and Clamp.
7. Filling Lid and Clamp.
8. Cleaning Plug.
9. Gas Outlet.
10. Primary Cleaning Port and Plug.
11. Gas Line.
12. Gas Elbow Cleaning Port and Plug.
13. Oil Reservoir.
14. Cleaning Port and Cover.
15. Oil Level Tap.
16. Sisal Support Disc.
17. Sisal Holding Down Disc.
18. Lid and Clamp.
19. Self-Draining Elbow.
20. Sisal Support Disc.
21. Cleaning Port and Cover.
22. Sisal.
23. 7 1/2 in. Diameter Hessian and Felt.
24. Wood Wool.
25. 9 1/2 in. Diameter Hessian and Felt.
26. Holding Down Clips.
27. Sisal and Wood Wool.
28. Air Space.
29. Security Filter Cage and Felt Sock.
30. Holding Down Screws.
31. Lid Clamp.

This is all there is to do other than to fill up with charcoal as required. Do not let the fuel, in the fire box, get below the halfway mark or overheating may result. Systematically attend to the cleaners as outlined in the Pederick Manual.

A Pederick Gas producer has been donated to the Rushworth Museum by Mr Ray Whiteacre of Rushworth,.

Ray operated a cartage business in Rushworth for many years
This Gas producer was mounted to the front bumper bar of his Bedford truck which he used to deliver goods and fuel  in the Seymour and Rushworth Districts.  This was when fuel was in very short supply and it was rationed during World War 11.

All fuel was carted by the Victorian Railways to fuel depots, which were in all Major Country Towns it was then distributed to Service station, farm’s and essential services, by cartage contractors.

The Gas Producer which burnt Charcoal to produced a gas which was enough to run the truck, the motor would be started on petrol and when there was enough gas it would be switched over to the gas supply. Once the charcoal was burnt the driver was required to stop and refill the hopper with fresh charcoal and start all over again.

Ray told me that the Charcoal which was made from the Rushworth Ironbark timber, was a much better quality then the charcoal produced from Red Gum Timber.

With the rising price of fuel today, maybe we may have to convert back to the old gas Producers??

Ray convened on to me a story that when he drove his Truck into the Fuel depot in Seymour he was required to leave his tobacco and matches at the gate, But his Gas producer would be operating near red hot he said it was lucky that Seymour was not blown off the map if the fuel stored at the depot was ignited..

Attached is a Operators instruction on how the Gas producer was operated.

So next time you are near the Museum why not call in and view the Pederick Gas Producer

Latest additions at Museum.

Thanks to Laurie and Margaret Allen for their kind donation of these two items

First is a Electosonic Washing Machine one of the  first 32 volt  Electric Washing machines to  be manufactured  in Melbourne by Excell Jones & Co Pty Ltd Pat App No 32787

In the early 1950;s  most houses had outside wash-houses {laundryies were for posh people} with either a wood or electric copper to boil up the clothes.

Next to the copper would stand  twin tub concrete troughs , in one trough for hot water, clothes and soap would be arranged around this machine and when switched on, it would produce gentle ripples in the water which was intended to dislodge the dirt from the soiled clothes with actually moving the them, hence no wear and tear.

The Rotody was place in the next trough and it was a water powered device.

Clothes were lifted from the washer using a pot-stick,and placed in the rotodry.

A hose from the tap fed water through a jet onto teeth on the underside of the rotor causing the rotor to spin fast enough to remove most of the water.

No need for a wringer

The Rotodry was Made in North Melbourne By Rotordry Products Pat15203 Phone FJ 6754.

President John Fielden  with Secretary Lorraine Rule welcoming visitors to the Museum when it was reopening after intensive interior renovations were completed .

These Doors were donated by the Poulson family and are now on display in the museum.

The Rushworth Museum.Is located in High Street Rushworth in the Old Mechanics Institute Building built in 1913

But what are Mechanics Institutes?

 Mechanics Institutes originated when all skilled labourers, trades people and Artisans were generally referred to as mechanics. The definition may have become more specific during the industrial revolution when workers became increasingly associated with machinery.

The origin of the Mechanics' Institute is attributed to Dr George Birkbeck ,of the Andersonian Institute in Glasgow Scotland. In 1880 he gave a series of evening lectures to local mechanics about new technology. The lectures were extremely popular because Birkbeck offered them free at the time when formal Education was available only to the wealthy.

The lectures led to the formation of the facilities dedicated to providing education and self improvement opportunities to workers-- the Edinburgh School of Arts [1821]and the London Mechanics Institute [1823]. They provided libraries,reading rooms,lectures,museums,halls,and meeting places. Soon there was hundreds of mechanics and similar establishments throughout the British Isles. The movement quickly spread throughtout the colonies of the British Empire. They were particularly popular in 19th century Canada,New Zealand,North America,and Australia,where pioneered technical education and formed the basic of the modern public library systems. Australia;s first mechanics institute was established in Hobart in 1827.

The movement began in Victoria with the formation of the Melbourne Mechanics Institute in 1839 and in Victoria there have been over 1100 institutes which were created by individual and often remote communities.  They served as a focal points and cultural centres for suburban and rural people and provided necessary civic infrastructure.

 Institutes trustees and committee members were dedicated to the improvement of the cultural, educational and social life of the inhabitants of their local communities. With the passage of time and the creation of municipal educational, welfare,recreational, and library facilities, mechanics' institutes gradually lost their preeminence, particularly after World War 11.

Today there are over 500 still operating in Victoria as Halls for local organisations.