Vintage Windmill and Wind Generator Forum

I found this while digging my pond. The property had been farmed for years before they planted it in pines, and then we bought the place and started shaping it to our liking. It looks to be a brass check valve of some sort, but no one I've shown it to has been able to identify its source. It wasn't until I shifted my thinking towards my drop-pipe, sucker rod, and working barrel that I began to wonder if this wasn't pump-related. I think this thing threads apart, though I've not put any lubricant on it and tried to break it loose. Did the smooth section with the washer on it hold leathers at one point?

Yes that's a windmill check valve. sets at the bottom of the cylinder. Some have steel balls inside . It would have two leathers on it.

Talk about finding a needle in a haystack! My property is part of what used to be 800-1,000 acres of farmland. Corn, hay, and watermelons. There actually was a windmill on the property but they tore it down with a bull dozer back in the 80s and bunched it up out in the woods. And then someone stole that. Best I can tell from people who remember the windmill being up, it was at least a quarter of a mile away from my property. How this check valve got to my property, and then how did I happen to find it buried in the clay along the pond is a mystery I'll never be able to solve. It seems in decent shape. What would I need to check to figure out the diameter working barrel it belongs in? I'm curious if I couldn't put this thing back in service. That would be really neat to re-use it.

That is a really cool find.The hunt begins.

It sorta looks like a bottom check but dont think it is. It looks the inside of the top part of a Midland EZ pull cylinder.

Go to page 6 of the catalog to see a better parts breakdown

https://www.midland-midco.com/wp-conten ... k-2021.pdf


Ron Stauffer
Montrose CO

Ron- I think we have a winner. A few differences so maybe not a Midland, or maybe just an older model? That's really cool to figure out. It would be really neat to re-use it, but I'm afraid I might be asking for trouble trying to get it to play nice with other parts. Not to say that it couldn't be done, but I'm not interested in the trials and tribulations necessary to get there. I'll learn the pump side of this over time. But when I make my mill a pumper, I'll be buying new, and off the shelf. Other than the sting in the wallet, I want it quick and painless.