Mystery Box

So this metal box was in the storage area under the master bunk. We noticed it soon after buying the boat but left it to deal with later.

It has zero markings on it, no label or model number, except that the cooling fan on top is from Radio Shack so I would guess the whole thing is. It was not plugged in.

One of the tubes ran into the top of my water tank. I have disconnected it and left the tube running from the tank until I find out what this is. The other tube was sealed - though it may have run somewhere before the unit was unplugged.

Any guesses?

If I can't work it out I will undo the 14 screws on the lid and have a look inside over the weekend.

Greetings,
Mr. m. Careful of your fingers....Just sayin'

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. m. Careful of your fingers....Just sayin'

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Oh, har dee har har har!

ozonator .....terminology may be wrong but back in the day we used ultra violet lamps to help sterilize the OR... my guess they circulated water in your tanks to help kill bugs

Greetings,
Mr. m. Sorry, I couldn't resist...


Was that timer in the "box" circuit? Could it be a bed warmer?

Ka_sea_ta said:

ozonator .....terminology may be wrong but back in the day we used ultra violet lamps to help sterilize the OR... my guess they circulated water in your tanks to help kill bugs

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That would be my guess.

May have s UV light in it if it circulates the water through it.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. m. Careful of your fingers....Just sayin'

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:lol:

I guess that the only thing from radio shack is the fan itself. I can see a timer and considering the gauge of the cable it is not a box full of led light! I can see a tube going from the box to the box.
Is there any other cable or outlet on the box?
Is there a water pipe coming in and another out?
Instant water heater maybe?

The tube doesn't happen to go to your black water tank by chance?

That is a dickfer

You may have found a laser powered statorotoric turbotron. Be very careful with this as the effect are not curently well known.

Whatever its' function, it definitely looks like a home-made contraption to me. The fan was purchased from Radio Shack, but the rest .... Who knows?
I would like to see a photo of the insides after you remove the lid.
(Just be carefull, the thing it trapped may still be in there, and hungry!) ?

SlowGypsy said:

Whatever its' function, it definitely looks like a home-made contraption to me. The fan was purchased from Radio Shack, but the rest .... Who knows?
I would like to see a photo of the insides after you remove the lid.
(Just be carefull, the thing it trapped may still be in there, and hungry!) ��

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If you choose to open it be sure to be in an enclosed secured area that could withstand a nuclear nuke. The auto destructive protection of laser powered statorotoric turbotron is quite powerful!

CP, what's a, oh never mind, I know.

A dehumidifier that drains into your water tank? Yuk.

Leave on a park bench...after wiping your fingerprints off.

No, don't; the authorities would have no sense of humor and no ability to act as they would have years ago.

DHeckrotte said:

Leave on a park bench...after wiping your fingerprints off.

No, don't; the authorities would have no sense of humor and no ability to act as they would have years ago.

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BAD BAD BAD idea... Well I must admit this would make me laugh

Lou_tribal said:

I guess that the only thing from radio shack is the fan itself. I can see a timer and considering the gauge of the cable it is not a box full of led light! I can see a tube going from the box to the box.
Is there any other cable or outlet on the box?
Is there a water pipe coming in and another out?
Instant water heater maybe?

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One water pipe from the box to the tank, the other water hose is capped off (may not have been when they had it running). Nothing obvious down there that it could have connected to.

The unit was strapped down with battery box type straps so this was always the location.

I guess I could take it out to the garage, stick the hose to the water tank into a bucket of water and plug it in to see what happens!

If water circulates thru it, it's probably a UV sterilizer.

If it's just a single tube into the tank, probably an ozone generator/sterilizer.

Either way, the UV bulbs should be in a shielded containment, and they generally have a lifespan of approx 8000 hrs, after that they still light but don't give off enough UV to be active.

Nobody seems to recognize an automatic drift compensator when they see one.

menzies said:

One water pipe from the box to the tank, the other water hose is capped off (may not have been when they had it running). Nothing obvious down there that it could have connected to.

The unit was strapped down with battery box type straps so this was always the location.

I guess I could take it out to the garage, stick the hose to the water tank into a bucket of water and plug it in to see what happens!

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If there is a water in / water out tubing as well as a timer I would bet it is:

1. Something like an homemade water filter thing. Something like run at a given time to fill a clean water tank. Do you have something like a little tank under your kitchen sink?
2. Homemade instant water heater but in that case I cannot see the need for a timer.
3. A water heater to be used for heating the boat so the use of a timer to run it at given time, a bit like programmable thermostat.
4. An homemade system made to purify your holding tank water that will refill your fresh water tank to increase your capacity so the need for a timer to run it at night when nobody will notice how disgusting this could be.
4.A laser powered statorotoric turbotron used to teleport you to your favorite place when it is time to have a drink so the usage for the timer.

Look, open it and take a picture of what is inside as this will drive me crazy!

hmason said:

Nobody seems to recognize an automatic drift compensator when they see one.

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Could it be a shoe owner identifier eliminator device?

BruceK said:

Could it be a shoe owner identifier eliminator device?

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Or maybe a impostor mariner detector... It is connected on one side to your rhum cask and on the other end on your water tank. If it is detecting that the user is getting his liquid from the rhum cask fine but if it is from the water tank then obviously it is not the owner

BruceK said:

Could it be a shoe owner identifier eliminator device?

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I no longer have shoes.

Could it be a high pressure widget, designed to prevent clogs on ultra high definition Vacu-flush toilets???


Open the dang box!!!!

I'm surprised at you guys, nobody said Flux Gate Capacitor.

My real guess is Ozone Water Purifier. That would explain the heavy power cord and the hose into the water tank. The PO used the timer to run it a few hours each day.

It's an ozone machine.

I´ve seen and used several of these - it is, of course, and quite obviously, an Alcoholizer - put it in line somewhere, pref. 120/240V and out comes "MarineShine" (On the water equivalent of Moonshine).

UV water treatment makes the most sense to me. It would need a timer and power amongst other things not shown.

A metal box with wires that does nothing placed as a cruel joke.