Brass Merchant Marine Bunker Fuel Dipper

Collectibles : Maritime : Brassware : Bunker Fuel Dipper

 

For those of you who collect unusual nautical brass items, Sweetpea Cottage has a piece for you. We are offering you the opportunity to obtain this terrific old bunker fuel dipper from a scrapped merchant vessel. We are not able to determine which vessel it came from, but we purchased it in 1970 directly from a person in Bellevue, Washington who specialized in removing the brightware from old merchant ships destined for the scrape yard. This piece was used to drop into a tank of bunker fuel in order to extract some oil for quality testing. It is a heavy piece, weighted with lead to help get it to sink down into the dense fuel. The piece stands 10 ½ inches tall with the handle folded down. With the handle up, it stands about 13 inches tall. It is about 2 3/4 inches in diameter. The stopper is made of cork with a brass cap that is attached by a chain to the body of the piece. As one would expect, it has been well used and shows the dings and dents of a lifetime of service. We have never polished it, but it looks like it might have been polished at one time in the distant past. As it is now, it shows the matte tarnish of age.

This is definitely not your usual nautical artifact. It is guaranteed to start a conversation when sitting on your desk or shelf.

You can buy with confidence from Sweetpea Cottage. We stand behind everything that we sell. If you wish to return your purchase for any reason, simply notify us by email of your intentions within 3 days of receiving the item. We then ask that you return it to us in its original condition in a timely fashion. At that time we will refund the full purchase price minus any shipping charges. Shipping for this item is $15.00.

Item ID: CBFD-122