Old 1930s Art Moderne neon-tube ozone generator

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

Found this in an antique shop in Canyonville, Oregon; guy had some good stuff. If anyone here is near there, go ask him about lava lamps; he says he has two in storage and needs to 'dig them out' eventually, but has no recollection of what they look like.

I've seen units similar to this before. I usually see two varieties. The Calozone/Vitozone/etc., made in California, have a wooden or metal case and a row of neon tubes with end caps, forming a flat panel, that can rest atop the base or be lifted off on cables; the tubes are individual, and alternate blue and orange colors.

This one is the other, the Atmoray/Atmozone variety, made in Portland, Oregon. It has a streamlined metal case with tubes mounted on top. The large model has four tubes and a rheostat for adjusting intensity, and mine, the smaller model, has two tubes and just an on-off switch. The tubes are U-shaped, one red (neon filled) and one blue (neon/mercury fill - it isn't argon/mercury), and they nest together for maximum surface contact to each other. The unit works thus: each tube only has one electrode (power connection) and thus carries only one side of the circuit. The circuit completes by jumping the air gaps between the tubes, making ozone and a delightfully sinister and subtle crackling noise! The colors are hard to see in the lit photo, they're dim in person, but one tube is neon orange and the other is silvery blue with pink near the electrode.

The electrode sockets are white porcelain with spring contacts inside. Rubber cord - I had to replace the plug, but put an old-style plug on it. Inside the base (the thing is about 10-15 pounds) is a large 5000v, 18mA transformer with a glass tube over the HV cable that runs nearest the line-voltage connections. The 4-tube may have a bigger transformer, as I'm told it weighs 22 pounds. If I ever find an affordable big model, hopefully the other color (green) I'll grab it!

Cases on the Atmorays are always wrinkle-paint finished (I think one of the trade names on this was Kristokrak) and I've seen dark maroon-ish brown and dark hunter green; mine is brown, and has two chrome trim bands, which not all of them had. Perhaps they were optional? Works like a charm, tubes glow and flicker slightly near the sides where sparks jump. I traded the guy a 1960s Royce brand 7-tube radio for it.

Most ozone generators from the 50s and 60s use either two electrically-charged plates or one or two ultraviolet bulbs and a fan. This one has no fan; an Atmoray brochure I found scanned shows it mounted to the ceiling above a store's produce dept., so the ozone will simply flow down from the machine. Wouldn't this look cool up on a wall or ceiling in an old Art Moderne or Streamline style store! Mine has four circular brass feet with cloth pads, for placing on a table. I'm not sure, but I can guess models for ceiling or wall mounting may have had a pull chain instead of a toggle switch.

Anyone else have one of these, or know more about them? I know that in 1943 the government cited Atmoray/Atmozone for claiming their machines had health benefits, but I'm not sure whether they got shut down.

[mandysbus]

thats cool jonas...i have also seen the wooden box ones..
thanks for posting the pics

[nick]

Thats so cool! Careful though! Fire Hazard written all over it! Look at how old the transformer is and how cracked the paper is..Any heat will cause flare up. Needless to say that is a rare find..you dont see to many of those. I hear they sound so cool!

[Jonas Clark-Elliott]

They do have a very quiet hum and an almost inaudible crackling sound. The transformer on mine is nearly silent, and thankfully the wiring inside is in great shape, with a glass insulator over the HV wire that runs closest to the mains voltage hookup. I replaced the plug on mine, the rubber cord is in fair shape and isn't dangerous but shows tiny surface cracks (from ozone exposure?). Ozone eats organic materials with prolonged exposure; I laugh and cringe at the brochure for these I've seen, which shows them installed over a supermarket's produce dept. and in a meat freezer.