I bought this NOS Hardie Pope analogue water tap timer today at a Salvos store and have become curious about it's age since getting back home. The cardboard packaging looks old school but there's no clue about it's era of manufacture. Research on the web has come up with limited info but I have gleaned these tidbits so far. Hardie Pope was a brand of James Hardie Irrigation Pty Ltd South Australia. It was taken over (bought) by Toro of Minnesota U.S.A in 1996. It is now trading under the Pope name only. I found a Los Angeles Times article about the 96 Toro takeover dating from 1996 detailing how James Hardie Irrigation was a division of the global James Hardie group now acquired by Toro -who make mowers -for their irrigation products division. The article made mention of James Hardie becoming involved in the irrigation products business in 1978. I presume this is when they acquired or merged with Pope irrigation products to form Hardie Pope?
I'm placing the date as being in the 1980s some time as blister packs have been the favoured packaging method for decades now.
It could well be from the 1970s but the plastic looks a bit too pristine to be that old. Does anybody have a further clue as to the date of this item? If it's from as far back as the 70s, I don't think I want to use it! Not likely though.
While were on water products, does anyone know when plastic click on hose fittings came in?
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
hi MF, I'll crosspost your query to the Old Pope mowers on FB. The guys collect these sort of things, sprinklers spanners etc etc. as well as old Pope mowers... speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
MF, I would be betting around 1991. I had a look at an old mitre10 shop book but they didn't do much pope stuff
I bought some galcon auto switching switching valves last year that were new but spent 10 years on the shelf. They came in a box that looked a similar vintage but had a 2005 datecode - retic industry moves slowly I suppose
having a look at the acn on the packaging may suggest after june of 2000.
From wikipedia - The Australian Company Number (ACN) was adopted in Australia on 1 July 2000, as one of the complementary measures when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced. All companies registered at the time were issued with an ACN by ASIC. On registration of a company under Australia’s Corporations Act 2001, it is issued with an ACN.
morning MF. Get a free android app, called Lens and read the barcode........
What is the best free barcode scanner? Google Lens
You can copy or translate text, identify plants, find similar products and a lot more. Lens is part of the Google app on iPhones, so you won't need a separate app for scanning QR codes. Overall, Google Lens is one of the best barcode scanner apps for Android and iOS.15 July 2021
speedy
........................Keep your blades sharp......................
As Joe said it has to be newer than around 2000 and no later than 2007 as Mich has found the Date Deregistered: 13/04/2007
I don't think a barcode reader will tell you much, other than it's a EAN 13 barcode (European Article Numbering) 13 digits
A scanner gives you the number 9310317003153 that's on the barcode already ,The 93 represents Australia .
The next 5 digits are the manufacturer number , the next 5 digits are a product code .
The last digit of a barcode number is a calculated check digit. The check digit is calculated from all the other numbers in the barcode and helps to confirm the integrity of your barcode number.
Hi maxwestern, mich, Joe_Carroll, Tyler and speedy. Thanks for all the help in adding pieces of the puzzle.
Maxwestern, I found the dial won't count down beyond 15 minutes when I wound it up. Those reviewers are damning. How did this product ever go out to market? A clue is a certain logo on the pack! Awful company.
Mich, much needed info there. I wish I could find out more of the story on the Hardie and Pope names association.
Joe_Carroll I never knew about the ACN. I learned something new and it helped narrow down the date. It really struck me as vintage due to the JH logo and the elaborate drawing of the product on the box. It really looks much older than the 2000s. I'm amazed.
Speedy, thanks again for investigating on my behalf. Just tried the lens app (tricky to navigate) and it just came up with the number which it could do nothing with. It also came up with pictures of plants lol.
Tyler, you were off by a whole decade mate, but it really looks at least that old.
Ahh, if only victa had kept producing the thumblatch catcher series, they would be in better shape today!
