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Welcome to W.L. WALKER.
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The W.L. Walker Company was founded in 1926 by William L. Walker. W.L. Walker was the co-inventor of the Tulsa Oil Thief. This device was the first oil sampling instrument of W.L. Walker Company. It continues to service the petroleum industry as the oil sampler of choice. In the 1940’s W. L. Walker added many other lines of oil gauging equipment. This included the Lufkin Gauging Tapes and Plumb Bobs such as outage tapes and outage bobs, innage tapes, and innage bobs. W.L. developed centrifuges for determining basic sediment and water, oil sample heaters, and hydrometer gravity sample heaters. He stocked all kinds of thermometers - ASTM thermometers, mercury-in-glass thermometers, bi-metal thermometers, and woodback thermometers. Hydrometers were very important for determining specific gravity and there were many kinds and ranges that were necessary to the oil industry. Walker has carried all kinds of hydrometers since then -- API Combined Form Thermohydrometers, API Plain Form Hydrometers and Specific Gravity Hydrometers. We also found pressure hydrometer cylinders for determining the specific gravity of light hydrocarbons, and Pensky Martens Flash Point Testers and Tag Closed Cup Flash Point Testers. The industry needed all kinds of services and materials during World War II and W.L. stocked oil gauging pastes such as water indicating paste and gasoline indicating paste, graduated plastic mud cups and Marsh funnel Viscosimeters. Walker provided tank strapping equipment and tank strapping tapes in these early years. |
At the end of World War II, W.L. was in poor health. His son, Arthur, returned from military service to help. Art Walker sought new lines of equipment and continued developing new products in addition to the Tulsa Oil Thief. Sampling devices included the zone sampler, copper weighted sampler, bacon bomb samplers, bottle samplers, and cage samplers. Art Walker was instrumental in the development of a multitude of oil centrifuges used to determine sediment and water in crude oil samples during custody transfer. He devised oil centrifuges that could run on 12 volt current and plug into the cigarette lighter on the vehicle. These included portable electric oil centrifuges and 12 Volt Water Heated Centrifuges that circulated water from the vehicles system to heat the centrifuge. Electric heated centrifuges soon followed that could run from 12 Volt or 115 Volt. The Explosion Proof Design Centrifuges led to a CSA Approved Explosion Proof Centrifuge. We even developed an air driven centrifuge that is inherently safe. A CSA approved Therm-O-Cycle Heater was designed to heat the intrinsically safe centrifuges. All these centrifuges meet specifications as stated in the API’s Manual of Petroleum Measurement Chapter 10.4, “Determination of Sediment and Water by Centrifuge- Field Method” (The old ASTM D96). Chapter 10.4 calls for the pre-heating of oil samples and the Walker oil sample heaters were developed in 12 volt DC and 115 Volt AC to meet the requirement of API.Key items were added to our inventory to support the use of this equipment. Glass bottles were important, but Art Walker was also able to gain the Nalgene Labware line of products in the 1950’s. Nalge Nunc International carries ISO 9001 certified products such as plastic hydrometer cylinders, plastic bottles, and plastic wash bottles made out of high density polyethylene and low density polyethylene that hold up to hydrocarbons. Kimble Glass provided our graduated glass cylinders. Art Walker sought a variety of vendors to provide all kinds of oil gauging equipment. W. L. Walker Company was not only a manufacturer of the key items, but also a one stop shop for everything the hydrocarbon measurement industry could need. Our oil centrifuge tubes were made to exacting specifications- in all sizes and shapes. We carry centrifuge brushes for cleaning the tubes. The popular API centrifuge tube is still in use, but the short cone oil centrifuge tube became the standard, although the pear shaped centrifuge tube is still used in many areas. Areas of further development came in products in determining reid vapor pressure. Reid vapor pressure bombs and reid vapor pressure bomb baths have been carried by Walker for many years. Equipment carrying cases were made in a variety of configurations. The gauger’s equipment carrying case has been a staple of the industry. Centrifuge tube carriers and centrifuge tube holders helped men in the field carry their equipment and glassware carrying cases protected their thermometers and hydrometers in those cases. These came as single hydrometer cases and triple hydrometer cases. In the 1980’s Art Walker decided he wasn’t happy with purchasing a hand driven centrifuge from outside sources and W. L. Walker designed and manufactured the Walker Hand Driven Centrifuge, which has a smooth dual gear driven system with a gear ratio of 16 to 1. It continues to be a popular tool in the industry today. Other ancillary equipment was added for use in marine applications and tank farms such as tally books, tally book refills, sealing wire, cotton cord, cotton rope, and stopwatches. Safety equipment is available from Walker. We can provide life vests, breathing apparatus, intrinsically safe flashlights, and many other types of safety equipment. Art Walker retired in 1986 and the third generation took over. Anne Walker Brackett is responsible for continuing the innovative development of oil gauging equipment. She added a larger more efficient manufacturing facility and state of the art CNC machines to improve productivity and quality. The Isotherm Portable Electronic Thermometer is a digital thermometer that is made to API’s “Temperature Determination” standards. It can be made in many configurations, such as a reel digital thermometer, extended probe digital thermometer, and thin-line digital thermometer. The Isotherm’s probe and cable assembly was designed to allow quick replacement. W. L. Walker Company was responsible for developing the Tape Verification System used in API’s Chapter 3.1.A. This system allows field tapes to be calibrated against master certified tapes that are traceable to the NIST. Walker also verifies tapes. Additional certified equipment comes in many configurations. We can provide, verified tapes, factory certified tapes, NIST certified tapes, factory certified hydrometers, factory certified thermometers, NIST certified thermometers, verified centrifuge tubes, and certified centrifuge tubes. We participate actively in API and ASTM standard writing, so we pride ourselves on careful detail of your verified and certified equipment requirements. Anne Walker Brackett is a member of API and is the Chairman of the Chapter 7 "Temperature Determination" Working Group to write the standard for the API's Manual of Petroleum Measurement. In addition, she is a member of ASTM and serves on the Executive Board of the International School of Hydrocarbon Measurement. The third generation is now running the company, and it is certified as a woman-owned small business. We remain dedicated to professional excellence and pledge to live by the fine reputation the previous leadership worked so hard to achieve. Our reputation is built on innovation and research... the leader - W.L. WALKER COMPANY.
Please visit the link at the bottom of the products listing "Information on Walker Co. and Its Products" for a power point presentation on the history of the company.
MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ARE ACCEPTED. New customers or those wanting to use credit cards will be given information when you are ready to check out.
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