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Re: Subdural’s Triumph
I was starting 7 boilers in a Boston high rise of 34 floors, and they had a women electrician running that job. One of the hardest workers I ever saw. We have several women pipe fitters/plumbers in our local union hall and get several new female apprentices every year.
Re: Subdural’s Triumph
Some of the best tradespeople I've worked with over the years have been women. Not quite so much tendency to take the if a little hammer doesn't work, try a bigger one approach. There are a few -- a very few -- jobs where sheer physical strength is helpful, of course -- but even there sometimes...
Re: Subdural’s Triumph
mattman said:When I worked for a mechanical contractor we had a tinner that was as skinny as could be that outworked half the men in the shop.
And she was a woman
mattman
3
Re: Subdural’s Triumph
When I worked for a mechanical contractor we had a tinner that was as skinny as could be that outworked half the men in the shop.
mattman
2
Subdural’s Triumph
Subdural’s Triumph
Many extremely capable women are tackling tough jobs in mechanical rooms despite pushback.
Re: Dear Reader
Dan I want to thank you for helping me be a better mechanic. I have been in the trade for 49 years and in June it will be 50 years. I have followed you and your writings since the 80’s I think. To this day I still use your books as reference and knowledge. I was lucky enough to sit with you at lunch at one of your seminars and was amazed at how you held the attention of every single person at the table. You have done more for the trade than anyone has ever. Thank you my friend and your entire family. May you enjoy your retirement and your family for years and years to come. I myself will always be blessed to have been able to take advantage of all you had to share. Perhaps when we are all with the dead men we will be able to sit and share stories together but for now I just want to thank you for all the things you have shared over the years. God bless you and your family. You have made a difference in this world and I am lucky enough to have been part of it
John Faccio.
John Faccio.
Re: Dear Reader
Your book saved me so much time and trouble. I bought a house with a 121 year old steam system, went in knowing nothing about steam. I read The Lost Art cover to cover and was able to get the system humming with little effort. The prior owners had neglected it and, by their own records written on the wall, were adding a gallon of water a day to the system! It also heated unevenly. Now my house is toasty even on the coldest night so far (high 20s). I love the steam radiators. They're so much better than forced air. And what other heating system still works after 121 years with the same piping and same radiators and much of the same valves? Your book probably saved the steam system from being trashed and replaced.
zooba
1
Re: Dear Reader
Dan, I wrote about 17 paragraphs that got lost when I logged in. I'll paraphrase... THANK YOU! You were an influencer long before there was such a thing! I truly appreciate you, what you have done for the word and what you have done for me personally. I look forward to having a Guinness with you in the future. Wheels
Re: Dear Reader
Dan:
My deep condolences for the loss of your soul-mate.
I have been following you since 1993, when I bought a row house in Hoboken that had a 2-pipe steam system. At the time, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a 2-pipe steam system. But I was told that the prior owners paid very high heating bills.
I had a the house renovated before we moved in. Changes were made in the heating system. I knew the plumber was screwing up but didn't know why. So I fired the plumber and was on my own. I asked many questions of anyone who may have answers. That's how I learned about a book called "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" by a guy called Holohan. Out of sheer desperation, I ordered the book.
You were my game changer. It turned out that I really liked steam heating and just sucked in all the knowlege. Your book gave me the confidence to reconfigure all my near-boiler piping by myself. I learned that my steam traps had not been changed since 1940. Although I didn't have to, I even re-converted the system back to vapor-vacuum (young plumbers came to my house because they never saw a functioning vapor-vacuum system). When I was done, that system purred like my "silent friend" (just like your book said). And I knew enough to marvel at what all the Dead Men did before me.
Because I could, I branched out to hot water heating. This came in handy when, 25 years later, I moved into a small farm in western NJ heated with hot-water radiators. The house is over 200 years old and I marvel at all the additions and retrofits added since then. My main contribution to this on-going history is a hot water system being pumped away from the boiler.
I took your seminars (and identified your building in Seattle because it looked like the Met Life Building in NYC where I had worked). I helped many friends and should probably have earned a commission on your book sales.
In my small corner of the world, you made a difference. I am a lawyer by trade and a tradesman by heart. And you were the giver of The Sacred Knowledge. Now my sensei will be sorely missed.
Good luck in retirement with your family.
Peter Rozano
My deep condolences for the loss of your soul-mate.
I have been following you since 1993, when I bought a row house in Hoboken that had a 2-pipe steam system. At the time, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a 2-pipe steam system. But I was told that the prior owners paid very high heating bills.
I had a the house renovated before we moved in. Changes were made in the heating system. I knew the plumber was screwing up but didn't know why. So I fired the plumber and was on my own. I asked many questions of anyone who may have answers. That's how I learned about a book called "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" by a guy called Holohan. Out of sheer desperation, I ordered the book.
You were my game changer. It turned out that I really liked steam heating and just sucked in all the knowlege. Your book gave me the confidence to reconfigure all my near-boiler piping by myself. I learned that my steam traps had not been changed since 1940. Although I didn't have to, I even re-converted the system back to vapor-vacuum (young plumbers came to my house because they never saw a functioning vapor-vacuum system). When I was done, that system purred like my "silent friend" (just like your book said). And I knew enough to marvel at what all the Dead Men did before me.
Because I could, I branched out to hot water heating. This came in handy when, 25 years later, I moved into a small farm in western NJ heated with hot-water radiators. The house is over 200 years old and I marvel at all the additions and retrofits added since then. My main contribution to this on-going history is a hot water system being pumped away from the boiler.
I took your seminars (and identified your building in Seattle because it looked like the Met Life Building in NYC where I had worked). I helped many friends and should probably have earned a commission on your book sales.
In my small corner of the world, you made a difference. I am a lawyer by trade and a tradesman by heart. And you were the giver of The Sacred Knowledge. Now my sensei will be sorely missed.
Good luck in retirement with your family.
Peter Rozano
Re: Dan Holohan Retires After 36 Years of Writing Magazine Columns
Thank you, Dan. I was there from the early days and you made me a better person in more ways than you know.
kev
1