Saw this Ideal boiler today

Solid_Fuel_Man

Gravity. Turn of the century house very well to do for the time.

I believe these are called snowman but the asbestos has been painted red. Lots of large horizontal pipes on this system. Abandoned and drained about 30 years ago, in favor of FHW will get some pics of the radiators next time I am there.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I have much to be thankful for.

Taylor

billtwocase

Nice. Looks like that 100 CRD is maxed out though

Solid_Fuel_Man

I wonder what the overall efficiency of a setup like this. I wouldnt think a gravity system could get water moving in 40+ feet of 3" horizontal coming directly off the boiler like that. Wish it was still operational.

Was quite surprised that this building was not steam originally.



Taylor

SWEI

Solid_Fuel_Man said:

I wouldnt think a gravity system could get water moving in 40+ feet of 3" horizontal coming directly off the boiler like that.

It works on single pipe counterflow gravity mains, so a two-pipe would flow much, much more.

delta T

I'll see your Ideal boiler and raise you.

Saw this this weekend, long abandoned one pipe steam two 4" mains attached to the weird manifold things, coal auger still attached, coal still in the box. Piece of history, love it. no hartford loop installed, was wondering, when did that become standard practice? Also, anyone ever seen one with the manifolds like this? there was one on the supply, and one on each side of the bottom of the boiler for the return.









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Fred

I think the first Hartford loops were installed in 1919. Those are two amazing boilers!

delta T

makes sense then, date on the boiler is 1900 I think. Building was built in 1895 supposedly, but not really sure. No one even knows when the boiler was taken out of commission, two unit heaters now heat the building (originally a hotel, converted to a whole host of other things, currently a theater.)

Solid_Fuel_Man

Interesting boiler! The one I posted is from that 1895 or at least that is when it was built. Things were cleaned up and converted to oil in the 60's as the basement was used as a pool hall. Ideal boiler open for all to see. Still has the asbestos tile in red and white in the rest of the basement.

History in central heat is great!

Taylor

delta T

I'm young enough that it was the only one I have ever seen in my life that still had the coal stoker hooked up.


I saw another one a few years ago at a wedding, old fire tube steam boiler for a mining hotel that was refurbished with geothermal radiant. The boiler is still sitting in what is now the kitchen/bar area, and they pump the return water from the geo loop through it and use it to cool bottles of beer. Boiler is about 8' long, with around 30 tubes in it, so you can chill a lot of beer! Apparently it was the contractor's idea, they were fretting about how to get the old thing out and how much that was going to cost, and lo and behold a beer bottle is a perfect fit in the tubes. A little extra piping and voila, the boiler beer fridge was born.

BobC

A very honorable fate for that kind of device.

You can never chill enough beer.

Bob