Boiler Hercules L-618 Converted to burn gas

bobbuck

Does anyone know anything about the Boiler Hercules L-618?
Installation instructions, or maintenance or ? It originally burned oil but was converted to burn gas back in 1980.

Steamhead

The only thing I've been able to find in the resources we have, is that this is probably a rather old boiler sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co. In the Beacon boiler reference for boilers made prior to 1959, they show three model names: Indestructo, Hercules and Homart. The Homart name is the most recent of the three and was used at least through the 1970s.

Sears used catalog numbers starting with 229. for almost all their boilers. If you can find a number like this, it will help. Also, take a few pics of the boiler and post them here. Let's have a look at it.

bobbuck

As you can see from the attached photos the furnace is called an octopus for good reason. It has been heating my home that was built in 1925 for a long time. Not sure if it is original to home or installed later. Also not sure if it originally used coal or not. The only name I can find anywhere on it is Hercules and L-618

Steamhead

That really is a furnace, not a boiler. Time to replace it- these old units are not efficient at all.

bobbuck

I know, but it will cost a lot of money just to get it removed let alone the cost of a new heating system.

Fred

@bobbuck I'm pretty sure it started life as a coal fired, gravity hot air furnace. What is it you are trying to learn? The only mechanical part on that furnace is the gas burner which had nothing to do with the original furnace itself.
Check out this link for a Hercules furnace brochure for sale on eBay. looks like your furnace. @Steamhead is correct. Originally sold By Sears and Roebuck:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hercules-Furnaces-Vintage-Fold-Out-Pamphlet-Sears-Roebuck-Company-Illustrated-/370688007604

bobbuck

Thanks for the heads up. I bought the flyer from ebay. I would really like to find out more information about this furnace if I can. Maybe someone on here might know more.

Jamie Hall

One of the properties I care for -- the one in my signature -- has a gravity warm air furnace rather like that, though not exactly the same, which was installed in 1893. It is not in service and may, in fact, be removed. Not sure about that.

The presence of the "clean out" door means it was originally intended for coal.

The thing to watch out for in them is that the heat exchanger metal rusts out. This is most assuredly not good, as it means that either combustion gas can get into the hot air -- or that the draught through the flue can pull the hot air out of the house. The former can be lethal -- you do have CO detectors, don't you? -- while the latter is merely expensive.

That's the bad news -- that and, of course, they aren't very efficient in the first place. The good news is that the ductwork associated with them is way oversize by modern fan forced air standards. This means that if you were to replace that monster with a modern forced air furnace you could use the existing ductwork quite happily -- which saves a lot of hassle. Just be sure to have it thoroughly cleaned before you start blowing air through it -- the increased velocity from the fan will pick up all kinds of things you wish it wouldn't.

Steamhead

bobbuck said:

Thanks for the heads up. I bought the flyer from ebay. I would really like to find out more information about this furnace if I can. Maybe someone on here might know more.

You might try The Sheet Metal Shop forums. If the same guy is running it now who was running it in the past (name escapes me), he'd welcome your inquiries.

http://www.thesheetmetalshop.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3

bobbuck

Thanks for the information. Yes I have several Carbon Monoxide detectors around the house.

JUGHNE

It looks like a fairly involved job to change out. The existing supply pipes don't marry to a modern furnace very well.
I have used the existing supply registers for return air inlets for new furnaces. They are usually all on the interior walls. Also look pretty good left in place.

The old return grills that I have seen were usually on the outside walls under windows. Sometime that cold air duct would drop below the floor of the basement into wood or concrete ducting to go under the gravity furnace. (Some things possibly growing inside.)

I would cut supplies into the floor around the perimeter of the house. The existing cold air floor openings would be plugged with fiberglass and old baseboard grills reinstalled. Unless it was a complete remodel.

Steamhead

If you're going to go this far, go hydronic!

We see many older houses that once had these gravity hot-air systems, and now have steam or hot-water heat. Water-based heat worked much better than air-based (and still does) so many homeowners went this way.

Use your existing register grilles as returns for a mini-duct A/C system if you live where A/C is nice to have.