Dead men's steam trivia, a Christmas present of sorts.

BillW

Doing research for another project, I found a description of the old Prospect House Hotel, built in 1880 on the shores of Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks. It was a very large wooden building, 6 stories high, with the wide porches and cavernous public rooms and fussy jigsaw decorations common in that era. It housed as many as 600 guests. The building was ahead of the times with running (cold) water in each room, but no toilets, bathtubs or showers. There was a two-story outhouse (let the jokes begin) attached to the main house so the guests didn't have to go outside in rainy or cold weather. The bath house had a similar arrangement. The non-potable water system was pumped from the lake by a windmill which filled a water tower for the fire protection and the bath house systems. The drinking water came by aqueduct from a nearby spring. It also had electric lights, one of the first in the area, provided by an Edison DC system driven by a stationary steam engine. Every room was steam heated, but there were no radiators or valves. The steam pipes ( supposedly 3") ran thru wooden boxes in each room, along the outside wall. The covers on the top of the boxes were hinged, and a guest opened the hinged cover when they wanted heat! The boilers first burned wood and after the Raquette Lake railroad opened in 1900, coal was ferried in railroad cars on car floats. Despite being very popular, the place was too big, the season too short and it was only marginally profitable. In 1903, it was sold and renamed Utowanna House, but never was profitable then either and was foreclosed, abandoned and eventually torn down in 1915.

mikeg2015

Cool story.


Love that simplistic radiant setup. Would be stupid easy to make that both vacuum steam and with small fan and some fins and a drain pan, could be vapor compression chilled water too using the lake as a heat sink for summer for water to water exchange and then add the compressor when needed.

Chilled water could be a cascade setup. Colmwayer pumped to upper floors and cascades down. Add a small ventilation system with the coldest water on a fan coil for dehumidification.

BillW

Thanks! I like your idea. Cornell University uses lake water from Cayuga Lake for their cooling needs. The lake is very deep and the water at the bottom is usually about 48 degrees. They pump this water thru a heat exchanger and right back into the lake. It cut their cooling bill significantly; no more big chillers to run.

Danny Scully

@BillW, I went to SUNY Potsdam (which was close considering). Could you forward me your findings on Prospect House Hotel? I’d love to read more.

R Dougan

I grew up in Ithaca, ... here's a picture of Cornell taken from Cascadilla Creek at the base of Cayuga Lake when I was home last.

Paul Fredricks_3

I'd love to read more as well. I have spent a number of summer weekends on Blue Mountain Lake, as my friend's family has a number of cabins there. I wonder exactly where the hotel was.

Paul Fredricks_3

Some pics. Scroll back for more of the hotel.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=3LJmaY01&id=92782FFE1DBC9EA7933EBAAEDE51F6590DDCDF96&thid=OIP.3LJmaY01DirqgDfsJnxEbQHaDt&mediaurl=http://www.adirondackexperience.com/files/styles/1200x600/public/blog/did-you-know-blue-mountain-lakes-electric-legacy.jpg?itok=IKl-2lHC&exph=600&expw=1200&q=prospect+house+hotel+blue+mountain+lake&simid=608033011610684505&selectedIndex=3&ajaxhist=0

BillW

The books I used are "An Adirondack Resort in the 19th Century" by Harold Hochschild, and "Life & Leisure in the Adirondack Backwoods", by the same author. They are part of a six-volume boxed set of paperbacks available from the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, NY. A great place to visit in the summer, lots of beautiful wooden boats, tons of other exhibits, best allot 2 days to do it justice. The Museum has recently changed its name to "The Adirondack Experience". www.adirondackexperience.com is their website.

Paul, thanks for the pix. They are great.

mikeg2015

> @BillW said:
> Thanks! I like your idea. Cornell University uses lake water from Cayuga Lake for their cooling needs. The lake is very deep and the water at the bottom is usually about 48 degrees. They pump this water thru a heat exchanger and right back into the lake. It cut their cooling bill significantly; no more big chillers to run.

I thought they still used chillers since some applications need 42-45f water.

But it would be cool to see them use it as a heat source with a centrifugal compressor. So you draw a vacuum to have the liquid flash at maybe 40f so the lake water heats it. Then compress it so it condenses at maybe 140f for heating.

BillW

It's been awhile since I read that article about Cornell, but I think they have a couple chillers to augment the lake water cooling. It likely is a first stage, with the chillers coming on only at peak demands. This was done several years ago, so there ought to be lots of results available. Any Cornell engineering types want to chime in? Your input would be welcome.

Paul Fredricks_3

Been to the Museum many times, Bill. Such a beautiful area and the museum is worth the visit.