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Steam radiator age

tkos115
tkos115 Member Posts: 94
in Strictly Steam
I have ARCO steam radiators in my house I just bought. I was wondering if there is a way to find out how old they are or find a date range. They have castings that say ARCO on them. The house was built in 1899. I'm not sure if they could be original to the house but from what I understand it used to have a coal fired heating system back in the day.

Comments

  • Dave0176
    Dave0176 Member Posts: 1,178
    edited October 2018
    Well their either original to the home build date or as I’ve seen in lotta homes the steam heating added later on. The biggest give away is the exposed pipe running up to the second floor through the first floor rooms for a later add on system.
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  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,314
    Pictures?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
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  • tkos115
    tkos115 Member Posts: 94
    Ah it may be an add on system. I do have two pipes that run to the 2nd floor that are exposed. I will add pictures later on when I get home from work.
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,595
    ARCO is the American Radiator Company. They formed in 1891-2 by combining several companies. My guess is your radiators are probably original to the house.
    Retired and loving it.
  • tkos115
    tkos115 Member Posts: 94
    These are a few pictures I took. They arnt great but hopefully give some idea. And yes... they are pretty dirty. Next day off they are getting a good cleaning. The big one is in the kitchen under a counter the other one is in the bathroom and bedroom. When warm weather comes back around I will be painting them.
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,314
    Those are "small-tube" radiators that came out just before World War 2. AFAIK they are the only ones that used the ARCO name. So the radiators are newer than the house- maybe they were an upgrade from fireplaces, stoves or scorched-air?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,595
    I stand corrected! Thanks, Steamhead, and a pic is worth 1,000 words.
    Retired and loving it.
  • tkos115
    tkos115 Member Posts: 94
    edited October 2018
    That big one is in the kitchen. It's the first heater on the pipeline. Throws a lot of heat, it's really nice on cold days when i first walk into the house. I was looking at some documents about the house. It shows that on 1936 there was a renovation done to the house. Of course it doesn't say what kind of work was done but that may have been when the steam system was put in. It doesn't show any other major house renovations done until 1956 when the house was sold and bought again.
  • tkos115
    tkos115 Member Posts: 94
    This is the radiator in the bathroom. I took it out when we were painting the walls. This is the other casting I found on it with the name.

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