It's a Wiley-Simplex, Not a Vapor Regulator Co System

Steamhead

This one had me fooled. Remembering the illustration of the Vapor Regulator Co gear in Lost Art, I thought that's what we had here. Not so- the regulator is marked Simplex Steam Specialty of Lynchburg, Va.- same people who made the system in this thread:

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/168769/need-steam-pro-help-in-roanoke-va

This example is pre-1920 since it uses decorative radiators. The device on top of the regulator may have been a safety valve, a la Broomell. I'm told this was the first house built in what became the Ten Hills neighborhood of Baltimore.

Steamhead

A pipe runs from the regulator to the dry return, connecting near the present-day Gorton #2 main vent. We looked, but could not find any evidence this system vented air into the chimney.

Steamhead

Here are examples of the radiator valves and traps used on this system. The first valve pic looks like the same Simplex valve in the other thread. The second one is smaller.

I'm pretty sure that's an actual trap rather than a water seal or something else, but it looks radically different from the other thread. Have to wait for when we get to take one apart.







The regulator is graduated numerically, but the float therein feels too heavy to operate at ounce pressures. Now that we've seen the Wiley gauge and instructions in the other thread, we're pretty sure this one was also set up to go to pound pressures when the weather got cold.

The boiler is the V&E mentioned in this thread:

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/168414/any-v-e-boiler-info-in-your-dusty-bookshelves

Hopefully we'll get to update this thread with more pics.

DanHolohan

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

JohnNY

Thanks for posting, Steamhead. Great thread.