Dead Men Tales: Remembering Mel Dubin

HeatingHelp

Remembering Mel Dubin

Mel Dubin dreamed, invented, and built something that helped raise thousands of American families. In this episode, Dan Holohan remembers his friend Mel, the founder of Slant/Fin.

Listen and subscribe here.

Paul Pollets

Great story. I met Mel a few times, when he visited my father's wholesale company and at ASA conventions. He was a special guy.

Larry Weingarten

These words: "I miss his grace, his humility, and his humanity." really strike a chord!

Yours, Larry

MrCofDG

That's a *good* one.

bill_brooks

you guys ,up, north have all the hwh stories to tell. but i still enjoy reading about your exploits.
my late wife and i bought a 2-building apartment complex 5yrs. after we married. their's was all-electric. but ours was hwh as we had grown up with. it was all slant-fin convector with most of it out over the tenants
car port. well, a zone valve failed on a sub-zero day and put numerous breaks in the system. fortunately all
above the carport ceiling. easy to get to but too cold even for mapp gas. so, i called our family friends who owned the NAPA store next street down, who supplied hp rad. hose and s.s. hose clamps. after frozen fingers
and much cursing, we had the loop pressure-tight. shortly after all this, i came across dan holohan and his
deadmen wisdom. i learned that the frozen loop was 12' longer than sustainable for a hw loop.
in the spring, i added a smaller loop, using slant fin convector, and installed a 3-way zone valve for control.
i wish i had discovered dan's wisdom sooner. his books are pure experience.
alas, i'm retired and somewhat removed from my real estate upbringings. it's comforting to know, dan's
library of hydronics will always be with me!

ChrisHawkins

I love reading your stories. I own a levitt house with wall to wall baseboard, did some work at slantfin in the mid 70s and also did pump repairs at the Dakota. Reading your stories is like old home week. I only wish I had the pleasure of meeting Mel

DanHolohan

I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the tales. Please share and spread the word. Thanks. 

jumper

Slant/Fin makes me think of boilers. I believe that Slant/Fin pioneered replacing single big boilers with several little ones. Energy savings was big deal after first oil embargo; building superintendents had fun seeking optimal strategy.

Voyager

I only found episode 7 of 8 at their facebook page. I searched their web site and I not find anything. Anyone know where to find the other seven episodes?

Larry Weingarten

Hi @Voyager , click on main site above. Then scroll down snd you’ll see the right logo. Click on it fir the complete list 👍
Yours, Larry

Voyager

Larry Weingarten said:

Hi @Voyager , click on main site above. Then scroll down snd you’ll see the right logo. Click on it fir the complete list 👍
Yours, Larry

Still no joy. I clicked on “main site” and scrolled down to the video library, but I did not see anything in the library that looked like interview videos. And I saw no other icon for slant/fin or anything that looked like it would take me to the videos.

Maybe the iPad browser is showing different things, but I am not seeing anything that looks like the right place

Larry Weingarten

OK, Try this. Go to main site, them look to the far right and click on podcast. See what happens then!
FYI, I was originally giving you what I saw on my phone. This time it's from my laptop.

Yours, Larry

Voyager

Larry Weingarten said:

OK, Try this. Go to main site, them look to the far right and click on podcast. See what happens then!
FYI, I was originally giving you what I saw on my phone. This time it's from my laptop.

Yours, Larry

All I found was the 9:00 long podcast. I did not see the 8 videos that are referenced on the Slant/Fin Facebook page.

Larry Weingarten

OK @Voyager , Try this link: https://heatinghelp.com/dead-men-tales/ Something's gonna work!

Yours, Larry

Erin Holohan Haskell

Thanks, Larry. And here's a Slant/Fin video with Mel and @DanHolohan: https://www.facebook.com/SlantFin/videos/1029565267086149/

DanHolohan

He was a beautiful human.