Want to feel old?

DanHolohan

I published The Lost Art of Steam Heating 30 years ago this week. Thanks for reading it!

EdTheHeaterMan

I think you must have been in your early 20s then. I know I was still a teenager when you signed my copy.


80 is the new 50s. Just with more doctors, walkers, and pills.

DanHolohan

Ed, I felt older then than I do now! 😂

EdTheHeaterMan

WOW. I'm number 16000.

clammy

It really seems shorter then that , i can’t remember much but I still remember going to your seminar and reading the art many times aside from pumping away and ps made easy .I have brought and given copies to other hoping it would help them understand . I know it has helped me through the years many times over and I believe has made me a better trouble shooter in diagnosing issues w both steam and hot water when it seemed no one could figure out and where usually very easy repairs or repipes but also some times it was stepping out of the boiler room .
I personally always enjoyed the way you could boil things down without all the engineers lingo so it could be understood simply. I have to say even though I have a few old audels and Hoffmann fitters handbooks and more ,I always took and got more from your writing then all of that stuff put together .
Thanks again Dan for your wonderful books and all the information that as I see it should be standard reading form any one getting into or doing steam and or hot water heating systems without question being a lot don’t even know what there looking at and usually are better business men then true heating guys .
Thanks again for all you have and do do for the heating business Peace and good luck clammy

DanHolohan

Thanks for sticking with me for all these years, Clammy. It means a lot. 

EBEBRATT-Ed

Ditto to everything @clammy said.

JohnNY

That book changed my career path. 30 years ago I was 23 years old, already with 10 years in the field. I hated plumbing and working with my father and brother and learning about steam and hydronic heating lifted me to another level that even they knew had to be acknowledged and cultivated. Dan got that ball rolling and my family made me a great mechanic over the years.

DanHolohan

Warms my heart, guys. Thanks. 

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

I'd call that book a sea change, not only for me, but hydronics in general. Perfect timing, Dan!

DanHolohan

Thanks, Alan. It was a bit nervous-making when the printer delivered 5,000 copies to our living room. 😳

Erin Holohan Haskell

DanHolohan said:

Ed, I felt older then than I do now! 😂

I blame the four teen and pre-teen daughters at the time. Sorry!

Not every kid gets to witness first-hand the impact their parents make through their work. I appreciate all you've done for our family and for your passion for education and paying it forward. It's been a great joy and blessing having you as my dad and friend.

DanHolohan

You’re my favorite! 😘

Larry Weingarten

I’d like to add, that by using exactly the right mix of humor, technical info, heart and secret sauce, Dan has empowered many people which ultimately keeps hydronics going. 😇

DanHolohan

Aww, shucks, Larry. Thanks!

Paul Pollets

I wouldn't have started my business without Dan's encouragement. He made me enthusiatic about what could be done with hydronics, and how to do it right. His books were the foundation of modern hydronics.

DanHolohan

Thanks, Paul. I always believed in you. 

RayWohlfarth

Thirty years? That amazing Your book has helped so many people including myself. Thanks for all you did and having the courage to do The Lost Art.

DanHolohan

Thanks, Ray. That book has made so many friends for me over the years, so many experiences, and in so many places! It's been a great ride.

RayWohlfarth

It will help many generations to come Thanks for all you have given to this industry Im glad your father didnt work for an electrical wholesaler

DanHolohan

😂

MarjPinard

As a child, we had a house with steam heat, I loved it. As an adult, our first two houses had forced hot air and I just hated the on and off, could never feel warm. Our next house, the one I am in today since 1973, has STEAM HEAT and lovely radiators. I love it, I love the constant feel of warmth in our brisk winters. I bought Dan's book and watch his columns because a) I learn from it, and b) I so enjoy his writing. I just wish there were some real steam heat people in our area --- one of the best reasons for me to read his books and listen to all of you.

DanHolohan

Thanks!

Leo

WOW, I got in the field at an older age in 96. Around 97 or 98 I found the first Holohan site. I was looking to learn steam and that's how it all began. Now part time for the last three years and total retirement next week the 27th.

DanHolohan

Congratulations, @Leo! So glad you made it. 

Rick T

The Lost Art was useful to my students in classes for 2 decades (hopefully longer as they continued to use their old text books!). Thanks Dan!

DanHolohan

That makes me very happy, Ric. Thanks!

Steamhead

MarjPinard said:

As a child, we had a house with steam heat, I loved it. As an adult, our first two houses had forced hot air and I just hated the on and off, could never feel warm. Our next house, the one I am in today since 1973, has STEAM HEAT and lovely radiators. I love it, I love the constant feel of warmth in our brisk winters. I bought Dan's book and watch his columns because a) I learn from it, and b) I so enjoy his writing. I just wish there were some real steam heat people in our area --- one of the best reasons for me to read his books and listen to all of you.

Where are you located?

Steamhead

I got my first copy of Lost Art sometime in the mid to late 1990s. Prior to that I had found some of what we now call Dead Men's Books, but they were hard to read. Their authors had a lot of knowledge, but weren't so good at getting that knowledge across.

Lost Art fixed all that. As I read through the book, light bulbs kept coming on- "oh, THAT'S what they were talking about!". Long story short, when I checked back in with the Dead Men, I got a lot more from their works. And, much to The Lovely Naoko's chagrin, I kept getting more of their books.

@DanHolohan 's gift is that he can take this eyeball-throbbing information and make it not only easy to understand, but entertaining as well. I was turning the pages as if I was reading a good novel.

With this information, I helped design and build a brand-new one-pipe steam system. It worked great, and the job was featured in "Plumbing & Mechanical" magazine. Some years later, after we started our company in 2005, @Gordo and I replaced the original boiler with a MegaSteam:

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/128408/a-very-special-megasteam

When Dan started what became HeatingHelp.com, I joined up, but there were quite a few other guys named Frank already on the site. So I came up with "Steamhead" in about two seconds. I had no idea it would stick the way it did.

Later, I attended Dan's seminar at a hotel in Greenbelt, MD. I knew what Dan looked like, but we had never actually met. We had heavy rain all that morning, so even with a jacket and cap you would still get drenched running through the parking lot. So here came this drowned rat up to Dan- "Hi, I'm Steamhead". As the day went by, Dan changed his lecture to say Ed Bratton was no longer the last man to install one-pipe steam as was written in Lost Art- Steamhead was. That distinction didn't last long, as @Dan Foley and others did the same.

And the rest, as they say, is history. Thanks, Dan! We wouldn't be who we are without you.

DanHolohan

Thanks for the sweet memories and kind words, @Steamhead. I treasure our friendship. Thanks.