Heated church seats

Onepipe

so I was just at a wedding this afternoon in one of the oldest churches in Detroit St. Ann’s. As I was waiting the for the ceremony to start I noticed a radiator in the corner and started to snoop around to see if I could find anything cool. On the surface level it seemed like a 2 pipe steam system but nothing too fancy. But then as I was sitting in mass I noticed a cast iron fitting under a pew two town infront of me and as I looked around there were pipes running under the seats in every other row!!! It looks like a 3/4” pipe rises out of the floor and then increases to 1” makes a “U” loop under the seat and returns to the original location and drops into the basement. The system was not on but I can imagine that would feel pretty nice…..but a bit of a suprise for my 5 year old son who always crawls around on the floor at mass…..HA!! Check out the pics. I’m going to try and see if I can work my way into the basement and boiler room.

Onepipe

Here are the other radiators that are in the church. They are all a mix of types but all bottom tapped with traps. Not sure if they originally had traps or not. Church is 300years oldish

delcrossv

Warm ya right up when kneeling for the Consecration.

Thanks for posting!

Jamie Hall

wish we had that…

pecmsg

hard to praise the lord with cold buns!

Steamhead

Well, that's one way to get folks to come to church…………..

Looks like just a return-bend pipe coil- if there's a trap, it's probably under the floor.

ScottSecor

Cool find. I guess the regulars know to sit in the even rows… better yet those that are "always hot" should sit in the unheated rows.

JUGHNE

In the church I service, the front rads have faster air vents then the rear ones.

This gets the people to the front of the church on lightly attended services.

When the church fills to near capacity there is enough body heat to overcome the difference. The tstat is near the front and will set back after the services begin.

EdTheHeaterMan

Do not be indolent when zeal is required. Be thoroughly warm-seated, the Lord's own servants, Romans 12:11

I guess the Pastor of this church took it literally when the original boiler was installed.

DanHolohan

Thanks for sharing this.

Onepipe

I talked to the priest at the reception and although he was not from the parish he is pretty confident that the head minister would let me into the basement and boiler room. I guess he did see me laying on the floor after mass in a suite and just thought I dropped something……nope just genuine curiosity …… got a good laugh.
Steamhead, could you pipe it without a trap? The other radiators are two pipe, and no vents in sight anywhere. I guess you could have a bunch of differential loops but I could only imagine attendance if those ever started to hammer!!!!! It would keep up all the sleepers.. HA!

DCContrarian

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1810422#Comment_1810422

He'd probably be happy to have a competent person eye it over.

Onepipe

just a edit to my last thoughts, with out vents a differential loop at the end of each coil would trap air so that out. I’m not sure how they would be piped without a trap….

Steamhead

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1810425#Comment_1810425

You'd have to use a vent and a water seal. There could be a water seal for each unit, or they could simply all be piped down into a wet return.

HeatingHelp.com

Thanks for sharing @Onepipe. Glad we're not the only ones taking photos of heating systems during weddings. 😊

TheUpNorthState88

Have to say, this is pretty freaking genius to whoever originally designed this system and “hid” it away under all the pews. That place must feel amazing in the winter time.

Please keep us updated (with pics) if/when you get a chance to check out the boiler. Simply because I see that massive ARCO Rococo rad, I wouldn’t be surprised if an original ARCO boiler was down there still in use.

Side note, if I was a member of that church. Painting that rad (in place) would be a quick a fast weekend project for me. A nice metallic gold or copper would make that thing pop. The Lords work, I would consider it.

Jamie Hall

I do like it. But if it were my church, I'd only have it under the first three or four pews… I've never figured out why the congregation always seems to sit as far back as they can. Am I using the wrong toothpaste?

Pumpguy

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1811006#Comment_1811006

My wife always liked to sit in the back of church. Why? Nobody was in back of you to cough on you and spread their germs forward.

JUGHNE

It looks like there used to be a pipe hanger on one of the units. That is a lot of weight on just two 3/4" risers.

While in high school, a bunch of us boys would stand in the back. (possibly to sneak out early?) The church was pretty crowded and we would squat down when the congregation sat or kneeled. I was slow on the squat one time and the priest called out my name and paused the Mass until I came to the front to get in a pew……..needless to say my mother was upset as I had to find a seat in front of her.

BobC

In HS I worker weekends at the local car wash. The early Sunday mass was at 0600 and Fr Veneto made sure to wind things up ny 0625 so we could catch the 0630 bus to work.

Onepipe

I did not see any hangers and the pews were about 20' long, that said at the mid section there is a solid wood panel that acts as a foot and supports the pew and the pipes penetrate that wood so there is some support, but the end section with the turn around loop is on its own……at lease from what I could see.