Old Brooklyn NY church
old radiator inside of a chimney. This is the view looking up chimney from cleanout door.
maybe to help with drafting? Anybody have any input on this?
picture doesn’t do it justice it’s huge!
I got a picture of top of chimney. The actual chimney is up the center, it looks like you could walk around the top like an old watch tower.
Comments
-
Sure that "chimney" isn't a hot-air duct to an upper floor?
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting
3 -
100% exterior chimney. If you look close enough, there are also pipes going further into the chimney. I need a hazmat suit to go in there further and take a look is a crime scene of dead birds in there.
1 -
My thoughts exactly.
Bob Boan
You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.0 -
This was a very common arrangement to get fresh air into a building and stale air out — in the days when we weren't concerned much about energy conservation. And it worked and worked well. No fans needed, no electricity, silent… easily controlled… what's not to like? Except that it wasn't all that efficient…
I saw a number of these when I was inspecting schools in Vermont, some 50 years ago.
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
4 -
chimney still in use two duel fuel Weil mclain 688 2m btu boilers still using it!
1 -
-
Early attempt at waste heat recovery/economizer?
1 -
Nothing is sealed where the piping comes through, and you're saying flue gases from 2 boilers are currently dumping into that space?
1 -
-
I always judge a building by its chimney :-) That’s clearly a top notch monumental edifice! [I’m told I have an Edifice Complex. I don’t deny it. ]
Anyway, there is what appears to be a metal flue pipe going up? The piping seems to pass through a brick arch. Is that original? Those purpose built manifolds are nice and it looks like the loops go up and double back down. So it’s probably not heat recovery; water wouldn’t flow, so it’s a steam loop I reckon. Furthermore I would expect to to see a lot of residual soot if the arrangement was exposed to coal fires in the past.
It looks more and more like a draft inducer. Is it possible that potable hot water was generated off a loop on a steam boiler year round that couldn’t keep such a large chimney like that drafting, necessitating draft assistance? It would have certainly kept boiler and coal areas ventilated year round.
Is the lookout at the top purely ornamental or is it a concentric construction of some kind all the way down? I wish I was there to see it in person as it would make the puzzle easier to solve. Besides the fact that it’s just the kind of place I love to snoop around. The whole context would be fascinating to see, to reveal the history of its heating and ventilation however unconventional it may seem to modern eyes.
Thanks for this interesting post!Terry T
steam; proportioned minitube; trapless; jet pump return; vac vent. New Yorker CGS30C
3 -
it’s possible that the system vented into the chimney and that was used to ensure it condensed before it reached the chimney, assuming it was a 2-pipe steam system.
2 -
I'm very intrigued with this situation any updates? I'm almost willing to take a ride for S—& giggles...Mad Dog
1 -
-
This is gonna be REALLY interesting!
1 -
-
-
https://youtu.be/Nzg9cE7-2LQ
1 -
I'll meet you there Dog. I'll bring a flashlight.
1
Categories
- All Categories
- 86.8K THE MAIN WALL
- 3.1K A-C, Heat Pumps & Refrigeration
- 56 Biomass
- 423 Carbon Monoxide Awareness
- 105 Chimneys & Flues
- 2K Domestic Hot Water
- 5.6K Gas Heating
- 104 Geothermal
- 160 Indoor-Air Quality
- 3.6K Oil Heating
- 69 Pipe Deterioration
- 952 Plumbing
- 6.2K Radiant Heating
- 385 Solar
- 15.3K Strictly Steam
- 3.4K Thermostats and Controls
- 54 Water Quality
- 43 Industry Classes
- 47 Job Opportunities
- 18 Recall Announcements