The Lost Art of Steam Heating

DanHolohan

Thanks for the feedback, and for the kind words.

hvacdmia2

A big thank you to Dan for writing The Lost Art of Steam Heating. One of the best investments I ever made. I had done some steam work years ago but didn’t really understand how it all worked and how it should be piped. I read, and reread, numerous times The Lost Art of Steam Heating and it all made sense. Just started up a steam boiler replacement today. Rather than just throwing in a new boiler and running out the door I looked the whole system over before starting. Found some return piping problems, repiped them, replaced or repaired all steam traps. All the radiators heated except one, must have a plugged return, will work on it next week. The owner said some of the radiators have never heated in the 7 years they have lived there. Again THANK YOU Dan

Mad Dog

It goes down with the greatest books ever written...............

The Bible, The Power of Positive thinking (Peale), War and Peace (Tolstoy), The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (Shirer), A Study of History (Toynbee), The Rise and Fall of The great powers (Kennedy), to name a few. I'm serious....The book is red meat, man. It is one of my closest friends and confidants on many a night...in the boiler rooms of America and on the couch with a fine Bourbon in hand and a roaring fire underway. I have atleast 7 copies -...I always bring one on vacation too. I love the book. Mad Dog

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Darin Cook_3

Kinda funny

Mark and I have been getting alot of calls now from homeowners with problem steam systems. Each Homeowner so far owns a copy of "The Lost Art of Steam Heating". One HO had his boiler replaced a little over a year ago. His system suddenly developed many problems. The installing contractor would not/ could not fix the problems. Even with the HO giving him the answers out of Lost Art.

We were kidding each other. " Well Mr.HO, we are going to put main air vents on the returns". Billy leans over and whispers in ear, " He has the Lost Art of Steam Heating book". "Oh, What I meant to say Sir!! We are going to put the main vents at least six inches above the main" whew.

I am hoping copper scrap prices go high again because every steam repipe we do starts out with ripping the copper piping out that Cobb Jobb P& H put in.

All of the leads for steam work we have been getting have been generated from this site. The typical comment from the HO's is that it is almost impossible to find anyone who knows anything about steam heating.

I would also like to give Dan a word of thanks for this site and The Lost Art of Steam Heating. Invaluable information in that book.

Here is a example of what we did this week. Check out the pics.

P.S. We also got the skim tap plug out and set up a real skim. The boiler had NEVER been skimmed the "other guy" just drained the boiler down and said that that got everything out. We also used Rhomar water treatment to clean the system up.


Darin

Mark Hunt

One thing is for sure


I would hate to be a the guy that walks into a home where your book has been studied and NOT know what I am looking at!

Nothing like having a customer tell you that you are wrong and then PROVE IT!

Thanks Dan!

Mark H



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DanHolohan

It really makes me feel good

that you guys have used the book to help your businesses grow. That was the goal. Thanks.

Steamhead

Nice Job, Darin

I'll bet that Weil is working properly for the very first time!

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Weezbo

Too bad high schools arent required to offer steam classes

Ted_4

Too much knowledge?

The worst thing is to have read and studied "The Book" and then have to stand by and watch a boiler replacement go in over which you have no control! I have jumped up and down and screamed 'til blue in the face, but the contractor that gets the job has the say. It is a very hollow victory, indeed, to be proven right somewhere down the line when things "just don't work right."

All in all, I would still rather know how to do it the right way, and maybe make a difference!

Fred Harwood

LASH

Dan's books have been invaluable to us "plant managers" as well. That look of astonishment on the face of a long-frustrated CEO or HO when the noise quits, the fuel bills go down, and the heat returns is worth much more than the cost of Dan's books.

Mike G_2

I've been an HO for 13 years, spending all of that time restoring a 74 year old home. While I've tried to get the house back to 'period' i.e., removing 70 years of paint from all the wood, restoring the hardwood floors, keeping as much of the plaster as possible, etc., I've also updated things that required updating i.e., replacing all electrical service, plumbing, tearing out non-serviceable plaster ceilings. Through it all, I've had someone else do three things for me: Replace a hot water heater (couldn't manhandle the old beast myself), replace windows (very large custom sizes), and--last month--replace the original converted (from coal) pancake boiler.

Contractor came in with the new Columbia unit. A week later, fired the unit only to have it empty the boiler and flood the mains. I told them the problem (installer made the Hartford loop too high). They thought I was just another PITA HO, till they saw that I had some of Dan's pieces from Old House Journal magazine laying out. "Oh, you know Dan's work?"

I had to prove them wrong. Replumbed the loop, all is grand. Thanks, Dan!

Dale

Lazy Man

I sometimes get a fairly complicated steam question that I "solve" by asking the tech to read the chapter in LAOSH that pertains to the question, I give them the "read this first so we can be on the same page and get back to me" that's usually all the work I need to do. The HARD part is getting the book back from them. Same thing worked for a tech who had only seen pumps on returns and was having air problems, asked him to look at "pumping away", now he explains things. Customer calls are even easier, just cut and paste the books and more web address, Time for coffee.