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What is this ?

tom k_5
tom k_5 Member Posts: 12
I went on a heat call for a radiator not getting hot, someone turned valve off.
my question though is I saw this device which I have never seen before.
the sysytem  if steam at one time would indicate it was one pipe steam. 
Someone added returns
or could this be an old gravity system?
The main is 2”

here is picture 

Tinmanmattmia2My570

Comments

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    It's a Honeywell Heat Generator. Go here for more:

    https://heatinghelp.com/heating-museum/mark-c-honeywells-patent-for-the-heat-generator/

    Be careful- that thing is full of mercury!
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
    Canuckermattmia2kcoppethicalpaul
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,042
    Somewhere here on the wall is the story of how much it costs to clean up one that was spilled.
    $XX,XXX. You do not want to touch it unless you are aware of the dangers.
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,513
    Retired and loving it.
    kcopp
  • Solid_Fuel_Man
    Solid_Fuel_Man Member Posts: 2,646
    Put your hands in your pockets and back away! Lol
    Serving Northern Maine HVAC & Controls. I burn wood, it smells good!
    kcopp
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,576
    JUGHNE said:

    Somewhere here on the wall is the story of how much it costs to clean up one that was spilled.
    $XX,XXX. You do not want to touch it unless you are aware of the dangers.

    I seem to recall reading one story that said it cost a lot to clean up and another that said we did what you would have done.
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,576
    Someone added returns? It always had returns and there are valves available that will feed a radiator from one side like the honewell did.
  • Erin Holohan Haskell
    Erin Holohan Haskell Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 2,276
    Here's a video about the Honeywell Heat Generator and how it worked: https://heatinghelp.com/systems-help-center/honeywells-heat-generator/
    President
    HeatingHelp.com
    kcopp
  • SlamDunk
    SlamDunk Member Posts: 1,571
    edited January 2021
    I feel bad for that homeowner. You can't take mercury lightly anymore.

    I was driving home some ten years ago and came to a road block near a middle school. The road was closed and the school was surrounded by fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, unmarked cars and, get this, SUV's from the coast guard. We were more than 300 miles away from the coast!

    Turns out some fifth graders broke a mercury thermometer and were trying to scoop up the mercury before the teacher caught them. No one knew how the Hg thermometer got into the school. It was in a laboratory classroom.

    The school was evacuated and the kids in direct contact with the mercury were isolated, stripped of their clothing and de-contaminated in a local hospital. They were released to their parents only after the federal EPA agents said it was safe to do so. The kids were were terrified.

    The coast guard was there because there is a stream you could step over a few hundred yards away. The EPA sent agents up from Atlanta!

    Quicksilver. It used to be an educational tool, even something to play with, but is now hazardous material. If only it didn't cause brain damage.

  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,042
    So that is what is wrong with us Baby Boomers! :o
    Everyone my age group has talked about, in high school science classes, chasing HG around with pieces of paper to scoop it up to put back into the jar.

    Over Chrismas vacation, I found some HG tstats to show my grandkids what HG looked like.
    The should know how to reconize it, as it is nearly non-existent in their daily lives.
    Also have some lead flashing and abestoes paper in the shop, but did not want to upset the inlaw/parents.
    Although my kids have seen this most of their life their spouses have not.
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,513
    That's a good thing you're doing, @JUGHNE. Thanks!
    Retired and loving it.
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,042
    Thank you Dan.
    One of the saving graces of HG is that you could not pick it up with your fingers, always had to scoop it up with the paper. So actual contact was very limited.

    Just think, we used to stick a glass tube full of HG into our mouths....other places also.
    WMno57YoungplumberSlamDunk
  • SlamDunk
    SlamDunk Member Posts: 1,571
    when Lou Costello was asked how he wanted to die in an episode of Abbott & Costello, he answered " of old age". I'm with Lou!
  • ratio
    ratio Member Posts: 3,616
    Amen, Brother Jamie! "Don't be afraid" is a good motto to live by. Too bad I've got to qualify that with a(n un)common-sense "but don't do stupid stuff", but that's the world we live in.
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 5,695
    SlamDunk said:

    when Lou Costello was asked how he wanted to die in an episode of Abbott & Costello, he answered " of old age". I'm with Lou!

    Tyrian Lannister had a rather more colorful version in Game of Thrones that I won't share here :sweat_smile:

    I played with mercury in my hand as a kid a few times. I think the response described above to those kids who did so was rather over the top. It's the vapor or eating it that will get you in trouble is my understanding.
    NJ Steam Homeowner. See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el
    JUGHNE
  • SlamDunk
    SlamDunk Member Posts: 1,571
    edited January 2021
    I asked an EHS guy why he thought the coast guard was brought in and he said If a duck could paddle in the stream, it was navigable waters.