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Dead Men Tales: The Magic of a Simple Air Vent

HeatingHelp
HeatingHelp Administrator Posts: 635
edited July 2022 in THE MAIN WALL



The Magic of a Simple Air Vent

In this episode, Dan Holohan shares the story of how the air vent made quite an impression on those who were able to afford this relatively new thing called steam heat in 1924.

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Thank you to SupplyHouse.com for sponsoring this podcast.

Comments

  • t.p.tunstall
    t.p.tunstall Member Posts: 18
    Magic. I love it!!
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,512
    Thanks, T.P.! Always great to hear from you.
    Retired and loving it.
  • Rusty2
    Rusty2 Member Posts: 69
    There's always a market for relieving stress.
  • fbartol21
    fbartol21 Member Posts: 7
    Twice I was told by a manufacturer that "We didn't make that..." The second lesson here is sometimes the manufacturer doesn't know. We have to get creative sometimes to get the information we need.
    CLamb
  • Adk1guy
    Adk1guy Member Posts: 61
    Fascinating. As I travel around New England to follow my daughter playing rugby we pass though former industrial towns like Manchester NH and I see the old mills converted to apartments or condos. How are the high end apartments, formerly the American Radiator company, with no radiators heated today? Resistance electric?
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,512
    Furnaces, I suspect. 
    Retired and loving it.
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,272
    "Who doesn't love magic?" Nice!

    Yours, Larry
  • jeant
    jeant Member Posts: 26
    Dan I really like these stories. I would love to see an illustration or photo of the - Inside of Airid’s nickel-plated case is a little float, which may be said to contain the brains. Showing how it worked? I have been listening to the works of Elisha Gray - finding it astonishing about how much philosophy and physics worked together in the early 1900's.
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,512
    Thanks. The only thing in the little capsule was a bit of alcohol. The rest was magic!
    Retired and loving it.
  • jeant
    jeant Member Posts: 26
    Thank you Dan- really nifty stuff. We are living off their wisdom.
  • gerry gill
    gerry gill Member Posts: 3,078
    Good stuff for us steam junkies on a hot summer day 😀
    gwgillplumbingandheating.com
    Serving Cleveland's eastern suburbs from Cleveland Heights down to Cuyahoga Falls.

  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,512
    So happy to serve it up. Thanks!
    Retired and loving it.
  • Kickstand55
    Kickstand55 Member Posts: 109
    Dan,
    It seems that alcohol is a solution. When a steam vent doesn't work, just add alcohol.
    I can only guess that some of the disgruntled homeowners of the day would unplug the jug to overcome hissing and spitting radiators. This was the prohibition era and if you weren't in the loop, you couldn't get looped.
    Nice story Dan. Love your application.
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,512
    Thanks!
    Retired and loving it.