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American Radiator Company Boiler in Basement of Old School House

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Bret_In_Montana
Bret_In_Montana Member Posts: 4
edited 1:54PM in THE MAIN WALL

Hello,

My name is Bret and I am the president of a non profit that just administered an asbestos abatement grant in the basement of an old school house. It's funny because for the last 20 years, the basement has been off limits due to the hazard, but when I was a kid we ate our lunches down there.

Anyway, there is a big old boiler that was covered in asbestos insulation. With the removal of the insulation, it exposed this really cool old boiler. I can't seem to find much information about this specific one, and wondered if any of you had any insight. I know the building used to heated by coal (I can still see the shoot), and has long since moved to more modern technology, but the boiler will probably be down there forever.

image.png image.png image.png image.png image.png

The school house was built in western Montana in 1898, and we'd love to know any information about this old thing.

Thanks!

Mad Dog_2

Comments

  • jesmed1
    jesmed1 Member Posts: 1,486
    edited 2:09PM

    That appears to be an Arco Ideal sectional S-36-7 steam boiler. You can find it listed in the table on page 24 of this 1912 Arco catalog. And there's a good amount of text in the catalog describing the innards and working principles of the boiler.

    https://heatinghelp.com/assets/documents/526.pdf

    Bret_In_Montana
  • Bret_In_Montana
    Bret_In_Montana Member Posts: 4
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1895742#Comment_1895742

    Wow! Thanks so much. That's a really cool catalog.

    jesmed1
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 18,576

    I've been to Montana- where exactly is this?

    What heats the building now?

    All Steamed Up, Inc.

    Baltimore, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting

  • Bret_In_Montana
    Bret_In_Montana Member Posts: 4
    edited 2:44PM
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1895750#Comment_1895750

    Clancy, Montana. The old red school house was built in 1898. It's heated with natural gas now.

    It now houses the Jefferson County Museum, the library, and the health dept. But in the early 90s I went to second grade there, and Clancy folks older than me did most of their schooling there.

    image.png image.png
    Mad Dog_2
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 18,576

    I see, you're just south of Helena. For those not familiar, Helena is Montana's capital city.

    So, you have a gas-fired steam boiler now?

    All Steamed Up, Inc.

    Baltimore, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting

    Bret_In_Montana
  • Bret_In_Montana
    Bret_In_Montana Member Posts: 4
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1895759#Comment_1895759

    I'm absolutely clueless about heating systems and unfortunately will not be a very useful member of this forum. The "new" boiler room is a couple doors down, and has a couple smaller grey boilers that heat the building now.

    Kinda look like this, but smaller. None of the ducting associated with the old boiler is used anymore.

    image.png

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