Remembering Ed Bratton

DanHolohan · September 28

If you’ve ever spent any time in my book, The Lost Art of Steam Heating, you may remember Ed Bratton, who appears in the first chapter. Ed entered my life at the perfect time. He showed me things I had never seen, and he taught me about The Work as it once was.

I lost track of Ed when I retired from traveling 10 years ago. I just learned that he passed away last March. He lived to be 83 years young. He was a treasure, and an absolute master of his trade.

Here’s more about Ed, and the affect he had on my career. God speed, Ed, and thank you for all you did.

https://heatinghelp.com/systems-help-center/the-last-man-in-america-to-install-steam-from-scratch/

https://heatinghelp.com/news-and-media/dead-men-tales/golds-mattress-radiator/

pecmsg · September 28

sorry for your loss Dan

RIP Ed

Thankyou for sharing your knowledge.

HeatingHelp.com · September 28

What a beautiful tribute to Ed. Thank you for sharing his story and helping his knowledge live on. May he rest in peace. ❤️

Steamhead · September 28

That reminds me of another @DanHolohan story.

Many years ago, I designed and helped build a brand-new one-pipe steam system for my old boss's daughter and son-in-law, just north of Jarrettsville, MD. We started with a heat-loss calculation and did the rest using the information in Lost Art. It ran perfectly, and was featured in "Plumbing & Mechanical" magazine.

Some time later, Dan did a steam seminar in Greenbelt, MD. It was raining and windy that day, and despite the usual rain gear I was thoroughly soaked when I finished crossing the parking lot. Now, I'd never met Dan but knew what he looked like. So here came this drowned rat up to Dan- "Hi, I'm Steamhead". For some reason, he was glad to see me 🤔

But when Dan got to the part where he mentioned Ed Bratton, he made a change. He said Ed was no longer the last one to install one-pipe steam- Steamhead was the last one now. Of course, @Dan Foley and several others have done it since then. But that was quite the compliment, coming from one of Dan's stature. That and a few other bits of encouragement led to @Gordo and I starting All Steamed Up, which we recently sold as we prepare to retire.

R.I.P. Ed. Thanks for keeping steam installs going for the rest of us to pick up. And thanks, Dan!

Mad Dog_2 · September 28

I remember opening the Lost Art for the first time in '92 and reading that line and being deeply intrigued and inspired by Ed and what he accomplished. He marched to his own beat like me and I knew then and there that he would not be The Last Man in America to Install The Steam from scratch.

It was an 8 Year Journey to finally own our own home, but in 2000 I had my 1899 Victorian Farmhouse gutted out and I began to install my own Steam Vapor System from nothing. Thank you for the inspiration Ed! And Dano for bringing Ed Bratton in to our lives. Mad Dog

DanHolohan · September 29

Thanks, guys. Great memories all round.

EBEBRATT-Ed · September 30

I would have liked to do a steam system in a house from scratch. Never got the chance.

I did do one system from scratch, but it was HP 100 lb steam for a process job with about 35 machines sitting on the floor. It was for Brooks Brothers Clothing. 2 100HP boilers , condensate pump and water softener and all the system piping. 3" welded steam supply. 2 1/2" condensate return all threaded all the piping was overhead. The 100psi steam pushed the condensate up the condensate returns to the overhead return line. Absolutely quiet. The only noise was the 1/2" check valve in the return lines faintly clicking as the steam pushed the condensate up. I was amazed it worked so well.

DanHolohan · September 30

Well done!

Remembering Ed Bratton

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