Here is an excellent piece about pneumatic controls for heating systems from an old-school leader in the field, Johnson Controls.
Heating Museum → Old Hot Water Help Topics
Take a stroll through HVAC history in our Heating Museum. This section of our website preserves history and answers that so-important question: What the heck is that thing? Whenever you run across anything unusual, chances are you’ll find the old literature about it right here.
Recent Articles in Heating Museum → Old Hot Water
The Proper Operation of the Home Heating Plant: Simple Rules for Saving Fuel is "a book of information for all forms of heating systems" from our friends at the Minneapol...
This is a gorgeous little book that Honeywell prepared for homeowners and builders about their heating systems during the 1920s. Special thanks to Alex Marx for the terri...
This 1940s catalog shows the broad range of products and services (including air conditioners and heating systems) that Sears Roebuck and Co. had to offer homeowners at t...
Back in the day, you could sketch your home's dimensions on this form, and Montgomery Ward would size a complete heating system for you, sell it to you, and even rent you...
Here is a circa-1962 catalog from Montgomery Ward about their heating and air-conditioning systems. Thanks to John Mills for scanning and sharing this interesting brochur...
Here is a wonderful catalog from 1908 from American Radiator Company about their Ideal boilers and heaters. It will give you a glimpse of that long-gone time through pen-...
Here is an informative article from 1922 about the cause of creosote in chimney flues that still applies today.
This excerpt about chimney dimensions, design, construction, and troubleshooting is from Spencer Heater's Steamfitters Handbook, published in 1917.
In 1957, Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold complete heating systems to homeowners, and they put together this booklet showing step-by-step how to install these systems.