Burnham America Catalog (1980s)
A catalog from the Burnham Corporation circa 1980s featuring boilers for steam and hot-water heating systems, as well as Burnham Base-Ray cast-iron baseboard, the Duo-Rad...
Heating Museum 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.
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Recent Articles in Heating Museum
American Standard G-2 Gas Boiler Manual (Packaged Boilers)
This is the American Standard G-2 Gas Boiler Installation-Operation and Maintenance Manual (For Packaged Boilers with V-600 Series Gas Valves, Flush or Deluxe Jackets).
American Standard G-2 Gas Boiler Manual
This is the American Standard G-2 Gas Boiler Installation-Operation and Maintenance Manual (Supplement for Steam Non-Packaged Boilers with Flush or Deluxe Jackets).
NIRA Window Seat Radiator (1916)
This excerpt about the NIRA Window Seat Radiator for Steam and Hot Water Heating is from Facts for Fitters, a 1916 catalog from The Hunting Co.
Thank you to Frank "Steam...
Arco Window Radiators (1922)
Here is an excerpt from the 1920 and 1922 Ideal Fitter books from American Radiator Company about their Arco Window Radiators.
Thank you to Frank "Steamhead" Wilsey of A...
Wizard Valve Fitting (1911)
This excerpt from Heating and Ventilating Magazine, 1911, shows J. J. Wilson's wizard valve fitting for steam heating systems.
J.J. Wilson Fitting for Steam Radiators (1909)
This is the patent for J.J. Wilson's Fitting for Steam Radiators from September 14, 1909.
Trane Mercury Seal Ad (1901)
This document contain an ad from Domestic Engineering (circa 1901) featuring the Trane Mercury Seal which was attached to an old steam heating system or to an old vapor p...
Trane Steam Heating System Patent (1901)
This document contains the Trane Steam Heating System Patent circa 1901. This system used mercury to produce vacuum.
What Do Space Exploration, Beer, and Hydronic Heating Have in Common?
In the early 1900s, hot-water heating systems had to rely on gravity. This system was simple because it had no moving parts (except for the water, of course), but it was ...