The Power of Re-piping with PEX
For aging buildings — or newer structures with piping-performance issues — the decision to continue repairing the existing plumbing and heating systems versus doing a tot...
Systems Help Center
Our comprehensive HVAC Systems Help Center covers a wide range of HVAC-related topics, including air conditioning and heat pumps, geothermal, hot-water heating, thermostats and controls, solar, steam heating, and warm air. We also have a section of informative and entertaining articles to help you sharpen your HVAC business skills. And our Heating Museum is a captivating journey through the evolution of HVAC technologies.
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Recent Articles
Nature of the New Steam Beast
Steam systems ain’t what they used to be, or at least so it would seem to some homeowners. The fact of the matter is that many retrofit steam boilers – under certain cond...
The Finicky Soap Pump
The Lovely Marianne and I were visiting daughters in suburban Maryland, and this almost always involves a stop at some shopping mall or other. It was lunchtime and I offe...
Rethinking TRVs for Steam Systems
In 1992, I wrote a book called, The Lost Art of Steam Heating. I did okay with that one. People still buy it.
Tips on Steam Heating Systems
Back in the early 1990’s, I worked for a mid-size HVAC company. We dabbled in hot-water boiler replacements but were primarily an HVAC company. I had been in the trade fo...
Original Glory: Restoring an Old Firehouse
Christian Garibaldi lives in a firehouse, but the only fire he’s ever encountered was during a test drive in a Ferrari F430. He’d spent over a decade as an automotive tec...
Best WiFi Thermostat for Steam Heating?
A question asked on The Wall: What WiFi Thermostats work best for steam? Hi, guys. Im getting lots of requests for wifi thermostats.
Seven Years, Tops
So the washing machine, which had sat like a sorry old man and served our family for at least 25 years, decided to spring more leaks that a litter of puppies last Christm...
How to Remove an Old, Threaded Fitting
A Wallie, Bio, posted this video as a part of a great thread that Delta T, another Wallie, started. He posted: Thought I would share this trick for getting an old threade...
How to Appeal to More Customers When Selling Heating Systems
Ross Moore, an engineer friend who works for Indiana Public Works, passed along a page from an old newspaper that had an ad for the Kewanee Boiler Company. An architect f...