This system is the missing link between one- and two-pipe steam. It was used in tall buildings in the early 1900s because a building this tall wouldn’t work well with one-pipe steam if the supply came up from the basement. 

High efficiency comes with a price that’s higher than normal efficiency (whatever that is), and because of that higher price, high efficiency is now a subjective term that is open to broad interpretation, and perhaps even reinvention. 

Older cities are loaded with boiler rooms full of steam-heating boilers, and lots of people — knuckleheads included — have had decades to mess with what the “dead men” once lovingly installed. So, here’s a short list of things to look for when you’re troubleshooting one of those old systems, starting in the boiler room.

So there’s this steam unit heater that won’t put out what it’s supposed to put out. It’s wimpy. The guy with the problem is telling me about it and he’s gesturing like he’s swatting bees. What is a contractor to do?

Years ago, steam heating was a business of installing complete systems and not just a business of replacing boilers and fixing problems as it is today. So, how do you get the most out of a modern steam boiler? 

You probably realize some of your customers are just plain nuts, and others will take a chance on dying if it means they can save a few bucks on a repair or installation. Then there are customers who somehow turn nuts after you’ve done the work for them.

Years ago, in some dank basement, a contractor installed a large air vent near the end of a steam main. Why did he do that and what happened? Read to find out.