Systems Help Center

A gravity-return steam system uses a combination of two forces to put the returning condensate back into the boiler. First, there’s the steam pressure that's leftover at ...

Need to get rid of the water hammer in a steam heating system? Here's a checklist of things to look for. I hope you find it a good one to keep on file.

Someone on The Wall asks, "What is the best thermostat for a steam system?" Bill Wolfe replies: First, a couple questions. Do you have central AC? Is the house vacant dur...

Here’s a list of things that a handy person (that you?) can do for himself or herself. Flush the low-water cutoff: If you have a low-water cutoff with a float (see above)...

It had stood on this corner just off Wall Street in Manhattan for nearly a century. It stood witness to the comings and goings of countless people who never gave much tho...

One of the things I had to get through my thick skull when I was young and learning about steam heat was that raising the pressuretrol setting wasn't going to get the bui...

A New York City contractor called me a last winter to tell me about a situation that he had gotten himself into. We’ll call him Augie because that’s close enough. "The ol...

When you take an old house under your wing you sometimes also get to take possession of an old steam heating system and an awful lot of asbestos insulation that goes alon...

I heard from an old friend the other day. This guy works in Brooklyn, NY, and usually on some very interesting stuff. He's not one to say fuggedaboutit when there's a pro...

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. Manufacturers mad...