Our technicians run into a variety of interesting and surprising things when on the job. When servicing or replacing very old heating equipment we often see furnaces and boilers that are a piece of history. See another post about a 1934 American Standard boiler that was part of Littleton’s history. We encountered a historic relic when we were recently called to a Denver residence to replace an old steam boiler.
Before we get to that, however, it’s worth mentioning how crucial it is right now to ensure your heating and cooling equipment is being maintained or lined up for replacement. Why? The current supply chain crisis that is a result of the pandemic is wreaking havoc on order and delivery timeframes. We are seeing multiple month delays in equipment arrival. If your heating unit goes out entirely when there are still a couple of months of winter left, you could be facing a real issue in receiving a replacement. Likewise, when you think about summer coming up and potentially losing your air conditioner.
Learn about furnace repair or boiler maintenance and how these service visits will catch any issues early that might have led to emergency replacement.
If you know you will soon need furnace replacement, boiler replacement, or air conditioner replacement, schedule it now to get your name on the list for a new unit.
View our American Standard furnace models.
Now on to the fun part!
Rare Steam Boiler Holds Out for 88 Years
Much to our team’s delight, when they arrived at a single-family home in Denver they discovered a sight so rare that even our resident steam boiler expert had never seen it. It was a 1934 American Radiator Company (ARCO) steam boiler that very well may have been a limited edition. Our team knew right away that this boiler was unusual. They had never even seen it in any of their books on boilers. Yes, our team reads boiler books, we just love our jobs, ok?
For a little history, ARCO dominated the scene for boilers from the late 1880s to the early 1900s. Then they teamed up with American Sanitation and became American Standard. They essentially invented central heating.
This ARCO boiler may have been a limited edition because it went into a Colorado house during a time when Denver didn’t even have a grid for natural gas. This particular boiler was manufactured for hydrocarbons (propane or natural gas). However, in 1934, no natural gas pipelines existed in Colorado. Why this type of boiler was placed in this house, at that time, is a mystery to us! It made for a rare and interesting find indeed. We replaced it with a Dunkirk gas-fired steam boiler.
1964 Boiler Still Operational After Repair
We performed repair and maintenance work on a 1964 Ajax boiler in a Denver apartment building recently. The pump for the sidearm had failed, and the unit was leaking. To repair the boiler we had to drain the pipes in the entire apartment building and purge the air out. After repair from our expert technicians, this old boiler will keep on heating.
Replacing a 1967 Boiler Provides the Benefit of Modern Technology
In a Littleton home, we replaced a 1967 Slantfin boiler with a Dunkirk gas-fired hydronic boiler. Hydronic boilers monitor their temperature. This is the more typical type of boiler used. The homeowners will now reap the benefits of modern technology and energy efficiency, something that just cannot be overstated in its importance.
Contact us today to schedule heating or cooling maintenance: 720-797-7757.
