Dead Men Tales

Heating took center stage at the 1904 World’s Fair with the American Radiator Company’s modern home exhibit. In this episode, Dan Holohan shares how millions marveled at the beauty and simplicity of its hydronic-heating system and what became of that famous model home.

In the early days of hydronic heating, boilers were exploding left and right. In this episode, Dan Holohan tells how seemingly insignificant mistakes often led to disaster.

In the 1980s, New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development renovated hundreds of old buildings and installed brand new one-pipe steam systems. In this episode, Dan Holohan shares why steam was the solution and how he taught their contractors to install steam systems from scratch.

Mel Dubin dreamed, invented, and built something that helped raise thousands of American families. In this episode, Dan Holohan remembers his friend Mel, the founder of Slant/Fin.

John D. Clarke knew how to heat a 70-room cottage in 1893. And he got it right the very first time. Then the Vanderbilts ordered all the mechanical drawings burned after construction so that no one would be able to copy the system. In this episode, Dan Holohan walks us through the history of the heating system at the Vanderbilts’ summer home, The Breakers.

You never know what you’ll come across when you’re the heating person. It’s a wonderful life. In this episode, Dan Holohan tells about the time he was making recommendations on how to save fuel in a circa-1905 voraciously steam-heated building and discovered a Paul System, as well as a piece of American movie history.

Did you know that the first pressure relief valve was invented in 1681 because the King of England really liked jelly? And that the first gravity heating system was used to warm chickens? How about the expansion tank that was assembled using an overstock of baby carriage wheel rims? In this episode, Dan Holohan tells the fascinating stories behind inventions that paved the way for modern heating.

In the 1940s, William Levitt built a community of 17,447 homes, completing one house every two hours. Levitt chose radiant heating for these houses because it was the cheapest heating system he could find. In this episode, Dan Holohan shares the story of Levittown and how those radiant slabs are doing now.

In this episode, Dan Holohan shares how the 1918-19 pandemic changed the way we pipe heating systems and the type of windows we use, why radiators are painted silver, and what we can learn from history.

Some stories are as worn as old work boots because we just can’t resist hearing them again and again. In this episode, Dan Holohan shares memories of Thanksgiving mornings in NYC and his time spent in the heating industry.