Heating with an Old Octopus Furnace. Octopus Furnace. Asbestos insulated octopus arms ducts supply heat to rooms. Do you have a vintage house Does it still have an old Octopus Furnace Vintage Parlors are nice but theyre a dime a dozen. Its rare you see a kitchen that matches the period of the house. More rare to find a vintage furnace This however, is the stuff your guests will remember. My house was built in 1. JPG' alt='Install A Down Flow Furnace In A Slab Home' title='Install A Down Flow Furnace In A Slab Home' />I do not have a 1. Its possible that the kitchen stove heated part of the house and the rest remained unheated. In 1. 94. 1 however, a brand new American StandardSunbeam Octopus Furnace was installed to provide central heating. The octopus furnace was a coal burning gravity hot air type. A gravity furnace heats the air and the hot air slowly rises through a duct system as hot air always rises. Rear view White painted asbestos insulated arms supply heat. Un insulated arms supply fresh air. Free Construction Glossary and Home Building Terms. General contractor responsible for the execution, supervision and overall coordination of a project and. Are you looking for an expert plumber for your St. Michael, MN plumbing needs Call our experts at 763 4972290 and get immediate services today He sold me on the idea of a very simple system. The plan called for a boiler to supply hot water at up to 180 degrees and then it is mixed down to around 100 degrees. Insulate a concrete floor to make your finished basement flooring more comfortable and energy efficient. Learn how to properly insulate your basement concrete floor. Center duct vents to chimney. There was no fan to force the air on this model. Just blasts of very hot air naturally rising through the ducts. The reason this furnace is called an Octopus Furnace is because of the duct work. Each heating vent has its own duct that attaches directly to the furnace giving the furnace the look of an octopus. Today several ducts can branch off one duct. A Brief History of Home Heating. Hess Furnace. Coal Burning Hot Air. Style has not changed much comparing 1. Many earlier octopus furnace were highly decorated. Comfort-Radiant-Heating-Systems.jpg' alt='Install A Down Flow Furnace In A Slab Home' title='Install A Down Flow Furnace In A Slab Home' />It was not until 1. Prior to 1. 88. 5 the majority of homes in America were heated with wood burning brick fireplaces and derivatives pot belly stoves of the cast iron Franklin Stove invented in 1. In 1. 88. 5 the first riveted steel coal furnace was built. Without electricity and fans to move air, these early furnaces transported heat by natural convection warm heated air rising through ducts from the basement furnace to the rooms above. Around the same time, the invention of low cost cast iron radiators would change home heating. Now homes with a coal fired boiler in the basement could deliver hot water or steam to radiators in every room. These two methods would dominate home central heating until 1. Soon gas and oil fired versions of forced air furnaces would relieve the homeowners from the chore of stoking the coal fire and relegate coal furnaces and cast iron radiators to the dust bin of history. Although central heating was available in the later 1. Combination stoves heated the space with wood for winter cooking and heating and gas for summer cooking. Life with a 1. 94. American Standard Sunbeam Octopus Furnace. Top door vapor pan, add water for humidification. Center door feed door to add coal. Bottom door ash pit door, now oil attachment. When this Sunbeam coal furnace was installed in 1. Coal was delivered into a nearby basement window. Below the window was a sort of pen where the coal was stored. This coal burning octopus furnace was converted to oil sometime during the 1. Mini Game Pc Gratis Full Versi'>Mini Game Pc Gratis Full Versi. Hi Randy, No, I dont think so. I believe that you have some conceptions of how the system operates a little wrong. The flow of the pump does not trigger the boiler. Some of what they saved was the grating to lay the coal on, the lever to shake off the ashes, and the crank to dump the coal. They even saved the instruction manual link at end of article explaining how to put the furnace together and light the coal on fire. Thankfully the owners at the time were historically minded and kept all the coal burning parts when removed for oil conversion. Coal furnace grate. Coal lays on grate. Turn crank for cleaning and coal will fall into ash pit. Coal furnace converted to oil burning. This mechanism fires burning oil into the oven. This was formerly the ash pit. Door is still attached. Now oil is expensive. The furnace is probably about 5. To make it affordable, I keep the heat very low and dress warmly. This is part of experiencing life in a real historic house. We must adapt to the house the house should not be adapted to lazy owners. There is a door on the furnace with a shelf. Soap stone bricks heat up there and are wrapped up in a towel to be placed at the foot of the bed for extra warmth during the night. The machine that burns the oil is loud and smells like oil. I was told by oil servicemen that this furnace will last a long time with little maintenance. Here is a video showing and hearing the old octopus furnace in operation. Is There a Future for this Old Octopus Furnace My Dilemma History Environment Economy. Feed door open showing fire pit and bricks heating. Although most people never consider mechanical systems as historically important, they are and should be preserved. This old octopus furnace is historic and part of the evolution of the house. This furnace is now rare and cannot be replaced. There are less and less of these around. Its conversation piece to show guests and looks so good to show off. I am responsible for this artifact and should not be selfish about saving on my heating bill but do what is right for the house. Install A Down Flow Furnace In A Slab Home' title='Install A Down Flow Furnace In A Slab Home' />People would never throw out an antique piece of furniture well not most but they rarely care about an antique furnace. This old octopus furnace is more interesting than many peoples Victorian parlors. Heat register in first floor parlor. What Happens After Im Gone One of my main concerns was that if anything happened to me and the house was sold what happens The new owner would most likely get rid of this beautiful antique. They will replace it with a boring looking new furnace that has no personality probably similar to its owner. Install A Down Flow Furnace In A Slab Home' title='Install A Down Flow Furnace In A Slab Home' />I restored this house not for my amusement but for the purpose of preserving a bit of history for the future and so others can learn from and appreciate my beliefs what you are now learning from this website. My efforts are rewarded by the look on my guests face when I take them into my basement to see the furnace. American Standard Sunbeam gravity coal furnace parts diagram. Show someone a valuable work of art hanging on a wall and an old octopus furnace and see what they remember of their visit. Heating Options to Protect this Furnace for the Future. Coal furnace operating instructions. Stoking the fire, removing ashes etc. See the link at end of article for complete enlarged instruction manual. One way I can preserve this old octopus furnace is by converting it to gas and make it more appealing and affordable for future owners. Oil is environmentally bad and is very expensive. An oil to gas conversion would be a big improvement. However I was told it cant be done for the system is not sealed enough. I joined Angies List and talked to one HVAC person who suggested putting a new high efficiency furnace behind the old octopus furnace and route the heat from the new furnace into the old. I thought this was a great idea but never heard back from them and all other HVAC people did not want to do that. Heating Decision. Old octopus furnace ducts removed during asbestos remediation. After some time the final decision was to convert from oil to gas and install a new high efficient furnace. Manual De Asamblea De Oracion. The old octopus furnace will be disconnected but kept as a show piece. An easement will be put on the house preventing future owners from removing it. When you make modifications to anything historic or potentially historic you need to consider its future and making your changes reversible. In the future, it is possible that this old octopus furnace can be used again. Little Big Planet 2 Save Data there. It would need an oil tank and oil line and new ducts. The original fabric and mechanics have not been compromised.