GSMT - Dan Holohan, Author: "The Lost Art of Steam Heating"
The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen3 HN recommenders · recommended in 3 months, 2018–2021
talk · general · evergreen · 2018–2021 on HN
Dan Holohan, author of The Lost Art of Steam Heating, talks about the old steam heating systems he learned about from veteran tradesmen. He shares stories and practical lessons on how these systems work, including running steam at low temperatures.
HN recommends it as an informative talk on steam heating whose advice to respect old working systems carries over to software.
Up next
2 mo on HNAutomatic Bullseye, MOVING Dartboard
Mark Rober
2 HN recommender · 2017–2020
4 mo on HN"Stop Rate Limiting! Capacity Management Done Right" by Jon Moore
Strange Loop Conference
4 HN recommender · 2017–2024
1 mo on HNGuilty until proven innocent.
JCS - Criminal Psychology
1 HN recommend · 2021–2021
7 mo on HNElevated by RGBA and TBC
BUTTONTANG
7 HN recommender · 2009–2025
4 mo on HNfr-08: .the .product by farbrausch | 64k intro (2000) (720p HQ demoscene demo)
Demoscene High-Quality Videos (Annikras)
2 HN recommender · 2016–2020
3 mo on HN8088 MPH by Hornet + CRTC + DESiRE
Jim Leonard
3 HN recommender · 2017–2024
10 mo on HNelevated by Rgba & TBC | 4k intro (FullHD 1080p demoscene demo)
Demoscene High-Quality Videos (Annikras)
7 HN recommender · 2013–2025
15 mo on HNHeat Pumps: the Future of Home Heating
Technology Connections
17 HN recommender · 2021–2026
11 mo on HNJames Burke Connections, Ep. 1 "The Trigger Effect"
DRS_Education
12 HN recommender · 2019–2026
8 mo on HNWhy Heat Pumps are Immensely Important Right Now
Technology Connections
9 HN recommender · 2022–2023
7 mo on HNWhat Really Happened During the Texas Power Grid Outage?
Practical Engineering
6 HN recommender · 2021–2026
7 mo on HNIt’s Time To Break Up With Our Gas Stoves | Climate Town
Climate Town
10 HN recommender · 2021–2025
4 comments from Hacker News
Tangential topic : There was a post on HN a while back about steam heating. This talk on YouTube was linked. It was really informative: ▶ this video
As I suspected before clicking, that article cites that explanation as being given by steam heating system expert Dan Holohan. He has a talk up on YouTube that I came across a few years ago. It is interesting on a number of levels, and I recommend giving it a watch: ▶ this video
"When you see something that's old and it's been there for a long time and it's working, don't laugh at it." (From a not-really-related yet quite interesting talk I watched a while back: ▶ this video --- also featured on HN at link )
> I've sometimes wondered if it would be practical to operate a steam heating system at a partial vacuum so that the condensation/vaporization could occur at a lower temperature He actually talks about exactly this in the video! ▶ this video "You'll be sending steam up into the building at temperatures, in some cases, as low as 150 degrees" (83 degrees C)