Schwarz

Schwarz

Everything you ever wanted to know about steam heating in one easy-to-understand book. There, that's as straight as I can put it. I spent five years researching Lost Art, and believe me, it was a labor of love. Those where the days when I first met the Dead Men. I found them waiting in old bookstores all across America. They sat on dusty shelves and called down to me. "Psst," they said. Up here! We've got a lot to tell you, kid."

I read those books long into the night, night after night. I couldn't get enough of these stories of the days when central heating was new. I compared one book to another and marveled at how well the Dead Men explained themselves. I also watched as the systems changed over time, and as the theories sharpened themselves into well-accepted principles.

I remember reading a Dead Man's passage about steam pressure one day. He mentioned how systems work better when the pressure is kept low, and he explained why this is so. That passage was the key that allowed me to finally see what was going on within these old systems. So many of the other aspects fell into place that day, and I was finally able to sit down and write.

I wrote for a year, and then rewrote for another six months. I wanted Lost Art to sound like a conversation between you and me. Lost Art contains hundreds of drawings and photographs. In one chapter, "This Old Heating System", I catalogued and explained two dozen of the most common vapor/vacuum steam systems that the Dead Men installed between 1900 and 1930. These old systems were wonderfully simple, but you do need some guidance to get them working to their full potential. In this chapter you'll learn what to do, and what not to do.

The Special Anniversary Edition of The Lost Art of Steam Heating is 306 pages long. It measures 8-1/2" X 11", has a soft cover and a wonderful plastic spiral binding. You can fold it completely in half from any page, and it won't fall apart, even after years of use.

I've also added 10 pages of bonus material to this special edition, insights I've gained since the book first came out in 1992. Enjoy! back to top

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