Have you ever had one of those times when you’re trying to figure out some problem and then suddenly the solution comes to you as if by magic? 

I was wondering about boiler chemicals and how many contractors (if any) were using them on brand-new systems. Do we need them? 

Who doesn’t like to talk about tools? I asked a bunch of my friends about the tools that live on in sweet memory as frugal tools — tools that were worth the investment. 

We’ve come a long way since the days of gravity-hot-water heating. The physics haven’t changed a bit, but the systems sure have. 

We’re only human, and most humans like to put off things until they absolutely have to be done. 

In 1989, when I was thinking about writing a book called, “The Lost Art of Steam Heating,” I went to see a young engineer named Frank Gerety. 

Back in the old days when most folks burned coal, vacuum was just about everyone’s friend. 

Most manufacturers rate their condensate pumps in square feet EDR. 

Most of this, I had to learn the hard way. Perhaps you’ve done the same, but in case you haven’t, please allow me to save you some heartache. 

I started out in the business working for a manufacturers’ rep on the Isle of Long.