Pics to document The Kraken before she dies

[jegs]

BTW, where is the asbestos in one of these units?

It's the insulation on the ducting coming out of the top.

[t527ed]

When they did an efficiency test, this octopus monster came in at 80%!

you may have 80% burner efficiency, no way you have 80% afue.

probably lucky to be 50%.

[rmelo99]

ok, thats what i thought, in all my ducting there is only 3 places where the round duct is wrapped with what is believed to be asbestos. Just one duct tape width band around the seam. Should be very manageable when it needs to be addressed.

[rmelo99]

you may have 80% burner efficiency, no way you have 80% afue.

probably lucky to be 50%.

It was measured via combustion I think. So your prob right. it uses less fuel per season than the much newer(but still old) unit for the other identical size apartment. It is not any huge amount of oil, plus there is no blower in the unit, so no electricity consumption running the motor.

[yellowirenut]

i would at least keep the front panel and door

[skippedover]

Whooowweee! Love to have $10 for every one of those monsters I've tuned-up over the years gone by!! Just looking at that basement brings back fond (maybe not so fond) memories of freezing winter nights and 1am service calls! Many of them had oil fired Shellhead burners in them. Built many a brick chamber in them as well! Some of the places used to still have the old coal grates right beside the units. Yes, the old coal converted furnaces and boilers. They sure don't make them like that anymore. I see a nice electrical outlet on the post and wonder why the return air door is closed on the bottom of the unit? With those old monsters, sometimes the new folks would tighten up the leaks in the house and the heat wouldn't rise up. The solution was to go up to the attic and open a window. All the old houses had attics with full size windows at each end. You'd never get away with that these days. The windows are too low and some kids would be falling out! Still fun to remember. Thanks.

[FJRSTAR]

Totally awesome!!

[2old2rock]

You're very brave sticking your face in that opening!
I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole!!

[energy star]

Lennox may want to buy that, I would check it out.

[Old Style Rehab]

Whooowweee! Love to have $10 for every one of those monsters I've tuned-up over the years gone by!! Just looking at that basement brings back fond (maybe not so fond) memories of freezing winter nights and 1am service calls!

I've been told by a few contractors/inspectors that, "it ain't broke in the last hundred years, probably won't break in the next 100. Not much to go wrong in this thing. But, the ~20% efficiency might make you want to get rid of it <sneer>".
Who knows, we budgeted the replacement when we bought the house, we'll charge forward and not look back.

I see a nice electrical outlet on the post

~60yrs of DIY electrical work from lots of different owners and tenants in this place. A lot of it belongs on http://thereifixedit.com/ I'll be slowly updating the electrical as we get to it.

and wonder why the return air door is closed on the bottom of the unit?

A forced blower was added on the back of the unit, probably in the '40's (the furnace is even wider than it is tall). The two cold air returns go to the blower, out of view.

The solution was to go up to the attic and open a window. All the old houses had attics with full size windows at each end. You'd never get away with that these days. The windows are too low and some kids would be falling out! Still fun to remember. Thanks.

spot on, just had the efficiency auditor by this morning and we were talking about this type of stuff. And yes, 1 full size gable window, 1 half size.
The auditor was also amazed to see multi-story chimney venting (unlined chimney btw). Our chimney is more like a flute than a tube, ha! Got a lot of holes to plug.

[garya505]

I remember something like that in a house we lived in something like 50 years ago. That one was still running on coal.

[stonem]

I have the same unit and it is still firing, same model. I'm curious about asbestos, I can see it being on the pipe wrap, but I would like to know if asbestos is used in the furnace liner and is it something I should be concerned with. In dismantling yours, was it discovered?

[freefall]

waiting on some more pictures..............

[Old Style Rehab]

dismantling hasn't happened yet. Had to postpone 1 month in order to build up the bank account enough to pay for it.

Asbestos contractor isn't sure if there's any asbestos in the actual furnace, but probably not. He said that sometimes there's an asbestos mat in the top, but in mine he thinks it's just sand, a big thermal-mass for the gravity fed system.

Hope I have enough money next month to buy a new furnace too. In the mean time we're working on things that don't cost so much, ie putting in our own elbow grease. We removed carpet and linoleum upstairs, sanded the floors, and have put down 7 coats of poly on the old pine floors. Looks great!

[DavidNJ]

I adjusted the exposure to see the detail...

[stonem]

Thanks, I'll stay tuned.
I had a burner service guy in yesterday to tune same, he said if the burner malfunctions so it can't be repaired, it is unlikely any licensed burner tech would install new one due to the many unknowns in the combustion area of the TZ. So looking into new forced hot air system. I LOVED this gravity system, quiet, and did fine heating my small, 110 year old drafty house in Maine. efficiency was not so "hot". And it was a conversation piece that on more than a few occasions was gazed into while firing...

[Mighty Hd]

Any links to the full size photos?

[Old Style Rehab]

Any links to the full size photos?

sorry no, never good business to give away the final product
http://phwadsworth.com/photo/ prints available, will trade for furnace installs!

[badbatch]

I love those old things. I haven't seen one or torn one out in years!

[stonem]

Any update on the Kraken? Is there asbestos in that there chamber liner? thx, mike