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QUESTION:I just inherited a three-season cottage with a Sunbeam coal/wood furnace in
the basement. It needs a lot of work -- some parts are broken, the grate
system is almost entirely destroyed, etc. It would also help to have
somebody knowledgeable in such things (if any are still alive!) inspect for
dangerous problems.
The house was built in the late 30s, so the furnace should date from about
then.
The house is located on the northern New Jersey border, near Orange County,
New York.
The model number of the furnace is A-1052-BD. The manufacturer is American
Standard Radiator and Sanitary Corp.
Is there any expertise out there anywhere for such a furnace?
One particular thing I want to do: the fire chamber of the furnace is
actually a series of ring-like iron segments stacked together. Some light
can be seen through the joints in some places. It appears that there was
some obviously fireproof substance applied between the joints to seal them.
What might that be?
ANSWER: My father used black goop which he called "furnace cement"
to seal the joints where the smoke pipe met the furnace or
the chimney for the coal burners I grew up with, so I did a
Google search for "furnace cement" which turned up
http://www.herchem.com/Products/heatsake.htm
That is probably more than you need, so ask your local
hardware / plumbing store if they have it in homeowner
quantities.
However, if you have missing grates, you are probably out of
luck unless you can find some old guy with a cellar full of
old stove / furnace parts. I once found such a person in
Freeland PA who had a replacement grate for an anthracite
burning stove, but I doubt if he is still alive.
Unless you are [a] lucky enough to find a source of
repair parts or [b] into antique furnaces or [c] can find
somebody whose hobby is playing with antique furnaces, you
might as well plan to buy a new oil burner and get rid of
the one you have. I also did a Google on American Standard
Radiator; the results lead me to believe the company is no
longer in business.
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