Rob Amaral Posted July 17, 2017 Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 It's endless... .. something I've never seen until today.. 120V plug-in cast iron radiator.. Label says "Burnham Electric Steam Radiator" (No.. I did not turn it on) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted July 17, 2017 Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 I'm not sure I could have resisted "testing" that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 17, 2017 Report Share Posted July 17, 2017 What do you suppose is the point? An electric baseboard heater would produce heat at 100% efficiency. You can even get "hydronic" ones filled with oil. Why generate steam for one location? Unless, of course, you could make it hiss, spit, or make klunk, klunk, klunk noises. Then it would be authentic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Fabry Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 I have one. It's silent and effective. After an hour it's too hot to touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kibbel Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 I've seen them in cast iron and stamped steel. The last one I saw was labeled NoCare and ran on DC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjr6550 Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 4 hours ago, Jim Katen said: What do you suppose is the point? An electric baseboard heater would produce heat at 100% efficiency. You can even get "hydronic" ones filled with oil. Why generate steam for one location? Unless, of course, you could make it hiss, spit, or make klunk, klunk, klunk noises. Then it would be authentic. If that is an old cloth covered rubber cord it may hiss and spit when you plug it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 I suspect the steam is just in the name. You wouldn't want steam in there with no place to go. You can check something like that with your DMM. Measure the resistance between the prongs of the plug, Make sure the switch is on. Almost zero or zero resistance, it's shorted. Infinite resistance, it's burned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Amaral Posted July 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 I didn't 'turn it on' due to the age of the cord.. reminded me of "Ma's iron... 1956.. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 18, 2017 Report Share Posted July 18, 2017 20 hours ago, John Kogel said: I suspect the steam is just in the name. You wouldn't want steam in there with no place to go. You can check something like that with your DMM. Measure the resistance between the prongs of the plug, Make sure the switch is on. Almost zero or zero resistance, it's shorted. Infinite resistance, it's burned out. I don't know if it makes steam or not, but if it did, the steam would go into the radiator the same as it would in a regular steam system. There'd be an air vent that would let out the air and snap shut when the steam hit it. I've never had luck identifying heating elements with a DMM. They always read zero for me - even when they're fine. What am I missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted July 19, 2017 Report Share Posted July 19, 2017 (edited) With no expansion tank, if designed to make steam, I don't think it would meet safety standards of even the 1930's but that's just a guess. If there's a PRV it would need a discharge pipe or it would blast steam into the living space. There's resistance in an electric heating element. You'd need to have your meter on the lower scale.. This 750 Watt heater has an R of 75 ohms. Edited July 19, 2017 by John Kogel added pic to prove I'm right this one time. ;>) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Ghent Posted July 19, 2017 Report Share Posted July 19, 2017 According to Burnham it is a steam unit. https://www.amazon.com/Burnham-Portable-Electric-Steam-Radiator/dp/B00QP522HS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted July 19, 2017 Report Share Posted July 19, 2017 Thanks, John, and Jim, you are correct, it does appear to make steam with an immersion-type heating coil. Production started in 1932 and the ad is from 1948. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Amaral Posted July 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2017 I didn't 'turn it on' due to the age of the cord.. reminded me of "Ma's iron...1955... Amen on the old ad.. that is interesting.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted July 21, 2017 Report Share Posted July 21, 2017 I guess it sometimes blows steam the same way that a steam iron blows steam? Anyway, in those days, people had better survival instincts. If you got scalded, it was just tough luck,. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 21, 2017 Report Share Posted July 21, 2017 It shouldn't blow steam at all. The steam should remain contained in the radiator, condense inside it, and run back into the heating chamber via gravity. I imagine that you'd occasionally replace the water, but probably not all that often. The more I read that ad, the more I want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted July 21, 2017 Report Share Posted July 21, 2017 If it's fully contained and makes steam inside, what keeps it from pressurizing and blowing up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted July 21, 2017 Report Share Posted July 21, 2017 It only needs a pound or two of pressure to work. I'm guessing that there are controls that keep it in that range and some kind of safety relief valve that backs up the controls if they fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 And then there is some "real steam" from a great locomotive .... UP at 75MPH ... Real Steam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted July 23, 2017 Report Share Posted July 23, 2017 That's got to be the longest engine I've ever seen. Looks 100 foot long. I wonder what the fuel is. Coal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RK52 Posted July 26, 2017 Report Share Posted July 26, 2017 I'm guessing the steam /water mass serves as a heat repository. Slows cooling in the room when it cycles off. Iron body helps with that. The add says the coil is good for 15-20 years. If it was stored empty, maybe the thing survived? But geeez, $57 in 1948.... If the radiator didn't whistle, the buyer sure did seeing the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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