recently came across the December 1924 issue of Popular Science magazine. Reading stuff like that always makes me feel like I have a time machine.

I read somewhere that the most prevalent machine in the world is the electric motor. I thought about that for a while and it made sense. Just look around. But then I began to wonder what the second-most prevalent machine in the world is. Turns out it’s the pump!

I worked for a manufacturers’ rep when I was first learning about hydronics. A guy I worked with was 15 years older than me. He knew that I had absolutely no training as an engineer so he took a different tack with my education.

Steam and hot-water heating joined hands a long time ago to make up what we today call “hydronics.” 

Most manufacturers rate their condensate pumps in square feet EDR. 

Before I retired in 2016, I’d get a lot of calls from lawyers who wanted to hire me to be an expert witness at a trial. 

We have so many names for common things and tools that we use in this business; and because I have way too much time on my hands, I started wondering how those names came to be. 

I got an email from the customer service manager at a well-known boiler manufacturer whose name I will keep to myself. 

We go to the places where we’re comfortable when troubleshooting.