Sleuthing Idiot Needs Help

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gem198

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I'm in a new to me/old house and after being away for a month, on return there doesn't seem to be any heat. I'm in Southern California and I'm used to New England boilers. All I have here is what looks like an old-time radiator in the floor under a grate. I see a pilot light.
What do I do? I don't even know who to call. Can I fix this myself?
There is a warmth to the radiator, but not really heating up.
I know, I'm an east coast idiot and have never seen anything like this.
Call me an idiot, insult me, but help me too.
xo :confused:
 

Bob NH

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What's the fuel? Probably gas, natural or propane. Pilot light suggests gas of some kind.

Look for lines and valves, and connections to the device.

Very unlikely that it's oil, but could be kersoene. Probably something like a gas fireplace in the floor.

If it's gas, maybe someone has turned it off or set a thermostat way down.
 

Jimbo

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If your house dates to the early fifties ( or before) it was quite common to have a natural gas furnace under the floor, with the heat coming up through a large grate in the floor. Often, they straddled a wall, so there was heat in the living room, and a hallway or bedroom on the other side.

For reasons that the grates were hot enough to burn children, these are no longer allowed to be installed. Williams Furnace Co. I believe still makes one for replacement purposes, but even they discourage it's use, and local authorities may not allow you to install it.

On any old furnace like this, you have to be concerned about the heat exchanger. Cracks allow Carbon Monoxide to enter the house.

As far as why it won't heat, there should be a control valve , possibly located in an access in the grate. It may have been upgraded to a wall stat.

Because repairs could be costly, and replacement may be problematic, I would not spend a lot of money on this.

Your very FIRST move is to get a carbon mooxide detector installed. TODAY.
Then, see if a heating tech can get it going with not too much expense.

In 1995, my daughter bought an old house with this. We were able to take it out, do a pretty neat patch on the hardwood floors, and put in a double sided Williams wall furnace. The gas was right there, and the existing flue ran up that wall anyway; and had to be replaced because it was the old transite pipe ( A-word).
 

hj

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heat

It is a floor furnace and probably has a millevolt powerpile operating source. Many of them had constant pilots that would operated even when the generator failed so you have to go into the crawl space and check the control. But since you do not have the tools or experience to do it you probably should call an expert plumber to check it.
 
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