Anyone can buy a bunch of high-quality components, stick them together, keep the water on the inside, and call it a hydronic heating system. It’s not that difficult. The real skill of an exceptional professional lies in understanding what these different components do and then picking the ones that will work together best for each individual system.

When I got older and was at the bar with my father, I was thinking about Billy. I asked my father about him and those two pair of pliers he always kept so close at hand. My father smiled as he remembered.

Have you impressed upon your technicians the need to routinely service mod-con boiler systems? Have you reviewed the maintenance records for systems installed by your firm? Are there any holes in the records? Are you and your customers at risk? It never hurts to check.

If you’ve never tried a radiant ceiling panel, I urge you to do so. I’ve used this panel construction on several projects and have always been delighted with the installation method, performance, and lack of problems. 

Training is for dogs, dancing bears, and little kids who crap in their pants. Is that the way we think of apprentices? Maybe that’s the real problem.

Modern biomass boilers are as different from earlier-generation wood-burning boilers as smartphones are from their rotary-dial predecessors. 

At a time when there are so many new possibilities for water-based heating and cooling — and with a giant helping of new technology at every facet of the playing field — we’re losing the very essence of what’s needed most: a new generation of energetic, inspired young trade pros.

Oh, and I should mention that Daniel and Chapman were the man’s first and middle names. His last name was Stillson. Think of him the next time you reach into your toolbox for that durable Stillson wrench that will forever carry its inventor’s proud name. Think of him, remember him, thank him, and smile.

It happened abruptly — I woke up one morning and decided I wanted to try something new. Little did I know then that the path I’m on now would be so affected by some very special mentors. Heck, I didn’t even know what “hydronics” meant back then, but, now, it’s both a passion and a profession.

The boiler can be configured to provide supplemental heat when the heat pump can’t quite keep up with the load. This allows the heat pump to be sized for 50 percent to 75 percent of design load while still providing the majority of the total seasonal heating energy requirement.