Heating is ALIVE again!

 Hi Friends.  I hope you're staying warm and cozy wherever you are in the world today.  While it has been heating season for awhile, I made some changes to the radiators in the house that I have been wanting to do forever.  My last posts about the warming oven will come last, but in addition to doing that one, I needed to move around 6 radiators in total! This was a HUGE job because if you know you know.  Not only moving these beasts, but also connecting them to work in a Minnesota winter.  I am proud to say they are in and heating and I am so happy they are.

The old radiator removed.  It had served it's purpose well and was a good heater, but it was probably from the 1918 renovation of the house and it wasn't symmetrical under the window.  It blocked me being able to open the bookcase where the TV is hidden and honestly I love a fancy radiator so I wanted to put back something that matched the house.  I went down a whole rabbit hole of first trying to find a matching Rococo radiator by American Standard that would fit under the window.  I knew it would be a nearly impossible search, but I don't give up easy.  I was shocked to learn that the Rococo radiators for under windows were  devoid of any decoration.  Made me very curious since the other ones are so beautiful.

Since I wanted something fancy that would also fit under the window I got lucky after searching on Facebook marketplace and found a lovely fancy one, just a couple hours south of me in the Aetna pattern.

This style I thought matched well with my Rococo radiators.  A few problems presented itself.  Firstly I needed 2 of these radiators, one for the parlor and one for the dining room.  Secondly I wanted to ensure they would heat the rooms enough considering they have their heat calculations.  Thirdly, the one I found not too far from me was from a house where it hadn't been used in years and was untested.  A HUGE risk to take considering hiring the movers to get it to me and brought into the house was no small task.  I took a chance and bought it and THANK GOD when I pressure tested it, it held.  But now I needed a 2nd one and this was not easy to find.  I searched high and low and got lucky and found one in Indiana.  I spoke a lot with the seller and she was unable to test it and I was too far away to make a casual trip to check it out.  I pressed my luck, bought it and had it brought to me.  These things are HEAVY.  No I mean really heavy.  A normal Rococo radiator I can maneuver around by myself OK, but when the movers came to move both of these from my garage to my house, they had to come back with a 4th guy, 2 were not enough.  I got incredibly lucky in that this 2nd matching Aetna radiator also pressure tested.  After I got these two in the house, the old parlor and dining room ones went to the basement to heat down there.  Little did I know this would be the easy part because hooking these beasts up took me an incredible amount of time.  My other Rococo radiators are plumbed on the same side, meaning the inlet goes in at the bottom and the return goes out the top.  This is how it is throughout the house, but these Aetna radiators required only bottom connections, so that required no small feat of work, cursing, and endless frustration.  I was absolute hell, but I am happy to say the parlor one is now hooked up.

And is perfectly centered under the window and provides a nice spot to sit and heats quite well.  I would have preferred it a little longer, but you know you get what you can get.  The old paint on it is in OK shape but my dream one day would be when I get the floors redone to have this and the other radiators stripped and refinished.  That will be a dream project that may or may not come but I can hope! 

The dining room one was slightly easier, but still a awful pain.  The one in this room was off to one side and the symmetry bothered me to no end.  I wanted it symmetrical under the window so that I could have the dining chairs flanking the window under the sconces, so this one while lovely, went to the basement to help heat down there. 

and with the new one in place:

My obsession is happy now and this one, was recently painted and while not the color I would choose, it went well with the room.

With these 3 radiators I also removed one very tiny one from the back part of the house, stripped it and put it in the bathroom so the bathroom could have heat (a nice luxury)

Stripping and oh so messy but nice to see it come alive again! 

Freshly painted in the bathroom ! 

Lastly my headache of the warming oven for the kitchen was the last to be put in.  God I spent so much time and money getting this thing alive again.  It came from Michigan to Minnesota, then to be restored in Connecticut and then back to Minnesota.  I ordered it to be finished in it's natural silver and I was shocked to see it come in black.  Initially I wasn't sure if I was upset, but in the end, I think the black will work well in the kitchen. My previous posts detail how much pain I went through to get the thing going and while I haven't done the kitchen yet, it's temporarily hooked up there so I can at least have heat in the kitchen for the first time since I have lived in the house (20 years) 

ALIVE and working again! It looks ugly hooked up, but it works and when the kitchen is finished, it will be a nice addition.  I just LOVE it, but thinking about all the pain and money it cost to get me this beast, I am not sure if I would do it all again.  

Until the next adventure in this 1889 Victorian my friends, wishing you a very happy 2026 and let us make it a good year!