Kewanee Boilers
by Garrett Fuller, Guest Reporter (January-February 2014 Edition, Pirate Press)
If you've ever been to the BHS basement, you've probably noticed the huge "CAUTION! ASBESTOS - HAZARDOUS" sign on the door to the boiler room. If you've ever been inside the room, you quickly notice all of the pipes and machinery inside. Many of the pipes run to the 1968 American-Standard/Kewanee low-pressure Steam Fire-tube boiler that used to heat the school.
One day I was doing laundry for the basketball team when I pulled out my cell phone and took a picture of the boiler. After doing some minor research, the boiler was manufactured in Kewanee, Illinois. I sent the photo to the editor of the Star Courier newspaper in Kewanee, Illinois. He received the e-mail, asked me some questions and thanked me for the photo, then published an article on it.
The 1968 Fire-tube boiler is non-operational, but takes up majority of the boiler room. The boiler was taken out of service sometime in the mid 2000's as it was inefficient and would cost too much to update the electronics on, as the ignition controller was also outdated. The boiler's specifications include low-pressure (15 P.S.I.) dry steam to all of the radiators at BHS, which were located in almost each room at B.H.S. (and are still there!) The boiler's power is rated at 113 BHP (boiler horsepower.) There, however, is asbestos on and inside the boiler, as asbestos was used as an insulator in the 1960s when the boiler was made. Asbestos is dangerous, if inhaled, and can be fatal as it causes a whole range of respiratory issues.
Boonslick Technical Education Center Boiler
To find another Kewanee Boiler, you don't have to go far. The B.T.E.C. is heated entirely by a 1976 Kewanee hot-water fire-tube boiler. (The B.T.E.C. boiler does not produce steam, but instead heats water.) The B.T.E.C. boiler, however, is a lot smaller than the B.H.S. boiler. The B.T.E.C. boiler is rated at only 25 BHP (boiler horsepower.) The B.T.E.C. boiler heats all the hallways, classrooms (although there is no radiators in the classrooms, but there are radiators in the hallways), restrooms, and most importantly, shop areas. Each shop area has at least two fan-coils that blow warm air into the shop area.
Kewanee Boiler Today
The Kewanee Boiler Corporation closed in 2002, after being open for 134 years (Kewanee Boiler started in 1868.) Kewanee Boiler didn't focus on manufacturing boilers until the company was restructured by E.E. "Double-E" Baker in the early 20th century. Double-E Baker died in 1929, when Kewanee Boiler was being bought by American-Standard, who owned Kewanee Boiler until the early 1970s.
Photos
Click on any of the photos to view the larger version.
Above:Asbestos Warning Sign on Boiler Room door.
Above:First picture of Kewanee Boiler at B.H.S., taken by Garrett Fuller with his cell phone camera.
Above:1976 Kewanee Hot Water boiler at the B.T.E.C.
Above:One of the fan coils located in a shop area at the B.T.E.C.