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Post by Gordon on Jul 28, 2015 7:56:03 GMT -5
I've always wondered why the water heater is so prominent on the set. Was it normal for a farm house back then to have it in that location, and unhidden?
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Post by RebeccaLee on Jul 28, 2015 16:14:39 GMT -5
Initially it just would have been the waterjacket on the wood stoce but later you could get tanks that would heat via the wood stove. I have seen them hidden in the walls (found one in an old house we tore down) and stand alone kind like the Waltons. I have even seen them in shiny copper.
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Post by Kathy Lee on Jul 29, 2015 11:10:42 GMT -5
I've always wondered why the water heater is so prominent on the set. Was it normal for a farm house back then to have it in that location, and unhidden?
I never questioned the heater in the kitchen but now that you mention it, it is odd. I have never seen a heater in a kitchen. Always in the basement. The real Hamner house does not have a basement.
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Post by rabner59 on Jul 29, 2015 11:18:58 GMT -5
I think it's in the kitchen because of less plumbing to do an to keep its from freezing notice its next to the cook stove.That is my guess.
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Post by Gordon on Jul 30, 2015 7:02:05 GMT -5
I also wonder if it was a natural gas supplied water heater? I wouldn't expect that in a rural area back in those times. Did they have an oil tank of some sort on the property for water heat and furnace heat? ~Speaking of which, what sort of furnace did that house have? Gravity - the old type without an electric blower?
Sorry, I get interested in technical stuff like this.
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Post by sdw on Jul 30, 2015 9:31:11 GMT -5
We have our water heater in our basement,we have 2 of them.In our last house we had hot water in our basement,we had to replace waters heater while we lived because we lived there for a long time.
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Post by RebeccaLee on Jul 30, 2015 10:16:21 GMT -5
Old houses prior to natural gas, propane used wood heat. Fireplaces and the woodstove. Vents were located in the upstairs rooms were the heat could rise. My mom said she would stand over the vent in her bedroom in the winter when she got dressed. She shared a room with her 3 sisters...two double beds. Their brother had a small small room on the other side of the stairs. Later they got a coal burning furnace put under the house.
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Post by Kathy Lee on Jul 30, 2015 16:27:17 GMT -5
Old houses prior to natural gas, propane used wood heat. Fireplaces and the woodstove. Vents were located in the upstairs rooms were the heat could rise. My mom said she would stand over the vent in her bedroom in the winter when she got dressed. She shared a room with her 3 sisters...two double beds. Their brother had a small small room on the other side of the stairs. Later they got a coal burning furnace put under the house. Is have seen those vents. When I was a child, a friend had one big vent in the hallway. That vent heated the whole house! I always had hot water radiators until this house. Now I have gas and hot air. (Wait for it, Kathy......just wait for it........)
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Post by Gordon on Jul 30, 2015 18:08:19 GMT -5
I forgot about radiators. I'll have to look and see if I can spot any on the next episode.
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Post by Kathy Lee on Jul 31, 2015 7:28:24 GMT -5
Old houses prior to natural gas, propane used wood heat. Fireplaces and the woodstove. Vents were located in the upstairs rooms were the heat could rise. My mom said she would stand over the vent in her bedroom in the winter when she got dressed. She shared a room with her 3 sisters...two double beds. Their brother had a small small room on the other side of the stairs. Later they got a coal burning furnace put under the house. Is have seen those vents. When I was a child, a friend had one big vent in the hallway. That vent heated the whole house! I always had hot water radiators until this house. Now I have gas and hot air. (Wait for it, Kathy......just wait for it........) Dowse must have missed this post!
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Post by e knight on Jul 31, 2015 9:05:44 GMT -5
Perhaps the art director made the water heater in a prominent position to subtly, even subliminally remind us that the family took baths, to make them cleaner to our mind's eye (or rather, mind's nose). I mean, not everyone was so advantaged in the 1930s and 40s.
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Post by Gordon on Jul 31, 2015 9:15:26 GMT -5
Perhaps the art director made the water heater in a prominent position to subtly, even subliminally remind us that the family took baths, to make them cleaner to our mind's eye (or rather, mind's nose). I mean, not everyone was so advantaged in the 1930s and 40s. Good point. I do feel it's a deliberate set-design statement.
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