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The Waterman-Waterbury Heater

The Waterman-Waterbury Heater was the best known heater for rural schools. Some schools started out with a different kind of stove or heater but changed to the Waterman through time. The history of the rural schools and that of the Waterbury-Heater seem to go hand in hand.

There seems to be a pattern as to how the heater was installed in the schools. It was placed in one of the corners in the back of the room. It was thought at the time, the more stovepipe installed (8" in diameter) the more heat would be produced. These stovepipes lead to a brick chimney quite a distance from the heater.

The most important feature of the Waterman-Waterbury heater was its size. It was huge and had a huge heating surface. The heater had a five foot high, double layered, insulated sheet metal jacket that circled it like a large cylinder. The sides and the back of the jacket were supported by steel struts, while the front quarter was mounted on hinges and could be swung open or closed like a big door or gate. The designer of this stove must have known it was destined for schools. The metal jacket was decorated with circular designs. The entire jacket was painted a shiny glossy black. What a work of art - a masterpiece! These magnificent furnaces sold for $168.00 in 1923.

The cold air was drawn from the floor at the bottom of the stove. Confined by the jacket, it circulated around the hot surface of the heater until it became warm and rose upwards toward the ceiling. At the same time more cold air was drawn in from the bottom and the process carried on, heating the room.

There was a number of mechanical devices on the Waterman-Waterbury furnace that that could be operated singly or in combination with the other to make the stove operate more successfully. These devices included: the ash pit door and its slide draft regulator, the fuel feed door, and its particular style of slide draft controller, the duplex dumping gate, the grate shaker, and the stovepipe damper. It was no wonder that the teacher or student that operated this monster thought the furnace had a mind of its own. The furnace was referred to as a temperamental steel robot, stubborn as a mule and very sensitive. Once they got the fire going it was an easy task to keep it going, just add more coal or wood. The fire was banked at night, so there might be some embers in the morning to get it started more easily.

A number of schools removed the complete jacket or just the door part. This enabled students to get closer and warm up their cold hands and feet. On very cold days desks were moved closer to the furnace. Frozen lunches were placed on top of the heater to thaw them out. Clothes were hung on the jacket to dry and warm up. Mitts were placed so close that sometimes they got singed.

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Waterman Waterbury Furnace
1900's
Rural areas around Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

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Sign on Waterbury Furnace
1900's
Rural areas around Bentley, Alberta


Credits:
Bentley Museum Society