Salamander heater
A salamander heater is any of a variety of portable forced-air or convection space heaters, often using kerosene or propane as fuel but also requiring electricity,[1][2] used in ventilated areas for worksite comfort. Salamander heaters are most often found at construction sites.[3] Depending on style, they can also be referred to as "torpedo furnaces", "salamander furnaces", or simply, "salamanders".[4]
Salamander heaters date back to at least 1903, when they were mentioned in the International Hod Carriers and Building Laborers’ Union founding charter, which claimed the union's jurisdiction over:
"Wrecking of buildings, excavations of buildings, digging of trenches, piers and foundations, holes, digging, lagging, sheeting of said foundations, holes, and caisson work, concrete for buildings, whether foundations, floors or any other, whether done by hand or any other process, tending to masons, mixing and handling all materials used by masons (except stone setters), building of centers for fireproofing purposes, tending to carpenters, tending to and mixing of all materials for plastering, whether done by hand or any other process, clearing of debris from buildings, shoring, underpinning and raising of old buildings, drying of plastering, when done by salamander heat, handling of dimension stones." [5]
In the early 1940s, W.L. Scheu of Scheu Manufacturing Company, a leading producer of temporary portable space heating equipment, developed the modern Salamander heater to provide warmth to allow farmers to work in inclement weather. Sales spread across the US, and by the 1950s, to Europe.
Name
The name, also applied to various types of heating device, comes from the mythical salamander, a beast that lived in fire and could control fire. Examples from kitchen use include high temperature ovens and, from the 17th and 18th century, a browning element.[6][7]
References
- "Glossary of Terms". World Marketing of America, Inc. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
- Salamander Heater, Garage How To
- William Popendorf (15 May 2006). Industrial Hygiene Control of Airborne Chemical Hazards. CRC Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-1-4200-0940-8.
- "Heaters". BASO Gas Products LLC. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
- "The Laborer: 100th Anniversary Edition" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-27.
- A Way with Words:Dessert Stomach, US public radio, 12 May 2018 (audio)
- Forged Iron Salamander at Jas. Townsend and Son YouTube