Replacing Traditional Steam Radiators with Baseboards

kevin coppinger_4

or hot water heat?

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Suzanne

Cost to convert to baseboard

We will be having a child soon, and are thinking about the need to cover our radiators. While one route is wood covers, we would rather downscale the size. Could you share an approximate cost to replace a traditional upright steam radiator with a baseboard model - like Slant/Fin offers, or a cast iron model. Approximate cost of the baseboards, and what professionals charge per radiator to make the switch. As well, what are your thoughts on what brands/types are best to install.

steven E.HEAT

CAST IRON HEATS BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are replacing cast iron rads .You cannot mix cast iron heat emitters and copper fin tube emitters if they are on the same zone. Dont let the plumber who specializes in heating tell you otherwise.A heat loss calc. is in order . A comparison of old oversing has to be done and the new may have to be oversized as well.Dont get the urge to stay to the min.amount of new base . The old may have been sized for lower water temps.(typical depending how old)unless it is steam. good luck!

Unknown

Alot

Suzanne,,we don`t generally get into prices here, but I can understand your concern with the baby coming and all. Replacing "upright" steam rads with BB can be done, but this involves in-depth modifications to your steam system. Even CIBB is limited to the linear ft. of run installed on steam to operate properly, then the underfloor piping will have to be changed to accommodate however many "banks" of rads the room requires. The rads on a hot-water system would be much easier to change, but steam is something else altogether.
(Edit)-BTW- I forgot to mention "congrats" from everyone here!!

Dave

Unknown

I'm with Dave

These guys are right, much as I wish it were otherwise....

Noel

jp_2

How many kids?

how many millions of kids have been raised in a house with radiators???????????????

DanHolohan

I got burned, but only once.

And then Mom spanked me for touching the hot radiator. ;-)

bosshog23

kids and hot radiators

We are raising two kids in a house with steam heat. The older one touched it twice the younger one touched it once- her first word was "hot" said while pointed to the steam pipe

Dan_29

steam radiator replacement

You mentioned that you have steam radiators in your post.

If you cover the radiators, you will get less heat and will have to turn up the thermostat which will waste fuel and money. There is probably more danger here from global warming than being injured by a radiator.

Baseboard does not work well on steam if the baseboard is longer than three feet. Lengthier baseboard cannot be pitched for drainage easily. A three foot baseboard will heat a typical 5x7 bathroom nothing much bigger.

Teach your child not to touch hot radiators. There will be many other things to over-protective about later in life.

Dan

DanHolohan

Actually,

if the cover is properly built it can increase the radiator's capacity:

Enclosure specs

Noel

And

Turning up the thermostat will only raise the temperature (in the room) that it shuts off at; it won't effect output in the slightest.

Noel

Chris_82

Expensive, and your...

Your original concern about high temps still exsists. So your of the mindset to provide a safe envionment for your children versus the other approach...punish your kids for injuring themselves on scalding things you have conviently left there for them to play with? Any one ever seen a baby who has gotten their hand stuck in a radiator? And then you want to spank the kid for touching it?

Radiator covers work well and are an inexpensive alternative. Their are a number of manufacturers still left some can be found in the pages of "fine home building mag" as an example and wooden frames can be purchased as well. radient heat is also a great example of a whole home retrofit, temps can be designed so that wall to wall basboard in addition to underfloor heat never reach anything near scalding or burning temps., babys by the way are more suseptable to lower temps of heating stuff than children are! radient is a great alternative and more than once I have seen babys and kids asleep, like the cat on warm floors. And in the past we have done this retrofit just for this reason!

Bernie Riddle_2

Safety

We had 4 daughters and now have 8 grandchildren. Radiators are very hot on the top, a little cooler in the middle and typically cool on the bottom. Crawling babies will probably never touch a "hot" radiator. We spent a lot more time worrying & teaching the children to not touch the kitchen oven door. Anyone that tells you that it is an inexpensive conversion from radiators to radiant heat does not know three things. He might be a nice guy but he does not know one, two or three things. #1-He does not know about radiators, ... or #2- He does not know radiant heat, ... or #3- He does not know about either. I am not a heating pro but have extensive hands on experience on the safety of children.

Steamhead (in transit)

Radiator covers reduce efficiency

unless they are properly built. See Dan's post above.

I have yet to see a cover manufacturer who knows the proper way to design them. They just build them the least efficient way, and people buy them and notice their fuel bills go up. I can't count the number of times I've looked at a system where the owner is complaining of high fuel bills, seen a houseful of brand-new covers and had to tell the owner "you just bought the problem".

Why not try fireplace screens instead? They'll keep the kids away from the radiators, won't restrict their output, and can be re-sold later.

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Chris_82

kids and radiators,...

I cannot recall the number of times I have appeared or given testimony regarding radiators, kids, and steam heat... your either on the kids side or the landlords side, I began enjoying this aspect of an unfavorable position about 20 years ago when more than a few ignorant landlords said their tenements were kid safe, all the way to the bank or a weekend at the State hotel, and many children spent and continue to spend an enormous amounts of time at Shriners. To ignore this long overdue aspect of one of the many home hazards that we can do something about and don't is just irresponsible and the epitome of ignorance. These things have been and continue to be very dangerous to small children, I suppose because the frequency of incidents, what we call morbidity/ mortality don’t make the latest issue of the national enquirer they don’t exist? But I can assure you it is a huge, ignored , and ever present problem, because you chose to turn a blind eye doesn’t mean this problem is going to go away… you wear your social responsibility on your shirt sleeve and your knowledge of safety could easily fill a post it note. How many of you leave your knives and guns lying around? O’h I suppose that’s different. You have an opportunity to do something, and you choose proudly to not do anything?

Unknown

Chris

I understand what your saying, but (guns aside as that`s another issue, not for here), we are all human and if someone sticks their finger in a light socket, do we sue the electrician? Come-on! Lets get real! We have GFIs, circuit breakers (most of us), even hockey players wear face masks, but they still get injured. What`s the cure?

Dave

Garret

No problems here raising our three year old in a house with steam rads (two pipe vaport system).

The rads in the living room are covered (nice sheet metal box covers)... yah, it cuts the heat output, but we are oversized anyway. And that's where we gated off for a play area for the first few years.

The rads in the rest of the house are uncovered. I think the little guy has gotten one surprise, from a modern thin steel tube radiator that gets very hot. No problems with the cast iron beasts, because they so rarely heat all the way across. Yes, the supply piping is hot, but there's not much of it...

Another help is that we set our thermostat to a deep setback... the only time the rads are hot is when we're asleep or away for the day. Pretty much the rest of the time they're luke warm.

-Garret

Unknown

Nice

Input garret, that is exactly what we need, Thanks Again!

Dave

Chris_82

I understand your point but children are called children for a reason because they don't know better. We as adults, are supposed to know better and being better starts with an attitude that we "CAN" make safer enviornments for children. And not accept every argument that it cost's too much or is too difficult to implement. I guantee you if your childs hand gets severly burned, which by the way for an infant is only about six seconds in a hot radiator, no amount of money or retrofit is too much to spend to correct with 20/20 hindsight. When you hear this type of thing day after day as my job once required you get very sick of those of us that say its too expensive or whatever excuse fits...to have not done anything about it! Yes of course some accidents will be inevitable, but we are not talking about those are we? We are talking about something that is widly known and easy to fix, yet for some reason we choose to ignore our responsibility to make a better world and blame our children for our own faults. Think of it this way if we have a known safey defect in a particular airplane do we demand that something be done? Or do we just sit idely by and complain about the cost and so what if a few get hurt, my one year old knows better right? This is just plain dumb, and to support this in any fashion highlights our ignorance rather than our knowledge, at least if it is an economic consideeration admit it and do the best you can but for most of us it is simply easier to poke fun at others than lift our fingers to correct a serious nationwide problem.

Plumdog_2

At some point

a sort of Darwinian effect must occur. Suppose you are learning to fly; and you keep crash landing the plane. Eventually one of two things will happen, you will be killed or nobody is going to rent you a plane anymore. Same thing with sharp knives, open flames, deep water, you name it.

arnie

Radiator conversion

Suzanne: I can understand your apprehension for your child yet to be born. Believe me , you have more serious things to be fearful of than your child being seriously burned by a hot steam radiator. I am 66 years old and raised three of my natural children and two adoptive ones in my steam heated house. Also have seven grand children and one great grandchild, all having crawled around floors in steam heated homes. New york city, steam capital of the USA.
By the time your child is crawling around he will either accidently brush up against the radiator or deliberately touch it with a curious finger. He will let out a loud scream, you will come running and almost get a heart attack. He may or may not get a blister depending on how quick his reflexes are. In a couple of days he will either touch the radiator again gingerly or keep on the far side of the room and lick his little blister. He will learn little lessons like this all the way to Senior Citizenhood. Worry more about that unprotected wall plug. Save the radiator conversion money for his college education. When he gets to be a teen worry more about him crossing the street with his earphone plugged in his ear, his Ipod turned up high and chatting on his camera phone. Sorry if I sound too harsh, but I have to go back to figuring how to pay for my medications.