frozen radiators

reddog

does anyone know what temp it would take (F) to crack a full radiator? in a house with no heat outside temp is what I mean

Ron Schroeder

It can crack @ 32 degrees given enough time

@ 0 I bet not more than a couple hours, hard to say time vs temp. Not to fotget big tubes vs thin tubes all play a part

Brad White_39

It is not the outside temperature it is the inside temperature

that counts. If it stays above 32F inside you should be OK. Even if you have no heat can you at least run the circulator? Jumper it if you have to.

Moving water will not freeze easily.

Ron Schroeder

Missed the outside temp

But unnless you had a few days of no sun I have seen in the lower twenties with no problems. Then again how drafty ius the building??

reddog

thanks for your feed back...... a friend said 2 radiators had blown out from freezing in a vacant house...... I didn't think that 20 degrees as an outside temp for 2 days would cause that...... do you agree?

JB_8

freeze

It takes a few days for a house to cool down, but if the window is open all bets are off

Brad White_39

I cannot argue with your friend's reality

Cannot settle that bet; his radiators froze or they did not. Who am I to say otherwise?

But if freezing is that much of a concern, drain the system while you are waiting for repairs. Do that only if you cannot run the circulator. Try that first.

Ron Schroeder

reddog

If the circ isn't running and you have a place that a draft blows on a pipe it will freeze in turn trapping water in the radiator until it reaches burst point, it might not freeze solid but enough to crack. Most time you will see where water ran across the floor and froze it just takes a small serction of ice to crack a ci radiator.