radiators

Doug_45

HELP I've just shut down 2nd radiator in 3 days leaking water from bottom of radiator...looks like they've rusted through!! One pipe system prolly 75-80 yrs old.. boiler 10 yrs old.
I'm in northern NJ and need info on where to find replacement raditors.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Timco

Sure the valve or vent is not just letting water drip from it?

Tim

Al Hendrickson_27

I'd PROBABLY check on eBay first, or Craigslist , but I'm a DIY guy. There seems to be a lot of radiators listed in the NJ/NY area. Here In WI, I really had to scrounge. Burnham still makes and sells new radiators, but they are pretty expensive.

Like Tim said, maybe it's just spitting water out of the vent. I had one of mine crack. J-B Weld fixed it up until I could scrounge a replacement.

Doug_45

The vents are working properly...both radiators definitly leaking. Will start search 1st thing in the morning

nicholas bonham-carter

leaking rad

it's unlikely that both radiators would rust out simultaneously-especially so early in their lives!
check your pressure to make sure a clogged pigtail has not elevated the sytem pressure past the optimum few ounces neccessary.--nbc

Angi

cold radiators

The home we bought last year has the radiators. When we first bought the home, we had a plumber come look at the furnace and all of the radiators. He told us that everything was fine. For the second season it feels cold down stairs and upstairs especially in our bedroom. The radiator in our bedroom is completely cold, the pipe leading up to the radiator is cold, even when the heat kicks on. I have checked the radiators for a bolt or somewhere to release the air and I cannot see any. Sorry guys, (not quite sure of the lingo) It is a Peerless Boiler. I think it is a "1 pipe" there is only one pipe leading to each radiator. I live in a two story. Last year my husband and brother-in-law replaced the approx. 4" valves(??) on the one end of all of the radiators I think it regulates the steam?? I think they (my B-I-L)also, checked the slope. Prior to them doing that my children's rooms and the bathroom were not very warm either now child 1's room is warmer as is the bathroom. Living Room has (2)approx. 3'H x 4'L, Dining Room (1)approx. 3'H x 5'L, Kitchen (1) approx. 4'H x 6'L, Master (1) approx. 5'H x 4'L, Bathroom (2) approx. 4'H x 2'L, Child 1 (1) approx. 2'H x 3' L, Child 2 (1) approx. 4'H x 3' L. Since writing this piece I investigated a little, I first shut off the heat. turned off the black knob, loosened the screw on the "valve" on the opposite end of the rad, turned on the heat and let steam escape through the screw. Basically hissed. I felt some of the "pipes" on the rad. It took a while but four of the got warmer.

nicholas bonham-carter

icy rads

better start a new thread for this question.can you include more information about your system:
type of system-hot water,steam?
if steam 1-pipe or 2-pipe?
any other observations will help all of us a lot.
and remember if it has radiators....it's a boiler-not a furnace!--nbc

Mark Custis

Doug, if

you can't find used stuff we have a shop here in Cleveland that will build you what you want. I do not know if UPS will handle them however.

MARK MEYERS

RADIATORS

I HAVE BEEN IN THE HTG BUS. ABOUT 35 YRS, AND HAVE SOLD PROBABLY 10.000RADIATORS IN MY LIFE.I NORMALLY KEEP 150+IN STOCK.IN MY EXPERIENCE-THERE ARE JUST A FEW PROBLEMS THAT CAN OCCUR,BROKEN VALVE.AIR.AMOUNT OF WATER IN RADS.TRAPS,AND PRESSURE-DEPENDING ON STEAMOR HOT WATER THE FOREMENTIONED ARE A LOT OF THE PROBLEMS.THIS IS NOT TO SAY THERE AREN'T ANY OTHERS AND SOME ARE DEFINATELY AT THE BOILER AND CONTROLS AND NOT AT THE RADIATORS.IF I CAN BE OF ANY HELP CONTACT ME-SUBJECT RADIATORS

MARK MEYERS

STEAM RADIATOR

SEEN YOUR LETTER AT THE WALL. THE PROBLEM WITH STEAM RAD ARE THEY RUST AT THE BOTTOM NIPPLE-INSIDE RAD.IF U TAKE THEM APART U WILL SEE.ALOT OF TIMES THEY DONT LEAK AT 3-5LBS.BUT EVENTUALLY THEY WILL.I HAVE BEEN SELLING RADS FOR 35YEARSAND MY DAD BEFORE ME PROBABLY ANOTHER 25YRS.WE PRICE MOST OF OUR RADS AT $150TO $300.00.THO SOME CAN GO HIGHER.WE TEST THEM ALL.WE NORMALLY BUY MOSTLY HOT WATER RADS WHICH DO NOT RUST AND CAN BE USED FOR STEAM,THO THIS IS NOT WRITTEN IN STONE.IF U R INTERESTED WE NEED HEIGHT U CAN USE,DEPTH OF RAD,AND WIDTH OF 1 SECTION AND HOW MANY SECTIONS

Mark Custis

Thank you Mark

you do not need to shout. We are all hyped, but lose the cap lock.

Doug_45

Fellas you're not gonna believe this but a 3rd radiator started leaking today. Before shutting off the valve I got down on hands and knees with flashlight to try and pinpoint leak location. Heard and saw small but steady amount of steam coming from base of the middle column of the 1st section. There was not as much water leaking as the other 2 rads either. I checked the pressure at the boiler and it was normal 1.5 lbs. Don't know if I'm experiencing something unusual or just normal failure of old rads. This past summer before I read Dan's We Got Steam book I had a knucklehead flush the boiler then put in some kind of powder saying it would make dry steam. All it did was gunk up my LWCO and cost me another service call. However doesn't seem this would cause these leaks. Anyway I'll be contacting some of you fellas that responded about getting replacement rads.

nicholas bonham-carter

radiator problems

i am sure that you do not have, all of a sudden, 3 rust-hole attacks on the rads, unless someone has put drain-cleaning acid in them suddenly?
i suspect the pressure has gone up suddenly [due to a clogged pigtail?].
something must have changed. all old steam rads will leak with enough pressure, which is why professor steamhead rightly makes a disclaimer against converting 2-pipe steam to hot water.
that being said; the desired low pressures in properly adjusted steam systems are not going to continue to cause leaks for another 60 years.
find out the real cause of your leaks before getting other rads in, and making them leakers too!--nbc

George_36

Leaky Radiator

I am not a steam heat pro.
When my radiator leaked near the valve, I changed the valve.
The leak stopped. Did you check and tighten the valve?

Also, before you remove the radiator from the valve, you should use two monkey renches. One to remove the valve and one to hold the pipe in place, so it does not break.

Phil_17

It does happen...

I had three that all started leaking the first season after we stripped wall paper and painted in several rooms. All three were press-nipple construction, all three had been "fine" before, and all three leaked after we disconnected them and moved them around a little to facilitate the painting.

Took them apart and the nipples were shot (gone in some cases, just rotted through on the bottom in some) and had actually started to rot away the CI sections at the nipple interfaces. The nipples had "failed" a long time before the leaks started, but by never moving the beasts things held together by the rust I guess. Once we moved them around a little, everything just gave up at once.

Replaced with "new" rads that have screw nipples and no problems since.

Doug_45

NPC
I took your advice and lowered the pressuretrol cut-in to lowest it would go.
Voila! Rads seem to have stopped leaking and water hammer is down 90%
One strange thing though...I ended up with more water than I started with. I had to remvove three buckets to get back down to the boiler water fill line.
I'm sure rads will need to be fixed or replaced but for now they seem to be holding.
I'm very impressed with all the responses I've received. Great information for continuing education of amateur like me.