Hole in Radiator

LOMW

My Wife and I are looking at buying a house and noticed that one of the radiators has a hole in it at the top.  The Real Estate agent said she thought it had frozen.  The hole is like a small chip at the top of the radiator.  To turn on and use the system (currently winterized) what exactly would have to be done?  Can we somehow patch the hole? Can we just turn the valve off and not use that particular radiator? Money at the moment is a little tight so we are hoping we can temp fix it till the beginning of the year when we can afford to replace it.



Thank you for any advice.

Ironman

Replace...

The radiator.  I don't know of any reliable method of patching a rad. Others may have a different opinion. Turning the valve off only closes flow  from one side, the rad. will still leak.



I would be very concerned about all of the rads. in this house. If one froze, then there's probably others that did. Have a heating pro pressurize and check the entire system. Have the plumbing system checked also.

icesailor

Frozen Radiator:

If you have a radiator that has frozen and broken, you probably have another one somewhere. And broken plumbing pipes.

Find a mechanical professional that us versed in the wonders of compressed air and blow up the whole house. Plumbing and heating. If you have any leaks, you will find them. Don't bother with water. If you have leaks, water will leak out and you will have fun cleaning up the mess. Especially if there is a break in a ceiling.

You can do this with a "rig" made up with a air fitting that will connect to your air compressor. One of those inexpensive compressors for air nail guns work just fine. You need fittings to connect the air fitting and a air pressure gauge. A valve works nicely so you can isolate the system from the air compressor. Put a boiler drain/hose bib on the "rig" and connect to the plumbing system and heating system with a washing machine hose, double hose connection.

Someone knows more about this situation than are telling you. I hope you are not signing an "As Is" sale. If they won't guarantee it to be in pristine shape and move in quality, run.

If yo have any questions, write back. I've seen more of these situations than I care to think about.

Someone elses careless should no become your problem.

icesailor

Radiator:

Also, if this broken radiator is the only one broken, and it is a modern small tube radiator, in a standard size, you may be able to replace the section. It isn't difficult for someone that knows what they are doing. Of it is very old and a unusual size, forget it. There is no known way to repair a broken radiator.

Charlie from wmass

The radiator may be able

to be shortened if it is a center section. Work that needs to be done by a pro for sure. I do have some radiators in stock and I save the radiators that are damaged on one section to have parts around. Do you have a photo of the radiator? As said if it is a modern unit a new section can be installed.

Mark Eatherton

Got pictures????

Could just be that someone snapped off an air vent...



I have used Propoxy for doing repairs on cast iron. And it held fine, but had 24 hours to cure prior to seeing any water or pressure.



Little old ladies on fixed incomes can't afford, much less want a new radiator :-)



ME

Brian_74

Pro poxy

I had never heard of Pro poxy before, but I figured if it's good enough for ME its good enough for me. I searched online and learned two things about it. First, spelled as one word, it's a narcotic pain reliever. Second, the manufacturer of the two word epoxy product will send out a free sample to those in the trade. See http://herchem.com/FreeProPoxy.html

LOMW

Pictures tomorrow

I am going back tomorrow and I will post pictures. 



Appreciate all of the comments.

Big-Al_2

J-B Weld

I had a cracked radiator in my kitchen a couple of years ago.  It cracked in the crotch between two vertical tubes.  It was on an end section, so I couldn't just remove it.   I cleaned it up as well as I could with emery cloth and slathered the area with about 1/4" of J-B Weld.  I waited as long as I could, a few hours anyway, and then turned the boiler on just long enough to get the radiator pretty warm and harden the patch in a hurry.  The patch held until spring, and I replaced the radiator before the next heating season. 



I'm not sure how permanent a patch it would be.  It isn't just epoxy.  There is a different type of really high temperature resin in it as well. A friend used it to "temporarily" fix a coolant leak on the engine block on his old Ford tractor . . . about ten years ago.  It's still holding.

Chris M_2

The hole story

What kind of radiator is it?  If it's a steam system radiator, and there's a crack on top of the radiator then JB Weld might well fix it.  The pressure in a steamer is only a couple of pounds. As some others have posted, if a past winter freeze caused the crack, then there are probably going to be issues in other parts of the system as well.  But, if the crack got there mechanically (the radiator was hit with something during work in the house for example, then I wouldn't worry about it.  Post a picture of the crack, and I'm sure the pros can tell by looking at it whether it's a freeze rupture or a crack from a mechanical object.