American "Rococo" Radiator

Mark Gibson

Hi all,



  I have a 19-section 27" tall Rococo radiator installed in a 2nd-floor sunroom.  According to TLAOSH, it's about 72 EDR.  With modern windows and good insulation on all walls, I figure that this 8x11 room needs maybe 25?   Even if I'm wrong and it's 35, the thing is still twice as large as it needs to be. :-)



  I'd think that I should be able to sell this large, ornate radiator to someone who needs it, and buy a smaller, plain rad from someone, pay some $ for moving, and either come out even or with a few dollars in my pocket.  However, the local radiator shop seems to think that I should pay $400 for this exchange -- and swap out my own spud.



  Being slightly ornery (and kind-of liking the Rococo), I'm thinking about pulling the extra sections out myself.  I know this is no easy task, thanks to the rusted-in threaded nipples holding it together.  But I also know that I have 19 sections and only need six or seven.  That means I've got quite a bit of iron that can be sacrificed in the interest of recovering two clean left/right nipples to install the end section onto the first 6 or 7.  (In practice, I'd really end up only destroying two or three sections.)



  Given that ebay seems to value these things at under $100, I get the impression that I'm hardly spray-painting over a Rembrandt here.  But I wanted to check just in case a) someone near me (Boston) really, really wants this thing intact and is willing to trade for a smaller replacement or b) has some other good reason why I shouldn't take the Sawzall to it.



Thanks!

Mark



 

Steamhead

Looks like

that's a hot-water radiator installed on a steam system. If I'm right, the vent is in the wrong place- which was fortunate for you, since a steam air vent at the top of a radiator won't allow it to heat up all the way.



Those threaded nipples are a bear to work with- we've tried. Don't even think about it. Keep this thing intact, find a new home for it and get a smaller unit. You'll be glad you did.



I wish I was near Boston................

Charlie from wmass

What size of radiator do you need?

Contact me direct with an email maybe we can trade? one thing are all your other radiators as over sized? If they are you are opening a can of worms changing them one at a time.

moneypitfeeder

I've had good luck,

with good old craigslist...Unless you really want a matching rad to the rest of your system. There are always rads for sale and wanted in PA, and if your not fussy about the style you might be able to score a rad that will fit your needs, and then sell the one you've got! Good Luck!

Mark Gibson

Thanks, and more info...

Thanks all for the advice...



@Steamhead:  As usual you're correct, it is a HW rad, and you can imagine how well that hot water air vent in the upper tapping worked. :-)  In practice the thing rarely got hot past the first few sections, so I guess that's kind of like having a smaller EDR...   Based on your advice I'm going to try to do a swap first, but I've always been a "try foolish things" type. Did I mention the lathe in my basement? ;-)  So I'm not above making new nipples if it comes to that.



@Charlie: The rest of the rads in my house seem reasonably-sized for the rooms they're in, they're all steam rads, and the system works well with this one disconnected completely.  The sunroom was an addition in the 20's and I'm sure given five outside walls and leaky single-glazed windows, they just installed the biggest thing that would fit.  I'm basing my target EDR on an 88 sq. ft. room, 215 degree steam, and 55 BTU/ft^2 (eight modern windows, five outside walls with good insulation, two new skylights).  If my math is right that yields 22 EDR, but I figure 25 or 30 with an adjustable vent would give me a little wiggle room.  Would be interested in your thoughts though too.  Only requirement is that it's less than 27" high and the inlet is 4.5" off the floor.  And doesn't leak. :-)



@moneypit:  CL is an option...I'll look in the interest of due diligence.  But even if I find something, getting this beast down my front stairs w/o damage is a serious concern.  I'd need to hire some seriously strong guys...

icesailor

Radiator:

It appears to me that you have far more serious things to consider before you tackle this radiator problem. Like how to get a return pipe connected to the radiator. It doesn't get hot with only one supply pipe and no return. It isn't steam. Some handy person thought that all he had to do was connect it like where it came from. Surprise.

The thought of what you are suggesting makes not only my head hurt, but my back ache.

Put a TRV on the thing while you are running a new return and be happy with not having to paint the whole room when you see what is behind the radiator for all to see.

HMO.

Mark Gibson

Ease your aching head: it's steam.

Even though it's a hot-water radiator, the system is single-pipe steam as Steamhead said.  Sorry if that wasn't clear.  No return needed.  Am planning to drill/tap the steam vent boss, though.

Patrick_North

Big is Beautiful

Looks like a good application for a TRV. Or even just a vent (properly placed) that's sized to ensure that this rad doesn't overheat before the rest of the house comes up to temp.

I'd try this first, then find the smaller radiator of my dreams.Trying to cut out sections with a recip saw? Potentially disasterous, likely ugly, definitely agonizing. Ten minutes with a 1/8 tap and your rad will remain lovely, you'll get the result you want, and you won't break a sweat.

Good luck!

Patrick

Mark Gibson

Food for thought...

I knew that you could "slow vent" a radiator to delay max heat output (I've balanced the rest of my system this way), but didn't realize it could be done to this extent (i.e. reducing it to less than 50% of original output). Definitely food for thought...thanks!

Patrick_North

Sure can.

In theory, this is not as drastic as it might seem if a) the thermostat isn't in this room, and b) it is the only rad that is dramatically oversized. The Gill/Pajek ebook (available on this site) is a good primer on understanding how to juke your venting. While this fix could be as simple as picking a standard-issue rad vent with the right venting capacity, a TRV would be more foolproof (though more expensive) in trickier cases. It's a system thing, so it'll depend.

Good luck!

Patrick

icesailor

Radiator headaches:

The headache was from thinking about trying to split that radiator, make it smaller, reconnecting it and making  it work.

The backache was from thinking about carrying it down the stairs and getting it out of the house, Then, bringing another one back.

What eased my pain was thinking of how I could leave that radiator and getting it to work well for me. Without the pain and ache.