cast iron radiator repair

weis63

Happy New Year!



I'm looking for some direction as to a company to contact in my area (Eastern PA) that has experience in repairing cast iron radiators.  I'm looking at a possible home purchase that unfortunately has 9 burst radiators in it due to freezing.  I can find used radiators without any issues but I'm also looking at my options to repair what I have.  Nine radiators are gonna be a hefty price I see.....



Thanks!

Dave in QCA

Sad Situation

There really is no way to repair a ruptured radiator.  Also, I assume that since they froze and ruptured, you probably have a hot water system.  A hot water system runs under higher pressure than steam and even a tiny leak would be a huge problem. 

Hap_Hazzard

replacements

Someone at work just had a heatpump system installed to replace his radiators. I'm not sure if he had steam or hot water, or if he got rid of the radiators yet, but I can find out. Meanwhile look/ask around here to see if anyone has any used/reconditioned radiators for sale.



Could you post some pictures of those radiators here? I'm curious to see what happened. If it just pushed the sections apart you might be able to replace truss rods and push nipples if that's all it takes, but if the sections themselves are broken, you're out of luck.

weis63

reply

Hap-Hazard,



I'll do my best to get into the house this weekend.  I haven't seen them up close yet.  This is a short sale home and I'm exploring my options before I step inside that first time. 



I figure there has to be someone out there that does this on the side or part of their business.  I it wouldn't be too difficult to remove bad sections and replace with good ones is my train of thought here.  But 9 burst radiators has me scratching my head.  That's an expense so you see where I'm coming from.  I'd rather drop them all off to a place that does this kind of work and has the replacement parts, can pressure test them and be done with it.  Maybe it will save some cash who knows at this point.  I'll know more if I can get in the house this weekend. 



Thanks for the help!!



tell your buddy not to toss those used radiators - ya never know !!!!

Hap_Hazzard

Don't overlook other likely problems

If you can get a look at the radiators, great, but don't get so focused on them that you overlook some of the other things that are likely to have gone wrong. I mean, if the radiators froze, the heat must have been off, so I'd expect the boiler to freeze too. It could be ruptured and still look normal from the outside. I'd also expect any number of broken water pipes and lots of water damage.

weis63

reply

Absolutely.  We're on the same page.  Long story short - the person hired someone to care for the place and they just split.  Fuel ran out and the place froze.  Seller's disclosure mentions furnace condition unknown too.   So I expect a possible new boiler is needed to. And the mold ..... but that's another story...

kcopp

Pains me....

to say but you would be better off starting all over. A new system is easier to do.

weis63

so true

Well I took a good look in the house.  Multiple radiators have the castings burst, pipes blown off junctions here and there too.  So yes it's a total re-do from what I've seen.  So along with yanking all the molded wasted drywall comes a total inspection/replacement of the system.