Unusual Radiator Repair By All Steamed Up, Inc.

Gordo

This radiator had internal tie rods and gasketed sections.



 We had to cut out the 2"  recessed plugs at both ends on the top and the end opposite the inlet at the bottom to get access to the internal tie rods.



New EDPM gaskets were installed between the sections and new tie rods and nuts installed.  The ends were re-plugged with counter-sunk 2" plugs (a bit hard to find).



It held water at 30 psi for 15 minutes. Eventually.

moneypitfeeder

Glad to see

That you could salvage the rad. It has beautiful scroll work, and it would be a shame to see it end up in a scrap yard with a plain jane, light weight new replacement in its place. Great job on the "rejuvenation"!

Mark Eatherton

Now THAT is a lost art...

Where did you find the flush bushings?



ME

MikeyB

Plugs

Check McMaster Carrs Website, page 53, and 54

tim smith

Re: radiator rebuild

Pretty cool Gordo, I have not seen any with internal rods. We take bushes and plugs out all the time but we still are wanting to do the american rococco rads. Getting the internal r/l nips out is the challenge. I still am contemplating. Tim

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

There must be

10,000 threads on The Wall about re-building a radiator and very few showing how it's done.



Excellent work, Gordo.  I commend your craftsmanship and your patience.



Alan

Jason_13

Radiators

Was this for steam or hot water? I have to assume steam.

Good work!

Gordo

Thanks, ME

The search for those 2" flush plugs are worthy, I think, of their own separate thread!



Look for it soon.

Gordo

Internal Left Hand/Right Hand Nipples

for connecting radiator sections are an Infernal Problem! 



In spite of having custom wrenches made by local machine shops for getting those nipples apart (for rather high $$), we've not had good luck dealing with them and have put that project on the very back burner for now.



Those radiators pictured  above are the first we've ever seen with internal tie rods, and I thought they would be of interest.



I'd much rather deal with those radiators any day than the LH/RH nippled ones.

Gordo

Thanks!

They were steam.  But I suppose they could be used for hot water.  They had a 1/8" top tapping (not shown) that was plugged.



The old gasketing material was mainly the substance that dare not speak it's name.

Gordo

Thanks, Alan!

I would say that the usual radiator repair with push nipples is the norm.  My partner Steamhead taught me how to do it.  We have a whole collection of various sizes of push nipples.



I never really thought it would be of interest to document such a repair.



The next time we do one with push nipples, I now hope to take pictures and post it.

Gordo

The Proud Owner Of These Radiators

Plans to have them sand blasted and repainted professionally. 



Whenever we drop off iron scrap to be recycled, we almost always see a meth-head in an old junker of a pick-up dropping off a load of vapor steam radiators to be sent to the Middle Kingdom to be turned into junk to be sold back to us.

SWEI

oh THAT

We call it broccoli.  Or white cardboard among friends

Gordo

GRIN! That's a good one!

 but why "broccoli"?