Refinishing Recessed Steam radiators

SteamHeatNewbie

Hi,

   We've just bought our first home.  The house was built in 1930 and it has recessed radiators.  They all seem to work just fine but a couple of them squeal and make clicking noises from time to time.  Is there an easy fix for the squealing and clicking?



Also, although they work just fine, over the years, they've been painted and gotten dirty so they look pretty awful.  We'd like to strip them down to the original metal and restore them.  Unfortunately for us, we don't know how they work (ha!), so we don't know how to go about stripping them without interfering with their operation.  Does anyone have a manual (pictures would be great) on how these things work?  Or if not, does anyone know how to safely move these things from wall, strip, clean them, and then put them back? 



I've included pictures of two of the radiators in the home.  They all seem to be the same kind, just different sizes.

Thank you.

Hap_Hazzard

Those look like American Standard Sunrads

You'll find the catalog here: http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/158/Radiators/1256/1897-American-Radiator-Company-catalog (courtesy of Steamhead).

Steamhead

Actually, this is the catalog you need

thanks to Kirby Slear:



http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/158/Radiators/1259/American-Standard-Radiators-and-Convectors

Hap_Hazzard

Oooops!

Thanks for bailing me out.

SteamHeatNewbie

Thank you! Now...

The American Standard sunrad radiator from the 1947 catalog is definitely what we have. Thank you!  Now that we know what it is, we're one step closer...  Does anyone have the installation manual for these radiators so we can see how to disconnect and pull them out of the wall?

Thanks again!

jumper

days of double hung thermostats

I wonder if dampers can be installed in those terminals ?

gerry gill

I'm not seeing the problem?

If the valve is disconnected you should be able to wiggle them out of the recess i would imagine..unless the floor was raised in front of them..am i missing something here?

SteamHeatNewbie

Ha!

Thanks, Gerry Gill.  I think we were the ones missing something.  Since we've got zero experience with radiators, we didn't realize that the bottom vent could be pulled down to access what are presumably the valves that you're talking about.  Thank you everyone for your help!