Replacing cast iron steam radiators after accident. Help with conflicting opinions, Philadelphia

dthewett

Hi everyone, many thanks for all the comments here. I'm very glad to have found the forum.

The paint is definitely not good. A chemist and an environmental consultant have separately taken a look at the safety data sheet and confirmed that this paint should never have been used in our house. It's clearly labeled "FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY," and, as I said, made us ill the same day it was applied.

Thanks for confirming that the warnings about rust/sludge and pipe damage are non-issues. We obviously need to find contractors who have experience with steam systems.

Glad to know that many have had no problems with removal, blasting, and repainting. We think that replacing still may be best for us in this situation, but will keep that in mind as we investigate further.

Many thanks for all the responses. I will let you know how this turns out!

EdTheHeaterMan

ethicalpaul said:

My flats are marred. No one knows but me

And the rest of HH.com But we won't tell

JUGHNE

Have you considered taking about half of the rads away to be redone.
You could turn the tstat down to 55, the boiler would short cycle on pressure.

Hap_Hazzard

Crescent wrenches usually have small jaws relative to the length of the handle. You need to pay an arm and a leg for one that fits a 1 ¼" radiator union, and the handle will be too awkward to turn in most cases. I usually end up using my Ford wrench. If you can't find a Ford wrench, look for a monkey wrench (most people can't tell them apart anyway). Or just use a Stilson wrench.

mattmia2

There are also smooth jaw pipe wrenches which are yet another option.

ethicalpaul

> The paint is definitely not good. A chemist and an environmental consultant have separately taken a look at the safety data sheet and confirmed that this paint should never have been used in our house. It's clearly labeled "FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY," and, as I said, made us ill the same day it was applied.

Yeah, people think steam requires some heat-resistant paint and it's just not true. 212 is not very hot. A dashboard can get almost that hot in the sun.

I used Behr paint from HD and it has been perfect. Good luck with the resolution of this issue.

FStephenMasek

Is there lead paint on them? Find a consultant with an XRF and you will know in a few seconds per radiator.

tim smith

My opinion, I agree that pulling radiators and blasting and painting is not an issue. Done 100s. Now once in a long while you can get a leaker, always forewarn client of this and if happens the time and expense will be clients responsibility. Had a powder coat job once leaked at paper gasket between sections of radiator after baking. Suspect just a bit too much contraction occurred when baking. No one’s fault. Coater had done 100s. Second, while blasting there can be a thin spot, pin hole size in cast section that the media blast finishes off after paint is off and bare metal exposed. Very rare but has happened. Ignore the idea that boiler will need to be replaced after draining unless in fact the boiler is in poor shape or leaking. Even with new radiators we have had leakers so nothing is perfect.
A final question to OP. You mention highly toxic industrial paint? Are you talking about oil base enamel? I usually recommend to clients to use oil base enamels especially on steam as it tends to hold up to higher temps I feel. Decision of course is up to them. There may be some higher temp low voc water based paints out there that I don’t know about because I’m not a painter and don’t pretend to be.

MaxMercy

ethicalpaul said:

>
I used Behr paint from HD and it has been perfect.

If you're good with a rattle can (I'm a Rembrandt), then Rustoleum engine block enamel paint is also a nice choice and is available from flat to glossy.

dabrakeman

I have sprayed a few. Works good after blasting. Easier with a couple light coats than a brush (in my opinion) to get a smooth coat and not hide detail on the radiator.

mattmia2

You could probably seal them up with shellac then paint over that but adding another 2 or 3 coats isnt ideal and the shellac might not work.

Quality paints have a spec sheet that will show their temp ratings.

EdTheHeaterMan

Perhaps you could put a big plastic bag over the radiators that will contain the off-gassing fumes. If the fumes are too much for the bag to hold, you can get a small vent pipe attached to the bag and put it thru an open window. If you think that will let a lot of wasted energy leave though the window, you can attach the hoses to a heat recovery unit before the fumes leave the building. If the heat recover unit takes up too much space in the room you could build little extensions just outside all of he windows to hold them. If that makes the house look bad outside you can have an architect design a decorative cover for the extensions. If the decorative extensions now look better that the rest of the old house, perhaps you could redesign the entire exterior walls to a more attractive facade to the betterment of the entire neighborhood. Then the neighbors will want to follow your lead (Keeping up with the Jones's) and upgrade their homes. The entire neighborhood's property value will increase and you could sell your home for much more than you paid for it. Then you can buy another home with hot air heat.

I like to offer alternatives.

reggi

and, as I said, made us ill the same day it was applied.

The contractor had 9 radiators prepped and painted them in place throughout your house in a day and you , your wife and child were in the house during all this painting or came in later and expected there wouldn't be any SMELL from 9 freshly painted radiators throughout your house ? 
Was the heat on? Were the windows open , how was the paint applied , how many coats and "for my own curiosity... how many workers ?
OR was the house empty and you were getting it ready to move into... like it was uninhabited while this was going on ? Something is missing from the story..
IMHO 

TAG

Has any insurance company taken responsibility?

They hire people to come in and blast all the time .... they use dry ice and containment. The question may be if it's possible to insure all the paint is removed blasting in place. Do you blast in place and repaint -- avoid any plumbing issues. Remove -- blast and paint on site saving costly moving expenses. Remove -- blast and paint offsite -- the most costly.

The paint is a mystery .... many two parts do say "industrial use only". When looking deeper -- it's the process of painting not the finished product that's the danger.

Jamie Hall

As @ethicalpaul mentioned, pretty much any of the higher end modern acrylic interior paints will work just fine (I use Benjamin Moore's Aura). I have radiators I scraped and wire brushed -- not even blasted -- 20 years ago and they are still just fine. Furthermore, you have an incredible range of colours that way.

Long Beach Ed

The water based paints, while less durable, tend not to yellow like the oil paints do. And they hold up just fine from my experience. Depends on your priorities.

Mad Dog_2

One of my Dead Men Pet Peeves (The Dead Men roll over in their graves!) Is when someone thinks the Channelocks are the only tool in the bucket.  They have a crescent sitting right next to the channelocks but insist on using the channel locks on squared nuts -especially Chromed ones...its a sacrilege to me!   Ha ha. Mad Dog 🐕