Are there seriously no leveling shims I can just buy?

zooba

I don't want to cut wooden squares or circles. I don't want to use coins. I want a little heat and rot resistant cup I can just slide under the foot without struggling. And it should be just broad enough to sit on top of the depression on the floor caused by rot on a couple of the rads. Like, why do no rad companies sell these things?

This is for one-pipe steam radiators.

I've searched the internet and this forum and gotten no real solution.

ethicalpaul

Steam rad companies? There is like one Suck it up and cut some circles Don't worry about heat resistant. Anything that can support the weight is going to be heat resistant enough.

ChrisJ

I bet those could be 3d printed........

Hmmmm

KC_Jones

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/141494/making-radiator-pedestals#latest

Not sure if they are still make these or not.

AdmiralYoda

If you want to buy, not make... go to McMaster.com and start looking at aluminum discs. You can usually find aluminum or other metals cut in various diameters and thicknesses. Square, Rectangles, Circles, etc.

Just an example. Scroll to the bottom.
https://mcmaster.com/products/discs/multipurpose-6061-aluminum-rods-and-discs-7/

Tommi68

Keep a stock of plated fender washers in your tool bin. 3/8” fender washer is 1-1/4”dia. Stack as many as needed, unless there is a structural issue to fix first. 

Jamie Hall

There is an incredible variety of furniture glides and feet sold all over the palce. Surely one of those would work?

mattmia2

Washers will cost a lot less than "metal disks". There are some washers that are designed to interlock and stack.

neilc

hockey pucks

DanHolohan

Plastic checkers. You get to choose the color. 

ChrisJ

DanHolohan said:

Plastic checkers. You get to choose the color. 

Any color you want too.
As long as it's red or black.

clammy

I use felt pads for chairs legs Or the plastic round furiture disc for moving couches for free standing rads among other things and if they have a cover then plastic shims ,washers or simply some 1 x3 if it really needs a lot of rise . If the home owner wants some thing fancy well then it on them I’m just there to make it work correctly and correct things from rad legs digging in flooring or house settling . Peace and good luck clammy

SteamingatMohawk

Hey @Chris You can offer to paint them to match for a price. I prefer sky blue pink. LOL

ChrisJ

SteamingatMohawk said:

Hey @Chris You can offer to paint them to match for a price. I prefer sky blue pink. LOL

You can usually paint the printed parts, but I try to print whatever color is best without painting it.





Maybe mix some purple and red in there?

mattmia2

ChrisJ said:

DanHolohan said:

Plastic checkers. You get to choose the color. 

Any color you want too.
As long as it's red or black.

Probably someone molding checkers in other colors out there.

zooba

Thanks everyone for the comments. I've summarized some options that look decent:

I did manage to find furniture foot stops; most are too thick and not interlocking so it was hard to find. One ok option is the "stable the table" brand. These are 1/8" thick and nesting. 12 pack for $19 means $1.58 apiece. The downside is the 2.2" OD, awkwardly large, but they are brown to blend with the floor.
https://amazon.com/Stable-Multi-use-Furniture-Protector-Loveseats/dp/B0BMW95691

Metal disks or washers - tons of options but you have to hunt a bit. Most are too thin (a tall stack would be unstable and annoying to set up) or have too big of a center hole. For reference, a quarter is 0.955" OD and 0.069 thick. The aluminum or steel disks (not washers) from McMaster were minimum 1/2" thick, too thick. Most stainless washers are really thin, 0.05" typical.

Black steel washers, 1" OD, 0.28" ID, thickness 1/8". $1.18 apiece. https://mcmaster.com/92140A112

Fender washers - seems like a great choice. Available from any hardware store. Dimensions are good. 1.25" OD, 1/4" ID, 1/8" thick. https://homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-4-in-x-1-1-4-in-Zinc-Plated-Fender-Washer-100-Pack-804790/204276327

Interlocking washers - couldn't find it.

Stamping blanks - usually too thin.

Wood disks - available from Michael's. 1.5" OD. Thickness? Not listed, looks to be at least 1/8". Wood? It's a mystery. Price? $0.22 apiece. https://michaels.com/product/wood-discs-1-12-10049505

Wood disks from woodpecker's - shipping isn't free, but it's a guaranteed hardwood (birch) and it comes in various sizes, super cheap from $0.12 - $0.21 apiece if you buy at least 25. https://woodpeckerscrafts.com/wood-circles-wooden-discs/#/filter:custom_material:Solid$2520Birch

Similar wood disks from American Woodcrafter's Supply. https://americanwoodcrafterssupply.com/catalog/wooden-discs-wooden-circles/wooden-discs-wooden-circles/

I ended up buying a bunch of different sized pieces from Woodpecker's. Total was $21 including shipping for 100 pieces.

Waher

OCS sells 2" & 3" cast iron pedestals that could be filed https://ocsind.com/. Marble door thresholds can be tapered with emery cloth.

holograham

I use these on my 1 pipe steam radiators and they work great!

https://www.amazon.com/TUFFBOY-Composite-Levelers-Great-Improvement-Furniture/dp/B08P55DXZ5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=410HO5WZU2O4&keywords=shims&qid=1707535356&sprefix=shim,aps,360&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

SlamDunk

I use laminate flooring stepped wedges on just about everything not level.

DougP

Now in 3rd heating season with crutch / chair tips on Am Rad Co rads. Started with rubber now use silicon 1 1/8 inch. Before using tips had problem with improvised shims being pushed out from under the radiator no longer an issue, add washers inside for height.

lukewatts

Sorry to be so late to the show on this @zooba
Did you get these sorted in the end?

How high did you need the shims to be?

We have stock of some pedestals at Castrads...

https://castrads.com/us/

They are only 1" or 2" in height though (not adjustable). You could have the milled down to the specific height you'd need though.
See image of 2" pedestals below

MikeMan134

I just used regular wooden shims on my radiators, similar to this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-Cedar-Shims-12-Pack-WSSHW08/300723328

Adjustable for any height, and easy to cut off the excess so it's minimally visible.

zooba

Update after the heating season is over, and again thanks to everyone who responded.

I did buy the disks in 1/8" and 1/4" thicknesses and either 1/2" or 1" diameter from Woodpecker's supply. I am very happy with the result. A couple of points:

• I used 1-4 pieces stacked under each foot depending on how much the floor had sagged in the last 121 years since the rads were installed.
• Each balanced to a tiny slope towards the valve, or at least flat, verified with digital level.
• Where the floor had a depression rotted beneath the foot, I put the 1" OD piece first to provide support and then built on top with smaller diameter.
• On two rads on the second floor the pieces would get loose some times. I realized that this was because the rads could lift up maybe 1/4" when the pipes got hot. As a quick sanity check calculation, with a CTE of 5.8E-6 (in Fahrenheit) for cast iron I get 5.8E-6 * 20 feet * 12 inches * (212 F- 70 F) temperature swing = 0.20" length increase from cold to hot on that riser from the basement to the second floor. The solution was to add spacers for the hot height (installed when the rad is cold!). Then the disks are always held in place by the weight of the rad, hot or cold. I'm thinking it's probably better that the 100 pound rad is not suspended above the floor, held up by the riser, but instead the riser hangs off the rad.

In an added bonus, the one rad that would audibly drip in the wall after a heating cycle is now silent after being properly sloped.

EdTheHeaterMan

I remember as a child of 8 or 9 years old, My father purchased a regulation pool table with a 1-1/4 slate table top.  Watching the delivery as they maneuvered down the basement steps, then assembling it piece by piece, then the final leveling of the table.   They use a very scientific and technical method to get it perfect.   The first part was to check where it was too high or too low with an 8 ft level on the long side, and then a 4 ft level on the short dimension.  But these amazing high tech leveling shims were what fascinated me the most.   I wonder if they might work for your radiators?

It's very easy to customize the shape

Mad Dog_2

Fender washers....Mad Dog

PC7060

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1801993#Comment_1801993

available in aluminum and stainless too.