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Radiator ID
Morning all - I need to replace my 80 some year old boiler and I have two quotes - one is pricing an EG-45 the other EG-40 - with AI helping calculate using photos and a tape measurement - we determined the estimate: 71 sections at about 5 EDR is roughly 355 sq ft, plus a few for the bathroom unit.
Here are photos of the boiler and the radiators 1 bathroom small register the rest are like sectional that are 38" tall.
Any help identifying the radiators and our needed radiator catalog edr rating to determine which prices boiler is a better fit for the house.
Thanks
Comments
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arco rococo? is there a name on them?
there is also a 30's arco catalog with convector cabinets, mmight be yours
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All I can see on them under the paint is American Radiator
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Thanks so much for the links I'll check them out.
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I'm not opposed to replacing boilers but I wonder if there is a reason aside from age. A few pictures of the whole boiler from a couple paces back would be very informative.
Miss Hall's School service mechanic, greenhouse teacher, dog walker and designated driver
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The worry is the bottom pipes where the condensed water returns:
The top where the steam goes out to the radiators - the joint where the pipes connect leaks like crazy (main reason I asked the plummers to come look at it) these saw the back pipes and said when those go, there will be no repairing it.
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That beautiful radiator is an American Rococo, as shown in the 1897 catalog. It was probably made around the turn of the 20th century.
The convector is probably a standard type. If the other catalog doesn't have something similar, this book will:
The piping in back of the boiler can be replaced, as long as the cast-iron boiler sections haven't rusted out.
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how old is the house? i suspect that may be the second boiler. needing to replace returns below the water line is pretty common on steam systems.
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I am all for fixing old boilers and the rotten piping can most likely be fixed regardless of what your tech said. but you gas burner is not looking so good either.
Best bet would be to post your location. We may know someone in your area.
There are not a lot of steam experts around and you need to try and find someone that really knows steam.
I mention this because a lot of heating guys don't know steam very well. You going to spend a lot of SSSS and we want you to get this right the first time. We see too many horror jobs posted here.
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Well we've dug through house documents and can't find anything that gives the actual age of the house we've always guess 80 or so years and figured this to be the original coal - converted to oil - converted to gas boiler looking through the sale of the house docs still cannot find anything solid
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We're in Macomb IL
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Had the two guys come up with the same EDR I doubt very much I'd have come here and posted.
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that boiler is probably 30's or 40's. others might know when arco stopped making the rococo pattern.
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I've ordered the book - at the very least I can try and id the radiator and get a correct size if I'm gonna end up spending that much
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there may be a name on the element or inside the cover if you take the cover off the convector
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I know Macomb rather well- my uncle chaired the science department at WIU for many years. He passed a few years ago. I was there earlier this year since my aunt's time came.
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Both vendors quoting are supposed to have steam and service a handful of steam system in the local area
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Might get some references then. Maybe get some pics of their installs and post them here.
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Supposed To is the key word.
There trying to sell you something, Don't believe them. Ask for references and follow up with a phone call or site visit.
70 - 80% of contractors do NOT know steam as good as the say if they know it at all.
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1928 is when the house was built - we believe - again that's from the listing not some official document the bank probly owns. Should get the radiator ID book and going to get a third quote on Monday - fired the boiler for the first time this year, everything chooching like normal!
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My initial thought when the kid said those rear returns were headed for catastrophic failure was just put some rust eater or famers friend on those rear pipes to slow down that rust - but AI said that would be a bad idea - one of the guys quoting who was here agreed with AI and said he wouldn't touch it - might last us 3 to 5 year or fail this winter.
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Those Rococos were long out of production by 1928.
1928 may have been the year it was added to the property records. My house was built in 1924, but in the online property records it shows as 1930. That was when the city of Baltimore annexed the neighborhood and the records were moved to the city. Something similar may have happened there.
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Just got the book today, id have to say based on this book - these radiators could only be the Rococo three column radiators (pg51) circa 1916's or possibly the Florentine three column (pg117) circa 1920's but since both have the same 5 square feet per section of 38" high - should calculate very similar if not identical EDRs -wouldn't they? Given the through bolt - they are nippled not threaded to connect the sections (not sure what that helps - I would never try and take em apart). All of which is also indicating the house was probly built in the 20's
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Those radiators say "American Radiator Co." on them, therefore they are Rococos. The Florentine was made by U.S. Radiator Co. Look at the base around where the pipes connect, if there isn't too much paint there it probably says Rococo.
The rods and push nipples tell us that's an early Rococo model. By 1915 at least, Rococos were made using right/left threaded nipples and didn't have rods. The last year for Rococos was 1920- that's the last time they appear in any "Ideal Fitter" catalog I've seen. By 1922 they were gone.
The 1897 catalog, here:
shows a Rococo with rods.
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