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copper radiators for steam?

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ben
ben Member Posts: 2
in THE MAIN WALL
> Weird question...
>
> My backdoor has a small addition with no heat. I have added a small rad
> that was left in the house from years ago, and found a capped off T on the
> main steam line. It seems to work fine, and I had a steam mechanic give me
> the go ahead, he said no problem....
> However, it still isn't warm enough, I need a bigger but wall mounted rad. These new steel ones for sale are ridiculously expensive. Can I buy some heavy walled copper tube (not the DWV stuff) And make a wall mounted rad? It doesn't have to last for 100 years, I don't really expect to be in the house that long!
> Will it work, or will the solder joints melt apart from the heat? Or is this a really dumb idea?
> Should I be concerned about the copper corroding and causing damage?

It is very hard as we all know to find good rads in a junk store, and wall mounted ones I have never seen. But it is easy to get a hold of copper parts, and they are cheap and easy for the do it yourselfer to work with, I am handy, but cannot bore a steel manifold and weld it, so copper seems to be the simple solution.

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  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,861
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    Try

    using cast-iron baseboard. At the moment, Burnham is the only one i know of that makes it for steam. Or try Slant/Fin Multi-Pak 80 baseboard with the steel H-6 element. The Multi-Pak, however, will cool down faster than a cast-iron radiator will.

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  • Steve Levine
    Steve Levine Member Posts: 106
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    But...

    it will heat up much more quickly. (may cause a control problem but will surely produce the heat)

    By the way, copper is not a problem because the solder will melt, etc., but because of the times you can get water hammer in a steam system. That can break it apart.
  • kevin
    kevin Member Posts: 420
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    it should ...

    not be that hard to find an old cast iron rad. I dont think the copper is a good idea for a lot of reasons. Where are you? Someone here can find a place to find a rad for you. Also look aroud in the spring on a clean out trash day...I have picked them up as someone was tossing 'em out.kpc
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