3 Antique Radiators

Yvonne Conybeare

During renovations, I removed 3 antique radiators, perfect working order, circa 1910, about 3' high and wide (more exact measurements on request) and highly decorated. I just stopped the construction crew from taking them to the dump.
I can't bear to just toss them. I'm located at Broadway and Walker Streets in Manhattan. If someone would like to pick them up, please email me with a contact phone number - yconybeare@hotmail.com

john_27

yvonne...are they steam or hot water...can you post some pictures here so we can identify them, and, hopefully find a home for them? john

Yvonne Conybeare

link

Here is a picture from a website that shows the style of the radiators.

Website:http://www.tuscanfoundry.co.uk/liberty.asp
They are called "Nouveau" on the site.

I don't have a photo of mine, but the photo attached (from the link below) shows the style and decoration exactly. Dimensions are slightly different: thinner and taller, and longer. Double steam pipe.

Two of them are 32" H. And long: 38" L (not including the pipe fittings), but narrow 7.5" W. They sat 3" over the windows in the original space. We took them out because we only need one, small radiator. They were intended to heat an entire industrial floor, with non-insulated windows. We have just a small section of the original space, and double-pane glass.

The third is approx. 2/3 the length, but same height and width. They have very little paint on them, as the building was light industry until the 80's.

Yvonne Conybeare

All gone

The radiators have been claimed. Thank you all for your responses. These beauties will have a fit home!

Mad Dog

Amen

Mad Dog

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Lloyd

Cast Iron Steam Radiators.

1.What replaced your cast irons? We would like to do the same.
Can someone tell me what is so special about cast irons?

2. Having removed 5 of our cast irons during renovation, we are having a devil of a time removing surface rust and worst finding someone(s) to lift them back in? (Don't ask!)
Any ideas? We live in Bergen County NJ.

Yvonne Conybeare

Beauty and Rust

1. We selected 2 24" Steamview Steam radiators:
http://www.steamradiators.com/steam-radiator-sv.html
for their slim, wall-hugging profile. We found them on the internet, and purchased them from Plumbing Replacement Parts in Manhattan.

Cast irons are antiques valued for varying reasons. My appreciation is aesthic, as my floral "nouveau" cast irons were beautiful, well-preserved examples of top-notch craftsmanship from an age when fine decoration went hand in hand with good engineering and function, and were appropriate in their setting as they were original to the building. They looked great.

They had few coats of paint since they were in industrial use from 1910 to 1980, and so were in pristine condition. When I moved in, I gave them a simple wire-brushing and radiator spray paint made them looked vitually flawless. I received many compliments on them, and once had a guest who thought they were new and wanted to know where to get one.

Sounds like you're not so lucky with your rust - but there are on-the-shelf rust removers available in hardware stores you could try. Ask a professional before you do. I recommend starting with the proprietor at info@triplecrownonline.com, a heating professional with an appreciation for cast iron who was quickest to email me. I don't know if he goes out to Bergen, but it can't hurt to ask if he can help you with the rust and your reinstallation dillemna.

My experience was that the nouveaus were not only beautiful, but extremely efficient, TOO efficient once the 10,000 sq. foot industrial space was cut up into 5 apartments and given double-pane glass windows. Because of the way it was divided, our apartment wound up with the lion's share of the radiators. We operated only one of the three radiators part-time on low during the winter for the five years we've been here, and it was still too warm. We've now have a second child and are adding a bedroom, which is why we decided space/efficiency considerations outweigh the aesthetic one.

I received many inquiries from NJ people with large victorian rooms with large windows, where the high heat output is neccessary and the design period-appropriate. I imagine keeping one's home both authentic in decoration and properly heated are the number one reasons people value cast iron.

I wanted the nouveaus to be used and appreciated largely because the disposable quality of our age galls me, but such a poetically satisfying outcome of my give-away, which I'll describe below, I could not have imagined! My radiators went to an artist/welder/sculptor who renovated a derelict 4000 foot Victorian industrial loft space in Harlem and uses it as a studio. The entire building had been stripped of heat, plumbing, and electrical fixtures when he moved in. He's made a massive wood stove of cast iron which serves most of his heating needs, but finds he needs more heat for the coldest days in winter, and would like to reinstall some steam radiators. Good luck QC, may you enjoy them!