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Sizing a thick tube radiator

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Dave_4
Dave_4 Member Posts: 1,404
in THE MAIN WALL
I'm sure if I was in the hydronics business that Dan's book would be well worth it, but I just want to size these two rads one room of my house. I've estimated their EDR at 60 but it would be nice to know the exact number.

A friend referred to them as decorative Victorian?

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  • Dave_4
    Dave_4 Member Posts: 1,404
    sizing thick tube cast iron radiators

    I'm having trouble calculating the EDR of a couple of cast iron rads that seem to be made of thick 4" sections. Each section is quite ornate compared to the plain thin tube radiators I usually see.

    The rads are of a tube style (4 tube) and each section has a width of 8", thickness of 4" and height of 38". The two rads I'm lookin at each have 8 sections so they're 32" long.

    My cast iron sizing reference only refers to "column" and "thin tube" style radiators and I'm hoping someone here has a more complete sizing guide.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Martin,

    try Dan`s book EDR, Every Darn Radiator, it`s likely in-there, you can get-it above, in the "Online Store" heading, "Books That Make It All Easy To Understand".

    Dave
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Agreed Martin,

    but personally (as a tradesman), I don`t know what the EDR value is either, so I buy Dan`s books, the sale of such helps pay for this site so we can all come here an ask these very, (and other), heating questions. Sorry I couldn`t be of more help, but I did try to "point" you.

    Dave
  • Steamhead (in transit)
    Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
    Martin, take some pics

    and post them here. We should be able to ID them.

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  • Dave_4
    Dave_4 Member Posts: 1,404
    pics included

    here are two pics.
  • Steamhead (in transit)
    Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
    Wow- those are unusual!

    They look like squeezed-down 4-column radiators. Are there any names on them? We usually find names around the pipe connections.

    The standard 4-column 38-inch section has a rating of 8 square feet per section. I'd go with that.

    However, since this is a hot-water system, you'll want to base your boiler size on a heat-loss calculation rather than the radiation capacity. This will take into account insulation, weatherstripping, window upgrades and any other improvements that were made since the system was installed.

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  • Mike T., Swampeast MO
    Mike T., Swampeast MO Member Posts: 6,928


    That's what I came up with as well Steamhead. Much longer sections than normal (4" compared to 2½" or 3") but significantly narrower (8" compared to 12").

    But like you I suspect they still adhered to the "standard" rating of 8 sq.ft. EDR per section for 38" height in a 4-column rad.

    My old books all say that tall, four-column rads had the poorest performance per sq.ft. of EDR of all rads due to limited radiation area and limited convection common for all tall rads. Something tells me that these are an exception and performed at least as well as a three-column and perhaps as well as a two-column.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Lots,

    of those around my area like that Frank, I just never bothered to snap pics, I usually just size them by the standard 4 column rating. Really "decorative" design on them and they sit nice and snug to the wall. It must have been a great casting mold they used to make these babies.

    Dave
  • Dave_4
    Dave_4 Member Posts: 1,404
    thanks


    Thanks for the input! So at 8 sqft by section, the EDR would be 64 which is close to my estimate of 60.

    It does say "BAFFORD PATENT" along one of the sides of the section.

    I'm currently just gathering ratios of EDR against a recent heat loss calc for each room just to see if some rooms are over or under radiated. I may use this to determine if some rads are good candidates for a TRV.
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