On Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:31:51 -0500, Tony wrote:

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In article ,
wrote:
Sam Takoy wrote:
Hi,

Why is cast iron a good material for radiators? Why not another metal?
Would certainly make them a little lighter and easier to deal with.

I would imagine one benefit of a heavy cast iron radiator would
be the mass of metal will hold heat and release it over a long
period of time. I also think that a copper or aluminum radiator
of similar thickness would be prohibitively expensive.
Finally, a correct answer.
I guess majoring in physics wasn't useless after all. *snicker*

Guess not. But, yes, you hit the nail on the head. The principal advantage of
cast iron radiators is that they retain heat very well, which provides a much
more even heat than the aluminum fin-tube radiators do.

The aluminum fin baseboard "radiators" are actually "convectors", not
radiators. Most of the heat from them is cold air going in the bottom
and warm air coming out the top, known as a "convection current". If
you sit in front, 2 feet away, you won't feel the heat on your body like
you do if you sit in front of a radiator. Radiators also have
convection currents but not nearly the same as a convector.

Nope. I this sense they're both "convectors". A "radiator" (without
convection) wouldn't be at all efficient. The source temperature would have
to be much too high.