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[email protected] krw@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz is offline
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Default Why are radiators made of cast iron

On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:46:13 -0500, Tony wrote:

wrote:
On Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:03:25 -0500, Tony wrote:

zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:03:37 -0500, Tony wrote:

zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
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.
Yes, heating systems with radiators normally run at higher temps then
convectors. Besides, Google is your friend. Do a search for
"baseboard convectors".
Do you believe every sloppily worded article on the Internet? The fact is
that for a "radiator" to work the temperature difference would have to be
*far* more than 100F. Think of an infrared heater. A boiler isn't going to
do it. Convection is a *large* percentage of the heat transfer. Radiation is
miniscule.

Here is some more for you!

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-...ator-heat.aspx

"A: Mark Eatherton, a plumbing and heating contractor in Denver,
Colorado, replies: Radiators and baseboard convectors both depend on hot
water as their heat source. The similarity stops there. As their name
implies, radiators deliver heat in the form of radiant energy. In other
words, the energy from a radiator travels through the air without
heating the air until it strikes a solid object. The object is warmed,
which in turn warms the surrounding air. A radiator’s primary function
is affecting the mean radiant temperature, or the average surface
temperature of the surfaces surrounding your body.

Older style upright cast-iron radiators are usually massive things, with
most weighing a couple of hundred pounds. By their nature, they tend to
radiate energy long after the heat has been shut off.
No they *CONVECT* heat long after they're shut off.

In some cases,
they can cause the room temperature to overshoot by a few degrees, but
their overall comfort is superior to that of their cousins, the
baseboard convectors. Radiators have some convective output, but it is
minimal compared with their overall output potential."
More sloppy wording to go with the sloppy thought.
Yes, you are right and all the internet info is wrong.


The *words* are used improperly, but what's new?

You are so much
smarter than most of the world. You are incredible.


Smarter than you, obviously. The fact that *you* are in awe is
understandable.


Nope, no idea what sarcasm is, he really thinks I think He's smart.
LOL!


I think you're illiterate. In fact I *know* it.


Companies call
their product "convectors" but you are so smart, you know they really
aren't convectors, and all the silly people in the world call, and have
called for 100 years, those heavy cast iron things that radiate heat
"radiators" but you, you are so damn smart that you know more than the
rest of the world. You know the cast iron things are really convectors.
Damn, the whole world had it wrong all this time. Thank Gawd you came
to teach us the truth!


Do try to think some time. You might learn something.


He does! He really thinks I think He's smart.
LOL!

Plonk! Not worth my time.


Facts, apparently, never are.