Hi

I have a radiator that is 1120mm wide. It is certainly more than 35 years old. I have two questions:

The main motivation for replacing it is that it looks old and has lots of coats of peeling paint. But it works and does not leak. It has no fins. Is it a good idea to replace such an old rad with a modern unit, or should I just clean it up and repaint it?

The closest modern width is 1100mm. How would I adapt the current pipework to make up for the decrease in width of 20mm?

Thanks

David

wrote:

The closest modern width is 1100mm.
How would I adapt the current pipework to make up for the decrease in
width of 20mm?

Adjustable tails:
http://www.screwfix.com/p/radiator-union-valve-tail-pack-of-2/78169

wrote in message
...
Hi

I have a radiator that is 1120mm wide. It is certainly more than 35 years
old. I have two questions:

The main motivation for replacing it is that it looks old and has lots of
coats of peeling paint. But it works and does not leak. It has no fins. Is
it a good idea to replace such an old rad with a modern unit, or should I
just clean it up and repaint it?

The closest modern width is 1100mm. How would I adapt the current pipework
to make up for the decrease in width of 20mm?

Thanks

David

You are best to leave alone ideally. It might start to leak if you muck
about with it.
Failing that you are better to get a new one.
The old one is virtually certain to have internal corrosion.

Might be an idea to have review/concoct a master plan for the whole system
than consider the one in isolation..

Don't forget to flush the system and add new water treatment.

In article ,
writes:
Hi

I have a radiator that is 1120mm wide. It is certainly more than 35 years old. I have two questions:

The main motivation for replacing it is that it looks old and has lots of coats of peeling paint. But it works and does not leak. It has no fins. Is it a good idea to replace such an old rad with a modern unit, or should I just clean it up and repaint it?

If it's 50 years old, it will probably last forever even without any
inhibitor - they were made of thick sheet steel (and it will be very
heavy). With newer radiators, the steel used gets progressively thinner
the more recently they were made, and the life of it will reduce if
the system hasn't been kept correctly dosed with inhibitor. If it's
got any rust spots, particularly at the connections or blanking/bleeding
plugs, I wouldn't bother trying to save it. (I also don't like radiators
which have been painted, as it's never as good as modern powder coated
finish, so that would sway me personally to change it.)

The closest modern width is 1100mm. How would I adapt the current pipework to make up for the decrease in width of 20mm?

There are 1/2" radiator tail extensions of various sizes available.

When I was ordering Ultraheat 4 radiators from a local independent
plumber's merchant, you could ask for them to be made up any size
you wanted. Took 2 or 3 days (instead of next day for the listed
sizes), but there wasn't any price premium for doing this.

Note that a finned radiator will have a higher heat output. That
might be a good thing if the existing one struggles in its current
location. However, it might be a bad thing if that's the radiator
in the room with the house thermostat, as it will heat up the room
faster and switch off the boiler before other rooms have heated up.
You could select one with a different height to change the heat
output, if you want to keep to roughly the same length.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

If you do get a new radiator I have found PlumbNation good. The thing ends up being delivered from your local Plumb Center but costs a lot less than if you'd gone into Plumb Center and bought one off the shelf.

On Sun, 23 Jun 2013 14:21:58 -0700 (PDT), Murmansk wrote:

If you do get a new radiator I have found PlumbNation good. The thing ends up being delivered from your local Plumb Center but costs a lot less than if you'd gone into Plumb Center and bought one off the shelf.

+1. My last rad. was about £195+VAT+delivery from Plumb Center; about £95
from PlumbNation and delivered by PC!
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On Sunday, June 23, 2013 9:06:26 PM UTC+1, wrote:

Hi
I have a radiator that is 1120mm wide. It is certainly more than 35 years old. I have two questions:
The main motivation for replacing it is that it looks old and has lots of coats of peeling paint. But it works and does not leak. It has no fins. Is it a good idea to replace such an old rad with a modern unit, or should I just clean it up and repaint it?

There's no knowing which will last longer, the old or a new one.

The closest modern width is 1100mm. How would I adapt the current pipework to make up for the decrease in width of 20mm?
Thanks
David

As its only 20mm, an adjustable tail. The other option, if the pipe runs sideways, is to cut & rejoin the pipe.


NT

On 24/06/2013 01:53, wrote:
On Sunday, June 23, 2013 9:06:26 PM UTC+1, wrote:

Hi
I have a radiator that is 1120mm wide. It is certainly more than 35 years old. I have two questions:
The main motivation for replacing it is that it looks old and has lots of coats of peeling paint. But it works and does not leak. It has no fins. Is it a good idea to replace such an old rad with a modern unit, or should I just clean it up and repaint it?

There's no knowing which will last longer, the old or a new one.

The closest modern width is 1100mm. How would I adapt the current pipework to make up for the decrease in width of 20mm?
Thanks
David

As its only 20mm, an adjustable tail. The other option, if the pipe runs sideways, is to cut & rejoin the pipe.



If there's underfloor access, plastic pipe? In that way the pipes can be
fed behind the skirting, making for a neater job and a clear floor.

Rob

On Sunday, June 23, 2013 9:06:26 PM UTC+1, wrote:

Is it a good idea to replace such an old rad with a modern unit, or should I just clean it up and repaint it?

The closest modern width is 1100mm. How would I adapt the current pipework to make up for the decrease in width of 20mm?

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...ace_a_radiator


NT