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Heating & Air Conditioning

Hole In Cast Iron Radiator

15 years ago

I did a big flub and drilled a hole in a client's C.I. Radiator. The water damage now controlled and pipes capped by plumber, but need a solution to repair the 60 year old radiator. Worse case scenario is I buy new radiator to replace, but client wants old one fixed because it matches other rads. in house.

There is a hole in the radiator about 3/8" diameter right in the center of a fin. I don't want to try something like J.B. Weld in case it failed-- water would damage a lot as on second floor.

Questions: Can parts be found to repair such an old radiator? I could take out the damaged section and shorten the radiator-- no problem as we could trim out the area around the radiator and move the supply pipes to line up. I don't know if I can find the right size nipples or whatever they're called to put the radiator back together.

I live in the Washington, DC area. Any suggestions appreciated.

Tom

Featured Answer

brickeyee

15 years ago

I agree with kframe19.

Tap out the hole for the nearest large enough IPT plug you can find.

The IPT taps are available from MSC (along with the needed reamers).

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Comments (7)

lbpod
15 years ago
Cast iron can easily be brazed, but the
area to be brazed needs to be 'extremely'
clean. Also, a slow cool down is important
to prevent cracking.
bhrost
15 years ago
I've heard it's a pretty tough and often unsuccessful job getting radiator sections apart. There is one company that still supplies push nipples though. If you post a question on heatinghelp.com you might get some more complete info, there are a lot of heating pros there.

I wonder if you just couldn't try threading the hole and getting a plug that would fit?
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YouÂre not crazy and I can understand the desire for aesthetics and comfort. But be sure to understand that you cannot just install these in place of the fin tube if it was piped in a series loop. You see the first radiator will be hot and everyone after that colder and colder. The distribution system will need to be changed some like monoflo systems but the best way to do it and do it right is two-pipe reverse return. That way the first radiator on the supply is the last on return making the first on return the last one on the supply. This equals even flow at each radiator and allowing you to manually or thermostatically control each individual radiator with out affecting flow to others. In addition proper boiler piping such as primary/secondary may be required to eliminate condensing or shock depending on boiler model and design. Unless of course you invest in a good modulating condensing boiler which, loves cool water and saves money while offering even more comfort due to varying water temps based on outdoor temps.
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Ok I can do that tomrrow night, my DH is coming home from a business trip tonight. Maybe you can tell me what style the house is. It has 3 floors and a flat roof, its painted brick (moss green with burgandy trim, a lovely wrap around porch, a porteco(I dont know its a roof attached the house to park your car under and a carriage house that use to be the stable for horses (which is now has apartments in it also) but it has cute port hole windows. Granted I just closed on it last week. Needs freshing up with paint on the outside but that'll have to wait until next spring. I will check the salvage companies and see what they say. Im sure Ill have to email them pictures too. Thanks again!!
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tk03
15 years ago
Until you know what size nipple the radiator needs it may be hard to locate one. Some were 1" and some were 3/4". Burnham Hydronics still sell Cast Iron radiation but it may not look like what is there, They have column type, tube type, radiant type and classic rad types.
See link
http://www.burnham.com/radiant_products.htm
kframe19
15 years ago
I'm not even going to ask why or how you drilled a hole in a cast iron radiator...

I've used JB Weld to successfully and permanently fix cracks in radiators, both hot water and steam, but nothing quite so dramatic as a 3/8" diameter hole.

Your best bet, I would think, would be a mechanical plug.

Go to a heating supply store that handles goodies for radiator systems and see if they have tapered plugs used to cap holes in radiators that have been either moved or renovated or converted from steam to hot water or vice versa.

My guess is that you're going to find something that will work.

You'll have to ream a tapered hole to match the plug and then tap threads into it.

All in all a pain in the butt, but a LOT easier than trying to braze it.
zl700
15 years ago
Yes and use hardening pipe thread sealant on the threads of the plug (recessed with allen head work well)
Paul Muller
last year
last modified: last year
I am reviving this old thread because it is spot on topic for me. I had my old rads sandblasted and painted at a body shop. One of them came back with a hole in a fin. Hole is irregular in shape, approx 1/4 x 3/8 inch. Hole is located on the inside of a fin, so I would be unable to bore perpendicular into it to get it to a round shape, in order to prepare hole for a round plug. Am considering the JB Weld option, but perhaps hole is too large for their product. Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated.

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