Anyone have any experience removing older radiators from a house?

[Nvidiaguy07]

My friend has an extra room in his house that he said hed rent out to me. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take it, but the room is super small, and has an older style radiator in the worst place possible.

Heres some pictures of it:




How hard is this type of heater to remove? I'm probably going to have a plumber or someone to look at it first, but is this type of thing somethign i can do myself? If not, is it an expensive job?

I'd think all you have to do is turn the heat off, remove the heater and then cap it, but I could be completely wrong, since I have no idea about this kind of stuff.

Lastly, how hard is it to put it back on if thats what he wants when i move out?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

That appears to be a hot water radiator which would probably be feed from a boiler in the basement. If that is the case you would need to depressurize the system and make sure that the water level is below the fittings before removing the radiator then cap the send and return lines. If you wanted the radiator to remain offline when the heating season returns you would need to install a jumper pipe between the send and return before refilling and re pressurizing the boiler.

 

[paperfist]

Why would you not want any heat?

They come out pretty easy with a big ass plumbers (pipe) wrench though they are heavy to move.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

That appears to be a hot water radiator which would probably be feed from a boiler in the basement. If that is the case you would need to depressurize the system and make sure that the water level is below the fittings before removing the radiator then cap the send and return lines. If you wanted the radiator to remain offline when the heating season returns you would need to install a jumper pipe between the send and return before refilling and re pressurizing the boiler.

hmmm, so im guessing this is something I'd need someone to do. I wouldn't wanna risk messing something up. Would this be an expensive job?

Why would you not want any heat?

The room is basically like an oversized closet, so a heater really isnt even all that necessary. Leaving the door open would probably heat the room more than enough. If I really needed something, a small space heater would work.

 

[Jeff7]

...
The room is basically like an oversized closet, so a heater really isnt even all that necessary. Leaving the door open would probably heat the room more than enough. If I really needed something, a small space heater would work.

Or just run a decent computer in there - that'll throw off some heat for you. 😉


For whatever reason, the engineering office at my previous work location didn't have heat vents installed in it. We had 4 people crammed in there though, so that, plus the 4 computers, actually kept it rather warm.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Or just run a decent computer in there - that'll throw off some heat for you. 😉


For whatever reason, the engineering office at my previous work location didn't have heat vents installed in it. We had 4 people crammed in there though, so that, plus the 4 computers, actually kept it rather warm.

the room is so small I may have to turn the computer off once in a while to make sure the room doesnt get too hot in the summer.

 

[JimW1949]

The room is so small I may have to turn the computer off once in a while to make sure the room doesn't get too hot in the Summer.

Removing the radiator should be relatively easy, unless the fittings are excessively tight or are so badly rusted that you break something when you try to remove them.

But I am wondering why you would want to live is such a small space? Where are you going to put your stuff? If money is a problem, possibly you could get two or three other people who are in a similar situation and share the cost of an apartment. Just a thought.

 

[Juddog]

Messing with plumbing in an older house always runs the risk of having some unexpected problem crop up. Personally I would say don't do it. The risk isn't worth the reward.

 

[mmntech]

Try looking for a plumber who specializes in hydronic heating systems.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Removing the radiator should be relatively easy, unless the fittings are excessively tight or are so badly rusted that you break something when you try to remove them.

But I am wondering why you would want to live is such a small space? Where are you going to put your stuff? If money is a problem, possibly you could get two or three other people who are in a similar situation and share the cost of an apartment. Just a thought.

Well the room is big enough for a bed, desk, and maybe a small dresser. My friend is offering me the room for super cheap, and I have a little less than a year of school, so money is tight. I probably won't be in the room much except for when im doing homework. The rest of the place is really nice, so its definitely worth what hes charging me.

 

[paperfist]

Removal ease depends on your mechanical skill level. It's pretty straight forward though.

You turn off the boiler; open the vents on the (top) radiators; partially drain the boiler; get 2 (may only need 1) big ass pipe wrenches and some towels; use the pipe wrench to loosen the nuts closest to the radiator (the horizontal ones) and then prepare to get a work out moving the radiator as that one prolly goes 150 lbs.

Then you're going to need some black pipe and a union to tie those 2 90s (elbows) back together. Fill the boiler back up (hopefully it has an auto fill valve); turn on the system and bleed the air out and then close up the vents.

The nuts come off fairly easy as they don't tend to rust since a) they are painted and b) the system prolly never leaked so the thread are pretty well protected.

 

[Ksyder]

I had a heater like that in my old apartment, the boiler had been removed years ago and replaced by a furnace. Easiest way to get it out is to use a hacksaw. That is what I did.

But, why would you want to remove it if it still works? If there is no boiler then I wouldn't worry about it. Just unbolt it or cut the pipes.

 

[DrPizza]

If it's used for heat in the winter, I think you're opening a huge can of worms by attempting to take it out, even with a plumber doing it. If the system it was once connected to no longer exists, then it's merely a decoration that hasn't been removed out of... laziness? In that case, go for it. (At my previous house, I removed just such a fitting. Once the pipe that was disconnected wasn't held up, under its own weight it started bending down. It snapped off at the next elbow located about 8 feet away horizontally. The end result was that I had to replace 75% of the water supply lines in my house and couldn't take a shower, wash dishes, etc., until I did.

 

[dawp]

I assume your friend owns said house, If not stop right there. do not alter it unless you have the owners permission. If he is the owner, make sure he is ok with this.

 

[JimW1949]

Removal ease depends on your mechanical skill level. It's pretty straight forward though.

You turn off the boiler; open the vents on the (top) radiators; partially drain the boiler; get 2 (may only need 1) big ass pipe wrenches and some towels; use the pipe wrench to loosen the nuts closest to the radiator (the horizontal ones) and then prepare to get a work out moving the radiator as that one prolly goes 150 lbs.

Then you're going to need some black pipe and a union to tie those 2 90s (elbows) back together. Fill the boiler back up (hopefully it has an auto fill valve); turn on the system and bleed the air out and then close up the vents.

The nuts come off fairly easy as they don't tend to rust since a) they are painted and b) the system prolly never leaked so the thread are pretty well protected.

I may be wrong on this, but I don't think I am. I believe black pipe is used for gas lines and the silver colored pipe (galvanized) is used for water. Most newer hot water furnaces use copper pipe. I may be wrong on this too, but I think that particular radiator was once a steam radiator and was converted over to water. Steam was pretty popular for heating a long time ago, but it was also a tad bit on the dangerous side. That's why a lot of the old steam boilers were switched over to hot water boilers.