How do old fashioned radiators work?
Steam Radiators
As the steam travels through the unit, it slowly cools down and turns into condensation. This condensation then goes through the unit, ending it's travels back in the boiler, where it is ultimately turned back into steam. This is the old-fashioned radiator heating method.
Radiators work through a heat transfer process called convection. When water in the radiator is heated, the surrounding air is also heated up via convection and this hot air is then moved around the room as the air circulates.
Check your radiator for a thermostatic valve. This device lets you adjust the setting on the radiator so that you can control how much heat it puts out. Your radiator might not have a thermostatic valve if it's older, but you can always have one installed if you wish to have more control of your radiator's heat output.
When people talk about old fashioned radiators, they are usually referring to the column style which was popularised in Victorian times. They are constructed from rows of tubes that connect top to bottom to form a single section. Water flows around these tubes or 'columns' to heat them up.
Both cast iron and steel radiators provide a similar heat output and are equally as efficient, but they distribute their heat very differently.
Improvements in Radiators
It's easy to assume that radiators made decades ago are less efficient, but studies have shown that a new radiator can be as much as twice as efficient as even a twenty year old equivalent.
The radiator cools the hot liquid using the cooler air that comes in through the vehicle's grille. The coolant flows through narrow tubes inside the rad, exposing it to a large surface area so the heat can dissipate as quickly as possible.
The new radiator is marked for the direction of flow; through the valve and in at the top of the radiator.
In very simple terms the radiator valve helps control the amount of hot water that enters and leaves the radiator. By controlling this flow of water, the heat that the radiator can generate is controlled.
You should also fully open the TRVs (thermostatic radiator valves). Whilst thermostatic and wheel head valves can be opened and closed by hand, the lockshield valves require a dedicated tool or an adjustable spanner.
Should radiators be open or closed?
If your hot water radiator is too hot or the room is too hot, you can partially-close the radiator valve. If your hot water radiator is too cold, be sure that the valve is open and that the radiator is not air bound. If your steam radiator is too cold be sure that its supply valve is open.
- Turn off your heating.
- Open all radiator valves.
- Note the speed each radiator heats up.
- Allow your heating to cool down.
- Turn your heating back on.
- Adjust the fastest radiator.
- Repeat for other radiators.
From the birth of the earliest automobiles to the early 1970s, radiators made from copper and brass were in 100% of cars and trucks. There was no good reason to use anything else because nothing else could compete with the metal's many advantages.
How To Bleed A Radiator HomeServe Video Guide - YouTube
Whatever the configuration, all radiators reject heat by infrared (IR) radiation from their surfaces. The radiating power depends on the surface's emittance and temperature. The radiator must reject both the spacecraft waste heat and any radiant-heat loads from the environment.
They're not very heat efficient
Due to the sheer amount of time that cast iron radiators take to heat up, this uses up significantly more energy and takes more time than steel or aluminium radiators to heat up the same space.
But aluminium radiators have the greatest heat output potential of any type. In addition to this, they are also the fastest type of radiator to heat up and spread their warmth, and offer excellent responsiveness as well.
Cast iron radiators are very efficient for green heat systems owing to their excellent conductivity and density. Cast iron radiators work well with today's energy efficient and renewable energy heating systems as they utilise the natural heat generated from the ground or air to heat your home very well.
- Use reflectors and stop heating the streets. ...
- Regularly clean your radiator. ...
- Bring into play radiator additives. ...
- Check if there are any cold spots.
1. Modern radiators are no more efficient than old ones. The heat output depends on the temperature drop across the whole radiator and the cross sectional area of heat exchanger. Thus radiators with fins output heat more quickly than those without, but require a greater flow of hot water losing temperature to do so.
Do double radiators give more heat?
The longer the panel, the more surface area there is for the radiator to emit heat. Therefore, a radiator with a double panel of the same dimensions as a single panel radiator will give off more heat, as the total surface area is greater.
You need to put the water in the radiator by removing the pressure cap once your vehicle cools down. You can also add the water to the coolant reservoir or recovery tank if your car is overheating to the point where there's steam.
It is recommended that the fluid be pumped horizontally from bottom to top in a circle, from bottom to top in order to follow the shape of the radiators.
Notwithstanding the materials used, radiators are basically of two types: cross-flow radiators and down-flow radiators, depending on where the tank is located.
Most modern thermostatic radiator valves are bi-directional – so can be fitted on either the flow or return pipe of your radiator. However, it's always best practice to fit the TRV on the flow pipe that enters your radiator.
The flow of a radiator is typically on the left as you look at it stood up or attached to the wall.
Every radiator in a hot water system has an inlet and outlet. The inlet is to take hot water in and the outlet is to let the water back out.
One of the easiest to use valve available, you just need to twist the top with your hand and it alters the flow of heat into your radiator - simple, just like turning a tap. They will tend to be simpler, and usually far smaller than thermostatic valves.
You can adjust the heat by turning the thermostatic valve. Look for it on the side of the radiator. The thermostatic valve usually has a taller cap with numbers ranging from 0 to 5 on it. Adjust the dial counterclockwise to increase the heat and clockwise to reduce it.
Thermostatic valves
Step 1: You'll usually find the valve on a TRV radiator on the left side. The valve you're looking for will have a numbered dial on it, to adjust the heat the radiator gives off, and is usually found on the bottom of the radiator.
What number should you have your radiators on?
So what temperature is the right one? As a rule of thumb most guidelines recommend heating your home to 70F (21C) and bedroom temperatures should be kept a little cooler to around 64F (18C).
When your radiator is cold at the bottom, it's likely that there's a debris blockage that's restricting the flow of hot water to the whole radiator. Usually, the culprit of this particular problem is sludge, debris, rust and other bits of dirt.
Lockshield Valves Explained
A lockshield valve is slightly different from manual and thermostatic valves as it controls how much water can exit a radiator. Every radiator has one, and you need them to make sure all the radiators remain balanced in your central heating system.
Some radiators occationally get quite a bit warmer than others. When this happens it usually means that your central heating system is out of balance. In some instances, radiators can be different temperatures due to the distance that water that heats them has to travel from the boiler or pump.
If the rads heat up quickly the most likely issue is that the radiators aren't balanced. If you had old radiators in part of the house then they most likely had less flow than the new ones, so your other radiators were probably partially restricted to force water to them.
If your radiator is getting to hot then make sure you turn down the thermostatic radiator valve. If you don't have one then get one fitted. In some cases a radiator that is too hot is down to a faulty thermostat which will need looking at. Try turn the central heating down on the boiler.
Copper and brass radiators are more commonly found in older models of vehicles. If your vehicle was built before the 1990s, it is more than likely it contains a brass radiator. Additionally, many large trucks still contain brass radiators due to the durability of the metal.
Whereas black surfaces absorb heat energy and light, white surfaces reflect them in contrast. Therefore, to project as much heat as possible out of radiators, moving the heat effectively from the inside to the outside, you would opt to paint them white.
Radiators are often priced by the fin and cost between $10 and $20 per section depending on height, depth, and decoration. Shorter radiators that fit under windows are more scarce than tall models and tend to be on the higher end of the price range, says Bauer.
Yes, it is perfectly normal for water to escape when a radiator is bled. You'll likely notice some drips emerging when initially turning the bleed screw in an anti-clockwise direction. And water would pour out once the air was released, if the valve was to be opened fully.
What happens if you bleed a radiator with the heating on?
You must not bleed a radiator when the heating is turned on as it may be too hot to touch and hot water could spray out of it. Ensure the heating is turned off before you begin bleeding a radiator. Letting out air when the pump is running will only draw more air into the system from elsewhere.
- If you don't have a specific radiator bleed key it's still possible to bleed your radiators!
- You can bleed radiators with a towel rail or compression joint easily with a wrench.
- If your radiator has a hexagonal shaped valve you can use a spanner.
The radiator can only reject heat when the temperature is higher than that of the environment. In space, the optimum radiation efficiency is gained by aiming the radiator at free space. Radiating toward an illuminated surface is less effective, and the radiator must be shielded from direct sunlight.
Acute exposure to the vacuum of space: No, you won't freeze (or explode) One common misconception is that outer space is cold, but in truth, space itself has no temperature. In thermodynamic terms, temperature is a function of heat energy in a given amount of matter, and space by definition has no mass.
"In space, it's a matter of insulation. Just as your blanket keeps your body heat in so you stay warm in bed, NASA space suits have insulation systems as well as heaters." How Stuff Works finds that “Spacesuits designed by NASA for Apollo astronauts used heating elements to protect astronauts from extreme cold.
