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Guide to Heating Radiators, Baseboards & Convectors: Inspection, Repair, Maintenance InspectAPedia®  -     How to identify, inspect, diagnose, and repair problems with hot water or steam radiators, baseboards, or heating convectors How to inspect, diagnose, and repair problems with steam radiators If your radiator or baseboard is cold and the heating system is "on" - here we diagnose the problem Where leaks occur on hot water and steam radiators, convectors, and baseboards Guide to unusual radiators, baseboards, and heating convectors in buildings

Here we describe the types of heating radiators: hot water, steam, cast iron, heat convectors, baseboard heat, electric heating convectors, and we explain the diagnosis and repair of no-heat or leaks or other problems with heating radiators. Our photo above (at page top) shows a typical "one pipe system" steam cast-iron heating radiator. A single pipe delivers steam to the radiator and condensate from the cooling steam returns to the heating boiler via that same pipe.

This website answers most questions about all types of heating systems and gives important inspection, safety, and repair advice. If you don't know what kind of heat your building uses, see our introduction at BOILERS, HEATING. If your heating system is not working properly, see NO HEAT - BOILER / FURNACE DIAGNOSIS.

© Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

In addition to cast iron radiators using hot water or steam as a heat source, we describe two other very common hot water heat distribution methods below.

How to Identify and Diagnose Problems With Hot Water or Steam Radiators, Baseboards, or Convector Units

How Does Heating Baseboard Work?

Carson Dunlop's sketch (above left) and our photo of a heating baseboard (above-right) show a typical modern hot water heating baseboard system installation. If your heating baseboards are not in fact getting warm when your thermostat is calling for heat and the boiler is indeed running, see AIRBOUND HEAT SYSTEM REPAIRS.

How Does Cast Iron Heating Baseboard Work?

What is a Heating Convector or Wall Convector? & How Do Heating Convectors Work?

Sketch of a wall convector (above left) courtesy of Carson Dunlop and our photo (above right) show a traditional wall-mounted heating convector unit. Our photo was taken in a 1920's home in New York. A heating convector unit operates much like a radiator (page top photo) but instead of thick cast iron used to radiate heat, the convector is made of copper tubing covered with metal fins, or of cast iron with cast-in fins. Our photo (left) shows a leaky heating convector that was recessed into the wall. While recessed heating convectors were popular for aesthetic reasons (no radiator projects into the room), often a high percentage of the heat is flowing through the exterior wall to outside. We discuss this problem in more detail at RADIATOR or CONVECTOR COVERS.

The heat source in a wall-convector may be forced hot water, gravity hot water, steam, or the unit may be heated by electricity. Electric-heated wall convectors and some other convector units may incorporate a blower fan to increase the heat output from the device. Our photographs of a wall-mounted heating convector (above) show a wall unit that is heated by steam.

Conventional wall-mounted heating convectors (units that do not include a fan or blower) rely on natural movement of warm-air upwards to draw cooler air in from the floor level. You'll notice that there is a very generous air intake space along the bottom of the convector - it is designed to move plenty of air across its heating coil.

As the convector gets hot, cool air is drawn up from floor level, is heated by the fins on the convector, and warm air is supplied out of the convector's front grille.

Below we provide articles that help in diagnosing and repairing no-heat problems with each of these types of heat delivery systems.

Fan-Driven Heating Convector Units

Electrically-heated, steam heated, or hot water heated fan convector heating units similar to what you see in our photo here but boosted by a fan that blows room air across the heater are discussed at FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS. Also see RADIANT HEAT.

Wall Convector Heater Maintenance

What are These Unfamiliar, Weird-Shaped or Oddly-Located Heating Radiators?

If you are wondering why a cast iron radiator is found mounted high on a building wall or even on a ceiling, the explanation may be found in the sketch (above left) from Carson Dunlop.

For buildings in which hot water circulated through the heating distribution system by gravity - that is, without using the forced hot water provided by a circulator pump - the only way we could get hot water to rise into a heating radiator was to be certain that the radiator was physically located higher than the top of the heating boiler.

If you find a shelf-like cast iron radiator like the one shown in our photo (above right) where it is being admired by a red-jacketed realtor the radiator will probably located in the kitchen or pantry of an older home where it performed double duty as a plate warmer. The cast iron radiator in our photo, with its three flat shelves, was serving dual-duty as a both a heat source and as a plate warmer for plates coming out of a chilly pantry or dish closet.

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• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.
• Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 info@carsondunlop.com. Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education including the ASHI-adopted Home Inspection Training Program (home study course), publications such as the Home Reference Book, report writing materials including the Horizon report writer, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

HEATING SYSTEMS
AIRBOUND HEAT SYSTEM REPAIRS
BOILERS, HEATING
BOILER OPERATING PROBLEMS
ELECTRIC HEAT
ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS
FURNACES, HEATING
HEAT LOSS in BUILDINGS
HEATING COST SAVINGS METHODS
HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-BOILERS
HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-FURNACES
INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
NO HEAT - BOILER / FURNACE DIAGNOSIS
RADIANT HEAT
RADIATORS
  BASEBOARD, CONVECTOR, RADIATOR TYPES
  COLD BASEBOARD, CONVECTOR, RADIATOR ?
  UNEVEN HEAT DIAGNOSIS
  BASEBOARD, CONVECTOR, RADIATOR LEAKS
  RADIATOR or CONVECTOR COVERS
  RADIATOR or CONVECTOR INSULATION
STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS
THERMAL TRACKING & HEAT LOSS
THERMOSTATS
VIDEO GUIDES: Heating System Videos
WINTERIZE A BUILDING

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• Links to our list of additional information on heating system inspection, repair, maintenance
• How to Inspect Heating Systems: Heating System Inspection & Repair Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Boilers and Furnaces Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems] - this is our detailed heating system inspection course
• Blueray Heating Boilers/Furnaces Safety Recall by the US CPSC, with additional history, photos, and technical details; Blue Flame Blue Ray
• Boiler Controls & Switches: a description of heating boiler controls and switches, what they do, how to set them, what problems to watch for
• Boiler Leaks, Corrosion, Stains: where to look for leaks on heating boilers, which leaks are important, dangerous, costly, & what to do about leaks at a heating boiler
• Boilers, Heating Inspection, Diagnosis, Repair - controls, diagnosis, inspection, repair, service of hot water heating systems
• Boiler Operation Details, 39 steps in how a heating boiler works
• Boiler Operating Problem Diagnosis examples of defects on hot water heating boiler systems and how to recognize them
• DIAGNOSE DARK STAINS on Indoor Surfaces, how to diagnose stains on walls, floors, carpets, and how to determine the stain source
• ELECTRIC HEAT installation, diagnosis, repair guide for baseboard heat, electric furnaces, electric boilers, etc.
• Heating Cost Reduction Advice: How to Save on Home Heating Costs - Book Review & Actual Heating Savings and Energy Savings Tips for homeowners and service technicians
• Heating System Inspection & Repair Procedures for Oil-Fired Heating Boilers and Furnaces Detailed step by step approaches for inspecting complex systems]
• Heating Loss Diagnosis: How to diagnose loss of heat, when the oil burner, boiler, or furnace won't run, or when the system runs but heat is not delivered to the living area
• Hot Water Systems - Tankless Coils - on hydronic or steam boilers for making domestic hot water
• How to Calculate Heat Loss in a Building
• NO HEAT - Boiler & Furnace Diagnosis Guide - where to start in figuring out why the heating system is not working
• Radiant Heat Floor Mistakes to Avoid - don't let these foolish installation errors ruin your radiant heat floor system
• Stain Diagnosis on Indoor Surfaces, how to diagnose stains on walls, floors, carpets, and how to determine the stain source
• Steam Heating Systems - care & maintenance, controls, diagnosis, & repair, safety devices
• Thermal Tracking & Stains & Signs of Heat Loss how to recognize thermal tracking or thermal bridging & how to diagnose Stains on Ceilings & Walls, Building Air Leaks & Insulation Defects, as well as other indoor air quality or building concerns
• Water Feeder Valves automatic water makeup valves for hydronic boilers and steam boilers
• Weil McLain Model GV Gas Boiler/gas valve CPSC recall/repair
• ...

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