Cast Iron Radiator Connector Fitting

I totally agree on the works of art opinion, coaly. And yep, some of those bushings are pretty elaborate. Pretty outrageous designs cast into some of those old rads and you're right, having a complete set in any house is worth a lot.

just logged on ,did you ever get those radiators converted?You need to cut and break the old fitting out.

Regarding corrosion; I studied it a little in the past.
Dissimilar metals will cause a galvanic cell to form and cause corrosion, but remember that corrosion is almost entirely oxidization; when the oxygen runs out [in a sealed system] the corrosion stops.
There are exceptions; stainless steels will corrode without oxygen, but are happy in the presence of oxygen. aluminum will combine with anything.
I've seen the same thing with ball valves; it could be crevice corrosion on the stainless balls due to the lack of oxygen. When fully open, the ball surfaces are protected, you'll never notice a bit of loss in the bore.
Or it could be turbulence [or erosion] corrosion, caused by high water velocity. I believe this is caused by electrical current being generated by the swirling water in the fitting. It's noisy too.

Coaly, good info on old pipe fittings! It's a constant learning process for me. Valve compound... how come I didn't know that? Good tip.
Here in Europe they've moved to straight threads [terrible to seal] but old fittings and some imported stuff has taper threads. BSP, NPT... it's a mess.
I've managed to collect pipe taps from 1/8" to 1", very handy.

I was able to back the original 1 1/4-inch brass fittings out without too much trouble, and I replaced them with 1 1/4 to 3/4-inch reducers and piped it through the floor with black iron going into copper down below. Carried the thing from NY out to Wisconsin in the truck of the family Jetta. It looks really nice in the kitchen--a lot nicer than that old, crummy hydronic baseboard. I assume once winter rolls around, it will heat the space a lot better, too. I'm color blind, so I bought dark brown spray paint instead of black, and didn't notice until it was dry, but Mom says she likes it better anyway.

Wow a spud wrench you dont see them to often i am a pipe fitter and have changed thousands of steam rads to hot water and the best advise on removing spuds is lots of PB blaster a d a prayer to the pipe gods lol most of the time they are so frozen that the nubs break off so I tap the spud wrench in and put a pipe wrench on it the spud wrench keeps the fitting from egging

Oh forgot to add never throdel with a gate valve you will we're out the seats a d it wolnt be a positive shut off when you need it

I have one of the shutter valves I would like to reuse if I can seal it, the packing seal was almost gone do you think an O ring would work?

The usual packing that one can get locally is some kind of string. It fails totally to stop leaking. I found a Teflon Valve Stem Packing (1/8" dia corded Teflon) that worked well. I had to ask a local plumbing supply to order it for me from http://www.gore.com/en_xx/products/sealants/packing/packing.html

I have a cracked brass elbow fitting for a cast iron radiator. It is many years old. I took it to a local supply house to get one like it and found that modern fittings even made by the same mfg have a different flare angle and face-to-face distance. I can either buy a spud wrench and add new fittings or find someone who has the antique style willing to sell me one.

I have tried to keep my 200 yr old house authentic and am reluctant to replace any more than I have to.

I found graphite packing at the local plumbing wholesaler , couple wraps doesn't leak a drop,they also had a sweet copper air extractor works great.

I visited most of the suppliers between Danbury, CT and Bridgeport, CT. No one had graphite packing which is why I tried the Teflon. Where did you buy yours?

Are you talking about an acetylene type of torch or the plain, propane cylinder that people use for soldering copper pipe? The first one sounds like it would require heavy duty equipment and a skill I don't have.

Nick Geti

In the electrical trade we call rope packing monkey $hit

Ray

It was at B.A. Robinson Kamloops B.C. just hanging on the wall with all the tap repair parts Oring , cartridges, washers Etc.If I can find the package I'll let you know the brand and part #.

IMHO I'd be more worried about water staining a 200 yr old floor than using a modern fitting.

No problem. The floor is 18" wide poplar planks which I sanded and coated with urethane colored very lightly with several stains to get a uniform color between the boards. It is gorgeous. The finish is very hard and can take any kind of punishment.

I still want to be consistent between brass fittings. In any case I have Googled and cannot even find a simple, modern valve and elbow. I ordered a spud wrench just in case I need to swap out the tail pieces.

Do you really expect me to say that when I go shopping?

Yes, tradesmen say this and they will understand it.. Just like peckerhead is a motor J-box or duck $hit is duct seal or channel locks are water pump pliers.. need I go on?

Ray

Thats fine, when you go from black pipe to copper put a brass fitting in between the two like an union or valve. Brass ball valve is fine for throttling not my first choice but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. That fitting in your rad. was exactly that and old collar for a union.

Proper valve for flow regulation is a globe valve.