Measuring a radiator

cheggers

I am wanting to replace a small double radioator has its starting to rust.

Is there a right way or wrong way to measure a radiator, has when I measured it my measurements were a couple of mm's out with the measurments in the trade book.

Also are all normal double radiators fitted on the same dropped down fittings???

Mr_Grumpy_7

I,ve replaced a number of radiators for this very reason and took the opportunity to upgrade to one with fins. Assuming you are comparing like for like, i.e. same manufacturer and same model, then what is in the book should match what you have on the wall. You normally measure the widest point.

Regarding the fittings, they tend to be dependant on manufacturer and model. They can also be installed with either the longest or shortage edge protruding from the wall depending on the type of radiator.

Hope this helps!

Skiduck

if you can't get the precise measurement, you could always look at a radiator that is smaller than your existing one and use radiator tail extensions to give you a bit of give, instead of altering the pipework.

jimmyjim_uk

cheggers wrote:

I am wanting to replace a small double radioator has its starting to rust.

Is there a right way or wrong way to measure a radiator, has when I measured it my measurements were a couple of mm's out with the measurments in the trade book.

Also are all normal double radiators fitted on the same dropped down fittings???

hudevad have a heat loss program on their website that is fairly easy to use, if you want to be really accurate

http://www.hudevad.co.uk/

You can measure the radiator length and height, and buy an exact dimensional replacement. I'm assuming your old one is a steel panel.

Another option is to apply a watts per meter square to your floor area, 60 w/m2 is what I use in residential buildings as a rule of thumb.

economiser

I shouldn't worry too much about the exact size. The most important thing is the getting one which will connect up easily to the existing pipework. It depends on the location but there is no harm in having a radiator that is oversized for the heat requirement. The bigger it is the quicker it will heat up the room. You can obviously turn it down if the room gets too hot or better still fit a thermostatic valve.

Softstuff

I seem to recall, from when we had radiators replaced here, that it wasn't possible to get an exact match in size since the standard sizes had changed over that time. So we ended up going a tiny bit smaller, but the pipework remained where it was and just ...bent.. a bit.