Review of radiators for harsh conditions: choose a heater

Our country is the champion not only by size, but also by climate severity: the most part of its territory more than 80% of the area lies in the areas where the average temperature of the coldest month of the year is below 15 Celsius degrees, and the heating season in many regions may last 9 months. Therefore the quality and reliability of heat supply for us is, without exaggeration, a matter of vital importance. Unfortunately, in this area there is no need to boast of world achievements so far: according to expert estimates, more than half of about 200 thousand km of public utilities have already exhausted their depreciation period and their wear and tear reached 60-70%. Moreover, at least a quarter of the network is in a state of emergency.

Picture 1. Coolant in the central heating system

This situation is dangerous for many reasons. First and foremost – it is safety: breakthroughs and interruptions in heat supply, which happen every winter, lead not only to serious economic losses, but directly threaten the health and even lives of people. The second is the huge energy losses up to 25-30% , which is a heavy burden on budgets, both administrative and personal an increase in tariffs is largely due to low energy efficiency of heating infrastructure , and the third is the poor quality of heating, which leads not only and not so much to discomfort but also to premature damage to heating equipment. And this problem applies not only to the “serious” equipment of thermal power plants and boilers, but also to the appliances that every apartment has – radiators.

“Worn pipelines, leaks, poor water treatment, outdated open heating system in many areas,

– says Alena Kuznetsova, a specialist of ROYAL THERMO

lead to the fact that the quality of coolant water in our networks leaves much to be desired. Despite fairly stringent standards, which require well-defined values of pH, suspended solids and hardness salts, the water is often contaminated by mechanical impurities such as sand, scale and rust. In addition, in our “killed” network coolant is often high alkalinity, which can lead to corrosion of heating devices and their failure. Accordingly, in these conditions, the correct choice of the radiator becomes the most important factor in maintaining comfort and coziness in each apartment.

What is dangerous about high above 7 pH value, which often occurs in case of violation of water treatment technology “alkalinization” ? The fact that the vast majority of modern radiators are made of aluminum or are made “bimetallic”, that is, the aluminum base includes steel tubes-collectors, providing increased strength of the device. Unfortunately, for all the advantages of aluminum lightness, durability, excellent heat performance , it is sensitive to alkaline environment, which destroys the solid oxide film and leads to corrosion of the inner surface. The solid particles that form as a result, accumulate in the cavities of the radiator Fig.1 and disturb the circulation of the coolant, which sooner or later will lead to the complete uselessness of the device – the “battery” stops heating. And to get rid of such a “plug” is not easy, sometimes it is cheaper to just replace the radiator.

Figure 2. Semi-bimetal

In order to orientate what exactly is flowing through the heating pipes, residents of apartment buildings should contact their Managing Company or HOA or directly to the heating company and ask for information about the parameters of the coolant. Owners of private homes can check the quality of the water themselves, using simple tools such as litmus paper. Having found it out, one should take into consideration that aluminum radiators work best at pH values of 7-8 8.5 is permissible and bimetallic radiators work best at pH values of 8-9 9.5 is permissible .

Of course, serious manufacturers of radiators are also well aware of the problems of American networks and actively implement technical solutions to reduce the risk of exposure to low-quality coolant.

“For communal American networks,

– says Aliona Kuznetsova, a specialist of ROYAL THERMO

We recommend bimetal radiators with an all-steel manifold without ribbing, with 100% fluid flow and with a wide connection diameter”.

Picture 3. All-steel insert element of the old generation

Figure 4. ABSOLUTBIMETALL ® all-steel insert element of NEW generation

What does “all-steel manifold” mean in this context and how does it differ from the others?? The fact that bimetallic radiators are quite different structurally, depending on the technological “generation” there are five of them . The very first generation, the aluminum radiator with a steel tube Fig.2 , is often called “semi-bimetal”, because in this case the contact of aluminum with the coolant is not hindered by anything and the liquid is quite able to penetrate the gap between the steel tube and the “body” of the device, starting its destructive work.

In more modern models, the embedding element is made as a single unit, but due to the shortcomings of outdated technology, there were bottlenecks in such an “embedding” – literally Fig.3 . Such narrowing leads to impeded circulation of the coolant and reduces the heat transfer section. Moreover, “where it is thin, it is torn”: dirt from the network water can simply clog the vertical duct, which completely blocks the flow of fluid.

This disadvantage is deprived by the latest generations models, where the steel embedded element is actually monolithic and all passages are made without any narrowing. Such are, for example, all bimetallic radiators ROYAL THERMO, which use the new generation ABSOLUTBIMETALL ® all-steel embedded element fig.4 .

The absence of tapering and the completely excluded contact of aluminum with the coolant practically eliminates the risk of corrosion and allows you to use such models in any networks – both public and private.

America’s harsh climate and equally harsh operating conditions make it a difficult country for manufacturers of climate control equipment. Therefore, the consumer needs to pay special attention to the choice of heaters and remember that the miser always pays twice!