How to weld a heating radiator. Advantages and disadvantages of a profile pipe

The heating system is changed when it is significantly worn out. With our instructions, it is quite possible to do it yourself.

Radiator - a heating device consisting of separate annular sections. The batteries have internal channels through which the coolant (water) circulates. Such a heating system transfers its heat into the air.

Before upgrading heating radiators, to start you need to buy everything necessary materials, familiarize yourself with the configuration and parameters of the product. Often used metal pipes with minimum diameter. To save money, you can look for them at scrap metal collection points.

The main characteristics of heating radiators are power and heat transfer. To calculate the power of heating radiators, several factors must be taken into account: the total mass of the coolant and the radiator, the surface area occupied by the radiator element.

The website site masters have prepared a special calculator for you. You can easily calculate the required number of sections.

Types of radiators:

• cast iron,
• aluminum,
• steel,
• oil,
• bimetallic,
• sectional.

Cast iron and steel are almost identical in characteristics, but the conductivity of thermal energy is higher than that of cast iron. more often used in high-rise buildings, they are relatively compact, not subject to corrosion. Such batteries do not require special care, their service life can reach 40 years or more. Such radiators are characterized by high resistance to temperature changes. The disadvantages include the complexity of installing such a radiator. Also, these batteries require periodic staining.

Aluminum radiators have many advantages: light weight and small sizes Beautiful design, high heat transfer, working pressure of 12 atmospheres, large cross-sectional area of ​​intercollector tubes. Warranty period is not less than 5-7 years. The downside is that in such a heating system it is necessary to maintain a certain pH (optimally 7–8). Such batteries are characterized by increased airing of the system, which requires regular air bleeding. If this is not done, then in the heating system, during the reaction of water and oxide (covering inner part radiator) hydrogen is formed, due to which pressure increases, which can lead to a rupture of the entire system.

Sectional radiators, as a rule, consist of a certain number of sections (from 5 to 11). Their dimensions and weight depend on the number of sections. These batteries have very good heat dissipation. The advantage is also that if one of the sections is broken, it can be easily replaced.

Bimetal radiators have steel internal elements. Differ small size. The heat transfer of these batteries is similar in quality to an aluminum heating system. The downside is the high cost.

In order to make a radiator with your own hands, you must use steel pipe, whose dimensions in diameter do not exceed 100 mm, the wall thickness is 3.5 mm. The diameter of the steel pipe will be 95 mm. The cross section of the total area of ​​the pipe will be equal to 71 cm. To calculate the length of the pipe that we need, we divide the total volume by the cross-sectional area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe pipe and get 205 cm.

From the foregoing, we can conclude that heating radiators can be made using a steel pipe. The ends in this pipe must be welded. Two surges must be welded on its plane, which are responsible for supplying and discharging coolant into the heating system.

Materials and tools:

• welding machine and expendable materials to it (electrodes),
• grinder or grinder,
• steel pipe 2 m long and 10 cm in diameter,
• steel pipe type VGP 30 cm long,
• steel sheet 600x100 mm, not less than 3 mm thick,
• a plug and 2 special sleeves (used only on one side of the radiator pipe).

After assembling all the required materials and tools, you can proceed directly to the manufacture of the radiator with your own hands. To begin with, grinder cut a large piece of pipe into three equal parts. Further, using a welding machine, we make 2 holes in each piece of pipe. Their diameter should be 2.5 cm. Position the holes so that the distance between them is 5 cm from the ends of the pipe at an angle of 180 ° between them. After the work done, we clean the pieces of pipes from metals and excess particles that remain from the welding machine.

At this stage of work, we take a steel sheet and cut out 6 blanks, the diameter of which is equal to the thickness of the pipe. We weld all pipe ends with our blanks. We take a pipe made of VGP steel and cut it into two equal parts. Then we weld them to a pipe of a larger diameter, where we previously made holes.

Now we take reinforced elements, the length of which is 10 cm and weld them to thin pipes. This will make our design much more reliable. Then you can proceed to the welding of pre-prepared sleds. Finishing preparatory work the entire structure must be checked for tightness and strength. To check the tightness, we close one of the pipe elements, pour water into the second. In this way, you can see water leakage at the joints, we eliminate this by brewing such areas (not forgetting to drain the water first).

For this work, you need general knowledge installation technologies and a set of tools: a tape measure, a level, a simple pencil, an adjustable wrench, a set of keys, a drill and drill bits for it. First you need to dismantle the old radiators, if any. We mark the fastening of new ones and install them in the place we need. Now we mount the heating radiators themselves on the already prepared mounts. We complete the heating system with taps and plugs. We put a thermal head and a tap, they power the entire system. At the end, we directly connect the new radiators to common system heating.

The radiator must be placed above the floor level by at least 7 cm, the heat transfer will be higher and there will be no problems with cleaning. If installed higher than 15 cm, the thermal regime may be disturbed. If you install the battery close to the wall, then the heat output will decrease. It is also not recommended to cover the batteries with decorative grilles, the radiator power will decrease significantly.

Do-it-yourself radiator replacement is best done during the warm season. At this time of the year, the system is not used, which will allow us to carry out installation and installation work without problems. It is necessary to replace the equipment in extreme cases, when it has worn out and its efficiency has greatly decreased. There are situations when the landlord wants to reduce or add sections to the battery.

It is necessary to prepare not only radiators for installation, but also sections of the wall.

The wall needs to be puttied, leveled and painted even before the radiator is installed, after which nothing can be done.

Also, before installation, you need to think over an action plan, choose the location of the heating system, calculate the dimensions, the occupied area. This formality will give you the opportunity to control the entire process of work.

Do not forget about the couplings that should be placed at the inlet and outlet of the new heating facility. We prepare thermal heads by installing a special tap and valve on them. The valve is located at the inlet to the heating pipe, the tap - on the reverse action pipe. To prevent leakage, all joints and threaded connections needs to be sealed. Only then can you proceed to the next stage - the installation of the main pipe.

If more than one radiator is located in the room, then the batteries are installed using a water level so as not to disturb the pressure that is created in the pipes. After that, you can pour the coolant into the expansion tank.

Despite the huge selection of radiators on sale, there are those who want to manufacture heating appliances with their own hands. Homemade heating radiators from pipes are used in summer cottages, garages and small country houses. If you carefully work on the finish, you will get a beautiful designer item that is not ashamed to decorate even a civilized home. What is needed for work, how to weld a high-quality tubular battery, and is it worth doing this at all?

DIY batteries: the truth without embellishment

Modern radiators are complex technical devices that work simultaneously on the principle of radiation and convection. Manufacturers take into account many factors when creating batteries and use new technologies in the production process that increase the efficiency of the heating system and reduce the volume and temperature of the coolant. Of course, the factory device will always work more efficiently. homemade homemade and will surpass it in compactness and design.

The simplest homemade radiator of two pipes

It is advisable to make heating appliances on your own only if you have free or inexpensive pipes, a welding machine, a tool for cutting metal (grinder) and skills in working with equipment.

Important! The slightest mistake is fraught with leaks and serious emergencies. It is not recommended to install devices own production in apartments - they are more suitable for spacious rooms and outbuildings.

Types of homemade heating radiators

At home, the easiest way to make a heating register is a device consisting of one or more pipes welded into a single structure. The principle of operation of the device is the same as that of cast-iron batteries - the coolant circulating inside heats the metal, and the heat emanating from it heats the air.

Registers are suitable for use in one-pipe and two-pipe systems, wall and floor installation is possible. The simplest examples of this group of heaters can be found in the bathrooms of old houses, where they function as heated towel rails.

Homemade registers are divided into two main types: sectional and coil. Sectional devices are a structure of pipes of different diameters, in which elements of a larger diameter are parallel to each other, have plugs at the ends and are interconnected by tubes with a smaller diameter.

Connecting pipes should preferably be located as close to the edges as possible. For structural strength, additional jumpers are used - they increase the heat transfer of the device, as they increase the heating area.

The movement of the coolant in such a design always begins with a tank located above the others, then the water passes through the nozzle to the bottom row, flows along the entire length and enters the next element. It is important to ensure the strength of the welds - they must withstand a pressure of at least 13 atmospheres.

The coils are S-shaped and are assembled from elements welded in series. This design is more efficient, since the entire surface of the pipe is involved in heat transfer. There are no intermediate constrictions in the coil, so the hydraulic resistance is always less than in the sectional register.

How to make a radiator from pipes with your own hands

To make a homemade radiator, you need to be able to work with a welding machine and have the skills to “handle” an angle grinder. It is important to correctly determine the size of the heat source - for this you need to calculate the required power.

Battery Power Calculation

The power of a radiator for liquid heating depends on the surface area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe device and the thermal conductivity of the material. Special formulas are used to calculate power, but it is not easy for a non-specialist to navigate complex equations. If you plan to heat outbuildings where exact values ​​\u200b\u200bare not needed, you can take as a basis cast iron battery.

For example, the power of one section of a cast-iron radiator is 160 W, and its volume is 1.45 liters. To replace a standard 10-section cast iron appliance with a pipe heater, you need the number of pipes that can hold 14.5 liters of liquid.

According to the norms, in residential buildings for each square meter the room requires 1 kW of power of the heater. Increase this value when calculating the system in houses with poor thermal insulation.

Necessary materials

In order not to run around in search of the missing little things, it is advisable to immediately prepare all the necessary materials and tools. For a homemade radiator with a volume of 14.5 liters, you will need:

• pipe from carbon steel about 2 meters long and 10-12 cm in diameter with a wall thickness of 3.5 mm;
• steel sheet with a thickness of at least 3.5 mm for end caps;
• water pipe for throughput channels;
• two drives with a diameter of 2.5 cm;
• reinforcement to increase rigidity;
• threaded connections for tapping into the system.

It's cheaper to buy materials at scrap yards, but for a permanent home, it's better to opt for new smooth steel pipes. It makes no sense to take pipes with a diameter of more than 12 cm for registers - this will increase the volume of the coolant, increase the load on the boiler and the current heating costs.

Manufacturing technology

A two-meter steel pipe is cut into three identical parts and two holes are cut in each of the parts for connecting the throughput tubes. The holes should be at a distance of 5 cm from the end and located at different ends at an angle of 180 degrees relative to each other.

At the next stage, round blanks are cut out of steel sheets to close the ends. The diameter of the covers must match the size of the pipe holes. Plugs are welded to the ends, closing the elements for the registers.

Tubes for supplying coolant are welded to the holes, getting a kennel for movement hot water. To give the structure strength, the pipes are interconnected with reinforcement. In large registers, additional safety jumpers are provided. It is important that the distance between the sections is 0.5 cm greater than the diameter of the main pipe.

After completion of welding work, home-made pipe radiators must be checked for strength. Before testing, the lower hole is closed, and water is supplied to the upper one under pressure, completely filling the device. If there are no leaks, the battery is installed in the system. For floor mounting, legs are welded or brackets are provided. IN heating systems with natural circulation, the registers are installed with a slight slope in the direction of the coolant.

Similarly, a bathroom radiator is made in the form of a coil or ladder. For a heated towel rail, it makes no sense to take pipes with a large diameter - the more crossbars are planned, the smaller the pipe girth should be. If you take copper pipes instead of steel pipes, you get a durable and practical device.

If you have never used a welding machine, we strongly do not recommend learning this difficult task on heating devices. Even if you really want to install homemade radiators at home, it is better to entrust their welding to a specialist.

Video: do-it-yourself heating

Most often computer scientists are asked, and not always professional ones. The fact is that in many system units an aluminum radiator is installed. It cools the hardware quite normally in a state of not very active work, but when you start many modern games, it is no longer able to cope with its work. Therefore, sometimes it is necessary to make a radiator from copper, a more heat-conducting metal. Of course, you can buy it, but the cost of creating it yourself is much lower. To create a radiator at home, you will need, first of all, the material itself - a highly thermally conductive metal. In this case, it's copper. It's hard enough to get it. You can contact the collection points of non-ferrous metals. It is necessary thin sheet from which the radiator plates will be made. Also, you need to get metal scissors in advance.

To connect copper plates and form a solid sheet on one side of them, you need a galvanic bath, for which you need to find a resistant to aggressive environments vessel. Before calculating the number of radiator sections, you need to measure the length and height of the area to be cooled. The height or length, depending on whether the plates are placed vertically or horizontally, must be marked so that the distance between the sections is 2-3 millimeters. Such frequent placement will achieve the best effect. Next, you need to take a thin sheet of copper and cut plates out of it. If it changes aluminum radiator on copper, it is convenient to cut copper plates to the size of aluminum ones. That is, before replacing the radiator, you can create a more perfect object in its likeness. So, the cut copper plates are collected in a stack and, on the one hand, are overgrown with each other using a galvanic bath. After that, you need to drill holes in all the plates for stringing them.

It is also important to separate the plates with a wire, which must be insulated. If everything is done correctly, on one side the plates will overgrow, and you will get a solid plane. Thus, the sole of the radiator is ready, the plates are well separated. If the heat sink was created for a computer, you must also drill holes corresponding to system unit. Thus, before choosing a radiator in a store, it is worth considering whether it is better to create it yourself? Yes, by appearance it will, of course, be inferior to the factory counterpart. However, often factory radiators, especially those manufactured small companies who value their reputation cannot ensure the reliability of a homemade item. And in the case of radiators produced just under the sign well-known brand, the price is usually too high radically.

Heating radiators from pipes can be made by hand.

Building supply stores have a large selection of heating equipment. Its use in some cases is not justified due to the high cost. Do-it-yourself heating radiators from pipes are used in garages, technical buildings and other office and industrial premises.

The manufacture of such batteries, as a rule, is carried out from materials that were in use. Such radiators are relatively inexpensive and quite functional. In enterprises, they are used quite widely due to their simplicity and sufficient efficiency. In closed-type heating systems, this type of device is beneficial to use for several reasons:

1. possibility of manufacturing available materials without the use of complex and special tools;
2. manufacturability of installation;
3. high reliability and easy operation and maintenance.

The cost of producing such heating equipment for an enterprise or a garage owner will consist only of time and labor costs.

Features of calculating the required number of batteries for heating

Cast iron or steel radiators have the same thermal conductivity, in fact they are varieties of iron. In the approved calculation methods, we proceed from the volumes of coolant in standard batteries. For one section of a cast-iron heating appliance, this value is one and a half liters. The heat dissipation of this element is from 150 to 170 watts.

One section of a cast-iron radiator can be replaced with a two-meter home-made device.

By simple calculations, it was found that 1 section will correspond to an approximately two-meter home-made heating device.

The standard cast-iron battery will be replaced by cylindrical radiators with a total length of 20 meters.

The compactness of such a large structure can be achieved if several segments are connected in parallel.

Such a scheme provides for the installation of pipes horizontally, which makes it possible to use convective processes to heat the air in the room.

Radiators made of steel pipes have a rather low efficiency. A cylinder with a given volume has the smallest area outer surface which limits its heat transfer. This disadvantage is compensated in only one way: by increasing the length of the registers. Such an increase is possible only up to certain limits and is limited by the size of the room.

Advice! An increase in the usable area of ​​heating devices made of pipes is possible due to their parallel arrangement in several tiers.

Individual registers are combined into a series-connected battery. The coolant passes through the first element of the system and through the bypass channel enters the second, changing direction to the opposite.

Required materials and equipment

Tubular heating radiators are produced in the vast majority of cases from rolled steel that has been decommissioned. You should first assess the degree of wear, especially the wall thickness. In heating systems, pressure can reach three or more atmospheres. A wall damaged by corrosion may not withstand and burst, which will lead to leakage of the coolant. When selecting pipes, it is recommended to carry out fault detection and condition control.

Before starting work, it is worth checking the fault detection and monitoring the condition of the pipes.

The most used standard sizes of rolled steel for making registers are 100 and 120 mm. Radiators made of such materials have optimal characteristics in terms of heat transfer and layout. The ends of heat engineering devices must be muffled, for which a steel sheet of the desired shape is used. In such heating systems, the registers are connected in serial order.

Bypass channels and fittings for connection are made of water pipes smaller diameter. In the vast majority of cases, in order to reduce costs, these materials are also taken from scrap metal collection points. The fittings are threaded to connect them to the heating circuits using couplings and spurs.

The technological cycle begins with the preparation of materials and cutting blanks of the required length. Radiators in different heating schemes have a certain configuration, therefore, when performing this operation, a sufficiently high accuracy is required. The cut is performed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the register.

Advice! A sheet of paper wrapped around a cylinder with the edges aligned gives a precise line for metalworking.

Welding it is better to trust a professional.

The ends of heating registers made of steel pipes of large diameter must be closed.

A round plug with a diameter of 105 or 125 mm, respectively, is cut out of a metal sheet with a thickness of at least 3.5 mm. This part must be welded to the end of the section. The seam is made by gas welding with tightness control.

At some distance from the edge, a hole for the bypass channel is cut out on the side surface of the register.

Radiators made of water pipes with a sufficiently large cross section are connected in sections.

Important! Welding work must be carried out by a highly qualified specialist who is able to ensure the quality and reliability of the seams.

The bypass channel provides a free flow of coolant from one part of the battery to another.

Radiators welded from metal pipes connected to the space heating system.

Registers of pipes of large diameter are installed in heating systems using couplings with pre-threaded threads and spurs. The inlet and outlet pipes cut into the plugs and are fixed in them with a welded seam. The assembled radiators must allow free passage of water from the supply point to the return manifold. Practice shows that it is not difficult to achieve this for sufficiently large cross sections.

Radiators welded from metal pipes are installed in their designated places and connected to the space heating system. Commissioning consists in filling the circuits with water or antifreeze and turning on the pumps. During the operation of pressure equipment, joints and seams are checked for leaks. Waste steel registers are ready to go.

Tubular radiators of industrial production

Industry also produces products of this kind. Steel tubular radiators are a heat engineering device consisting of lower and upper collectors. They are interconnected by tubes arranged vertically in two or three rows. Fins to increase the useful area on such devices are not installed. For collectors, a pipe with a diameter of 50 mm is used, for heat exchangers - 25 mm.

The heater is able to withstand a maximum pressure of up to 12 atm, and the use of pipes with a galvanized surface provides high resistance to corrosion. The thickness of the rolled steel used is 1.5 mm. There are two main layout schemes of such equipment with parallel and perpendicular arrangement of heat exchangers with respect to the collectors.

Taking into account specifications tubular batteries are recommended for use in multi-apartment residential buildings And public buildings. The design of these devices fits well into the design of rooms for various purposes and styles. The absence of sharp corners makes it possible to use them in preschool, educational and medical institutions. Due to the absence of fins, they are easily cleaned of dust and dirt.

There are many types of heaters on the heating market. But we have always been famous for craftsmen who still prefer to do everything on their own, including radiators. Given that these devices are made of pipes, they are rarely used in apartments. But in country houses, as well as garages, this device will be simply irreplaceable. If you think over its external design, it can become a designer piece of furniture.

Homemade requires caution

All modern factory-made radiators are technically complex devices.

Now you can buy those, during which two processes occur at once - heat radiation and convection.

1. When developing a particular heater, manufacturers take into account many factors. Used in manufacturing the latest technology, allowing to significantly increase their heat transfer, reducing the volume of the product and its temperature.
   Therefore, a home-made heater will not even be able to compare closely with a factory one in terms of:

• work efficiency;
• compactness;
• design.

Advice: before proceeding with the manufacture of the author's device, you should soberly assess the feasibility of this event.

Register Options

Let's take a look at some of the most commonly used:

Sectional

The design of such a device is quite simple and consists of pipes having different diameters. In appearance, it resembles a staircase. Pipes are placed parallel to each other, having large diameter by closing the ends with plugs. Pipes of smaller diameter act as elements connecting the entire structure. There may be additional elements - jumpers. In some cases, their presence may be important, since in addition to giving strength to the entire battery structure, they tend to increase heat transfer. Principle of operation: The liquid begins its journey through the pipes from above. From there, it passes down through the connector element, then, having passed along the entire length of the pipe, it flows through another branch pipe into the next section. It should be noted that the structures will have to experience constant pressure, and therefore, before starting operation, it is necessary to check the reliability of the welds.

Coil

The shape of these devices can be judged by their name. This heating device consists of elements connected to each other by welding. The coil does not have any intermediate connections and constrictions, and when the liquid circulates, its entire surface is heated. This allows the device to give off heat better at a lower coolant pressure.

Manufacturing

To make a battery with your own hands, you need to have at least the slightest skills in handling the equipment necessary for welding and cutting metal. At the same time, the size of the heater directly depends on the required power.

Power calculation

Since a liquid is used as a coolant, make the calculation according to a special formula based on the total area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe device and the degree of thermal conductivity of the material used in the manufacture of pipes. The best and easiest way is to use an ordinary cast iron battery as an example.

If the power of the cast-iron section, as a rule, is 160 W, and it holds 1.45 liters of liquid, a radiator consisting of ten sections can be replaced with several pipes that can hold ten times the amount of water.

According to the existing standard, for every 1 m² of living space there should be 1 kW of heating device power.

Tip: Increase your average heat output if your home's insulation leaves much to be desired.

In the photo - welding parts into one design

Training

You will need:

• 2 m of steel pipes with a thickness of at least 3.5 mm and Ø 120 mm;
• a sheet of steel of the same thickness for plugs;
• pipe used in plumbing systems;
• threaded elements for connecting pipes (spurs) Ø 25 mm - 2 pcs.;
• reinforcement for stiffening the structure;
• for accession of the device to system - carving connections.

Ideally, all these materials can be found in your country house or garage, then you only have to spend money on electrodes and electricity. If this is not available, you can contact the scrap metal collection points, where the price is much lower than the store price.

Tip: if the device is planned to be constantly used in a residential area, it is more advisable to purchase new pipes.

The main thing is not to buy pipes more than 120 mm in diameter. This can not only increase the volume of the coolant, which, in theory, should increase heat transfer, but also increase the load on the boiler. And this is already fraught with additional costs for paying for heating.

Process

The instruction will be as follows:

1. Cut the steel pipe into 3 equal parts.
2. Make holes in each of the received parts for connecting connecting pipes.

Tip: the holes should be located 50 mm from the ends and at different ends, as well as at an angle of 180 ° relative to each other.

1. cut out steel sheet round elements of the same diameter as the main pipe, they will serve as plugs.
2. Weld them to the ends.
3. Fix the pipes intended for water supply to the holes, and connect the pipes to each other using fittings. If the battery is large, then additional jumpers should be installed. The distance between the main pipes must be 5 mm larger than the diameter of the main pipe.
4. Check the finished radiator for leaks. To do this, the lower hole is closed, and water is supplied to the upper one, preferably under the same pressure that is maintained in the circuit. If no leaks are detected, the device is ready for operation and can be installed in the system.
5. Depending on the type of mounting - floor or wall, legs or brackets are welded to the radiator.

Tip: if natural circulation water, the radiator is installed at a slight slope in the direction of water movement.

It does not make sense to describe the manufacturing technology of the coil, since everything is produced in a similar way. The most important thing here is not to overdo it and not to take large-diameter pipes for the manufacture of the device.

Tip: the more crossbars you plan to make, the smaller the diameter you need to use pipes.

Output

Making a heating radiator with your own hands is a painstaking task, and also requires certain skills, knowledge and equipment. It may well replace a conventional battery when you need to heat a utility room or a room in a residential building. The video in this article will provide an opportunity to find Additional information on the above topic.