Radiators - 2nd hand/recycled/thrown out

Anybody know where i could get old house radiators? Looking to kit out my house and wondering where is the cheapest place to get some.
Thanks.

Do you mind if I ask you, is there a reason (other than cheaper) that you are going for old radiators - i.e are you looking for a victorian house? The reason I ask is that we are replacing, but my brother in law helped me in my research, it is false economy keeping ours. In that replacing them with newer rads will make make the heating of our house better. In that the rads will be of better spec than the old ones.
P

Old rads could be fairly clogged up and will be prone to rusting - as Pinkybear says, unless the 'look' is very important I wouldn't bother. Rads aren't maybe as expensive as you might think.

You don't want to use old radiators. They could be partially blocked with sludge, or they could be corroded and about to leak.
Also as PB says modern rads will have convector fins on them and be more efficient.
They're not recyclable, either, surprisingly.

Flase ecomony buying raditors second hand unless you are going for a certain look. Plumbing merchants have price lists for myson and other brands but buying a batch you would not pay anywhere near the list price. You'll be surprised how relatively inexpensive new ones are.

Think of it like lightbulbs. Buy a CFC and save €20 over its lifespan.
Buy an efficient rad and save €200 over its lifespan. Those figures was pulled out of a hat but efficency fall off on old rads more than likely have been calculated and details would possibly be on the web somewhere.

Hoagy said:

They're not recyclable, either, surprisingly.

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How come?

I could have sworn that the local recycling centre takes them as "scrap metal" but I could be wrong...

Caveat said:

How come?

I could have sworn that the local recycling centre takes them as "scrap metal" but I could be wrong...

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Cost me €24 on Saturday to get rid of 6 radiators and 2 lawnmowers at Kilcullen.
I was a bit surprised.

Hoagy said:

Cost me €24 on Saturday to get rid of 6 radiators and 2 lawnmowers at Kilcullen.
I was a bit surprised.

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So although you have to pay, the recycle centre will take them - is that what you're saying? Or was this just a dump?

Caveat said:

So although you have to pay, the recycle centre will take them - is that what you're saying? Or was this just a dump?

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Yes I think that's more or less it.
This was certainly a dump.

Just to clarify, is it old cast iron radiators, the type you see in schools/hospitals/pubs, or just second hand cheap stuff your looking for?

I recently bought some old schoolhouse ones in Reclamation yard onSCR, am well pleasedwith them, heat given out is incredible much hotter than the ordinary ones. Am in siuth Dublin if you care to visit to look at them installed?? Just a thought. Cost us 400 for 3 large sized ones.

Muffin

Is it possible to buy new rads with the old style look??? maybe a opening for them as they are much easier on the eye and the only concern is that the old ones may be patially blocked. I am looking at a self build down the road and had thought that the old school/house style rads would be great.

anyone any idea if they are still made and are made to modern spec but the look is still ols school?

Ronan 2008,
Yeah you can get new 'old style' rads. I saw them in precision heating in ballycoolin. Made in Italy. Don't know a thing about them apart from that... i was in there for something else and they caught my eye as I recently did up some old ones myself and put them in the house.

Thanks for the reply. How did you find using the old onmes, expensive??? are you concerned with durability?? Efficiency etc..

Theres a little bit of work involved with them alright. I got mine for nothing (in my line of work we come across them from time to time). I paid around €75 each to get them sand-blasted and primed, then i spray painted them black myself. They also need to be well flushed out as theres bound to be alot of sludge in them. Of course you can get others to do all this for you and buy them fully restored for around €500 each in the salvage shops in town.But if you can get them 'raw' you'll save a packet.
I have to say though all the effort with them was well worth it...they look the business. I'm only moved into the house since the summer but so far so good. Whether or not there as efficient as modern radiators I can't say either way. To me though they heat up fairly quick and hold there heat for a good while after the heat goes off. I put plenty of effort into insulating the house so i'm not too worried if my rads are a bit less efficient. There 'part of the furniture' in a way modern type cheap white ones couldn't be.