DIY installation and installation of heating radiators

Recommendation points

• Marking for fastening
• Features of mounting radiators
• Radiator piping
• Network connection

The need to install new radiators may arise not only during a major overhaul. Replacing batteries and installing modern piping will increase heating efficiency even in a central heating system. And you can install and connect the radiator with your own hands.

Marking for fastening

The standard location for the radiator is the wall under the window opening. According to SNiP 3.05.01–85 (p. 3.23), the battery on the side of the riser should not go beyond the border of the window opening, and the coincidence of their axes is not necessary. But in order for the battery to look harmonious in the interior, it must be located symmetrically relative to the vertical axis of the opening. Therefore, first, this axis is beaten off by level..

The second step is to beat the horizontal level of the battery position and ensure alignment when connecting the connections to the fittings.

But there is one feature – the horizontal channels of the radiator must be oriented strictly according to the level, and the pipes of the direct and return flow must have a slight slope relative to the flow of the coolant. These angles are needed to reduce the force of resistance to flow and to reduce the risk of airing the battery. The slope value is very small – 5–10 mm for a liner length of more than 50 cm (SNiP 3.05.01–85 p. 3.18), and steel liner pipes with a length of less than 1.5 m are not attached to the wall. And if the battery is replaced with reference to an existing wiring, then, for example, for a one-pipe system with a riser, an upward (or downward) shift in position can level the slope of the forward (or reverse) feed.

The very position of the radiators must ensure that the following conditions are met:

• distance from the floor – more than 6 cm;
• distance from the windowsill – more than 5 cm;
• distance from the wall – more than 2.5 cm.

Features of mounting radiators

The most demanding for the strength of the fastening and base are cast iron radiators. In addition to the weight of the product itself, the internal volume of the section also plays a role. If the volume of the popular series of cast-iron radiators MC-140 can reach almost 1.5 liters, then for an aluminum radiator it is no more than 0.5 liters, and for bimetallic radiators it is even less.

When calculating the number of brackets, they are guided by the provisions of clause 3.25 of SNiP 3.05.01–85 – one bracket per 1 sq. m of the heating area of ​​the cast-iron battery (but there should be at least three of them). The heating area of ​​one section depends on its type. For example, for the M-140, it is 0.254 sq. m, and for a battery of 12 sections, four brackets are already needed.

If the battery is mounted on three brackets, the mounting pattern looks like this: two points at the bottom, one in the middle at the top. The four brackets are installed in pairs on top of each other. And the bend of the bracket should wrap around the neck of the radiator (the junction of two adjacent sections).

Fastening of bimetallic and aluminum radiators follows the same scheme as cast iron. And the reason is no longer in the weight of the battery and the coolant, but in the thin walls of the steel liners of bimetallic products, in the low resistance to mechanical stress of aluminum and in the weak strength of the threaded connections of individual sections of both types of radiators. Therefore, they also need at least three points of support..

Cast iron radiators are installed on brackets with dowels fixed in concrete and brick walls. For bimetallic and aluminum radiators, the brackets can also be attached to wooden walls.

In other cases, for installation, you must use two floor stands with fixing to the wall of the upper part of the radiator. If the number of sections is more than ten, then three stands are needed.

Radiator piping

The sectional radiator itself is a “semi-finished product” that cannot be connected to the system. Especially considering that it has a right-hand thread on one side and a left-hand thread on the other. This feature is dictated by the method of connecting individual sections into a battery through a nipple, which has two sections with multidirectional threads and a gasket between them.

To connect the battery to the system, you need special fittings (sleeves) and plugs.

The minimum set of additional elements for connecting a cast-iron battery includes two fittings and two plugs. Depending on the characteristics of the heating system and the side from which the connections are connected, the external thread of the plugs and fittings can be left or right. And the inner thread of the futorok is always right.

If the cast-iron battery needs to be equipped with a Mayevsky crane or an automatic radiator air vent, then instead of the upper plug, another hood is screwed in.

For aluminum and bimetallic radiators, ready-made kits are sold, which consist of four sleeves (in pairs with left and right external threads), one plug for the size of the internal thread of the foot and one Mayevsky tap (plus a key for it).

Of course, a Mayevsky tap or an automatic air vent are optional, but they make it possible to deflate the airlock formed in the battery.

Another recommended piping element for the central heating system battery is ball valves for supply and return. They make it possible to repair or replace the battery without stopping the system when a leak appears in it, as well as to increase the number of sections if there is a lack of thermal power to heat the room..

For an autonomous heating system, instead of a ball valve for supply, it is better to install a manual or automatic thermostat.

Taps and thermostats are connected to the battery through the “American”, and the way they are connected to the piping depends on the pipe material.

Network connection

For self-connection to propylene pipes, you need to have a special soldering iron.

There are two connection options:

1. If the radiator valve is made of propylene, then its plastic pipe is connected by soldering directly to the liner. Then the metal end piece of the “American” is screwed from the tap and screwed into the radiator foot using a flax-paste winding or FUM tape for tightness of the connection. After that, the “American” is assembled again and the union nut is tightened with a wrench.

2. If the radiator valve is metal, then a combined detachable coupling with an internal thread is used to connect to the plastic connection. According to the principle of connection, such a coupling is similar to a metal “American”, but the union nut is located on a plastic end switch for soldering. The plastic part of the coupling is soldered to the supply pipe through the connecting fitting. The clutch is disassembled, the reciprocal metal part is screwed onto the valve body with a winding and then assemble it again, tightening the union nut with a wrench.

1 – “American”; 2 – ball valve; 3 – combined split coupling; 4 – polypropylene coupling; 5 – polypropylene liner

When connecting to a metal connection, you must first connect a ball valve or a thermostat to the pipe. Knowledge of welding skills is not necessary – the connection of valves to the pipe can be done using a threaded connection. To do this, a thread must be cut on the cut part of the liner. This is done with a klupp. A set of heads and mandrels with one or two handles is quite expensive, but you can buy only one die head of a specific size, and use a regular gas wrench as a mandrel with a handle. The sequence of work will look like this:

• the pipes of the liner are cut with a grinder to the desired size, trying to ensure that the plane of the cut is perpendicular to the axis of the pipe;
• clean the end of the pipe from rust and make a small chamfer with a file;
• lubricant is applied to the working section of the pipe and the klupp cutters;
• push the head onto the chamfer;
• center it relative to the pipe axis;
• holding the head with your hand, with the help of a gas wrench, begin to turn it clockwise.

As a result, it is necessary to obtain a section with a thread with a size approximately equal to the long part of a standard squeegee (for example, for a 3/4 pipe – 45 mm).

Then a lock nut is screwed onto this section (for Dу 3/4 its thickness is 9 mm) and a coupling (for Dу 3/4 its length is 36 mm). The inlet of the ball valve is combined with the liner and the coupling is displaced from the liner to the thread of the valve body (of course, using flax or FUM tape winding). Then a winding is screwed onto the thread next to the coupling and the locknut is distilled.

1 – “American”; 2 – valve; 3 – clutch; 4 – lock nut; 5 – threaded liner

Important! The handle of the tap should be up or out of the wall for easy use.

After the shut-off valve (or thermostat) is rigidly and hermetically connected to the liner, it is connected through the “American” to the radiator housing.