I recently added some new hot water base board radiators. They are standard slant fin 30 series. The heat from these things is great, much much better than the older ones in the house (the older ones are circa 1955 and they older one give off ok heat)
Every year I blow out the fins on the older base boards with a compressor and this year I even tried steam cleaning one (didn’t really help).
Do the newer base boards just give off more heat than the older ones? Are there different BTU ratings in base boards?
Do they sell just the tubing and fins alone or are they only sold with the enclosures?
If they did just sell the tubing and fins would it be better to replace everything (tube, fin and enclosure) anyway?
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Replies
"Do the newer base boards just give off more heat than the older ones? "
You have your own proof already, but in most cases, the answer is yes. Actually, it would depend on materials of construction, condition (internal tube corrosion and outside) and to some extent, the design of the enclosure.
"Do they sell just the tubing and fins alone or are they only sold with the enclosures?
If they did just sell the tubing and fins would it be better to replace everything (tube, fin and enclosure) anyway?"
Yes, the tube with fins on it is called the "element" and is sold in 1/2' increments up to 14 or 16 feet. Is it better to change the enclosure? Up to you. New residential baseboards that I have seen in recent years are flimsy and cheap.