Many apartments and houses are equipped with gas boilers, they are quite economical and efficient. The heat exchanger for geysers is the main working element along with the burner. The life of the equipment depends on the quality of its manufacture. In the article you will learn what materials radiators are made of, why they are needed, and how to do it yourself.
How is the heat exchanger
A heat exchanger, or radiator, is designed to heat water from a burner. The stream flows through the tubes of the coil, instantly warming up from burning fuel. Most often, the block is steel or copper. How much does the device weigh? Copper device - from 3 to 3.5 kg. The steel apparatus is much heavier, for this reason it has a lower efficiency.
Features of steel product:
- Lower cost in comparison with copper.
- Due to the plasticity of the material, heating does not harm the surface.
- It is resistant to corrosion.
Copper device:
- It has high efficiency, fast heating.
- Products that contain additional impurities are cheaper.
- Resistance to corrosion.
- Light weight if it is pure copper.
Trying to reduce the cost of production, manufacturers add impurities to copper. Because of this, the radiator heats up unevenly, which leads to the burning of individual parts.Some cover the surface with heat-resistant paint, but this brings few results. Service life does not exceed 2-3 years.
Copper is more resistant to corrosion than steel. Most manufacturers do not indicate how much copper is spent on the production of the product, convincing that the heat exchanger is made of a thick layer.
To prolong the operation of the device, install water filters. They soften and purify the liquid from impurities that settle on the parts in the form of scale.
How much does a gas boiler radiator replacement cost? If you consider the purchase of a new device, delivery and installation, it will be cheaper to repair the heat exchanger.
Radiator Repair
Let’s figure out what to do if your column is broken.
Cleaning
In one of the publications, we wrote how to clean the gas column as a whole. Let's consider washing the heat exchanger in more detail.
If you notice that the column has become worse in heating water or the pressure has decreased, clean it. Salts of potassium and magnesium settle on the walls, clog the coil tubes. Therefore, descaling is required at least once a year.
How to clean:
- Shut off the water and gas supply.
- Remove the device cover. Often it is mounted on the two lower screws.
- Lift the cover up, pull it towards you.
- The plates are cleaned from dust with a brush or vacuum cleaner.
Rinse the product at home using citric and hydrochloric acid. The latter must be used very carefully in case of severe contamination. You can use a watering can or pump to create fluid circulation through the coil.
- Find the handset that goes from the electronic unit to the radiator.
- Unplug her.
- Open the mixer; you can loosen the nut so that the water drains better.
- Connect the rubber hoses to the inlet and outlet of the product, having previously disconnected the nozzles.
- Place the heat exchanger over a large capacity bath.
- Pour a solution of hydrochloric acid (5-15%) from the watering can into the inlet. Repeat the flushing cycle at least 5 times.
- Then flush the coil under the tap until the water is clear.
To clean with citric acid, do this:
- Dilute 100 g of powder in 350 l of water.
- Pour the solution inside with a watering can.
- You can leave it to stand for 30 minutes or place it in a container of water and heat on a stove until the scale descends.
Then the product is dried and connected in the reverse order.
Some users use the calcination method, but it is more risky. To do this, the radiator is evenly heated by the burner until the scale inside is cracked. Then it is washed with small portions of water.
Soldering and repairing damage
We described the soldering process in detail in the article "How to solder a gas column". Recall that it is possible to solder corrosion damage using a soldering iron with a power of 100 W or a gas burner. POS-61 solder and flux are also used.
What to do if the heat exchanger burns out? How to glue the device? Copper and tin patches will come in handy. Can lids can be used.
Galvanized sheet is not recommended. At temperatures above 70 degrees, zinc melts and releases toxic substances.
You can fix the patch with a rivet. It is necessary to make holes around the hole with nails and fix the plate with wire.
Also, cold welding can be used to eliminate leaks. The material is kneaded to a plastic state and superimposed on damage. Wait until it hardens and you can operate the radiator.
This is how you can independently return the column to working capacity. During disassembly, do not forget about safety rules, shut off the gas supply.
The video shows the repair of the gas column: