I just discovered a leak in the radiator in my daughter's room. Water is dripping from the joint between the first and 2nd "column". The radiator is approx 2 feet long (6 columns) and between 3 and 4 feet high. The only marking I found was THATCHER on the top of one of the ends. I didn't find any other markings, but there's a lot of flaked layers of paint so they may be obscured.

My question is, is this something that I can fix myself or is it something that would require pulling the radiator and taking it somewhere special, or worse yet, replacing it completely? I purchased some metal epoxy at Home Depot that I was told would hold up to the heat and humidity once it has cured. However, it's a putty type substance, where I was under the impression that products such as JB Weld were more of a liquid. I thought that I might be able to do this repair myself because I remember an old post that said this type of material could be a fix for a steam pipe. I'm reasonably certain that the radiator is cast iron and is original to the house, so it's probably from the late 1930's.

Any feed back on this would be appreciated.

-Matt

 

You could try the epoxy and it might get through winter but probably not. You will need to shut this one down and take the pressure off b4 attempting a patch.

There may be some bolts on the ends that may tighten up but it sounds more like its corroded. The only way to tell if it can be properly repaired is to remove and inspect it. Then you'll know if it needs replaced.