Radiators that don't corrode

[Rollercoaster1920]

Inspired by the cast iron thread on here today. We have some 7 year old designer white bar radiators that are corroding where the fittings go in, and chip crazy easily. They will need to be replaced. So what is a fit and forget option?

My stainless steel towel rail still is immaculate and was a good buy over chromed steel, but rads need to be white I suppose.

So what is a good buy?

Pipes are 15mm, mainly copper but some modern push fit used by the last lot (to my annoyance).

All radiators are likely to corrode as you have the three things you need for rust in your central heating system. You can lessen how quickly corrosion happens mind, by doing a few different things. Having inhibitor, a system magnet, a pressurised system and any leaks sealed on your central heating system are the easiest things to do. Also, making sure you don't have wet rooms and chipped paint on the outside of the radiator makes them last longer too. Most column radiators you, get can come in a large range of colours nowadays too, so you shouldn't be limited to choosing just white. Stelrad are a well known and reliable company, but you do pay a slight bit more for the name. Stay away from b&q/screwfix rads, as they are rubbish. I would personally, get an heating engineer out to check why your seven year old radiators have already started to rust, as that is a very short space of time for that to be happening.

Thanks. Current rads are rusting due to being rubbish. I think they weren't properly prepared for paint by the manufacturer. The original fitter said they chipped easily, and he was right. Valves needed lots of tape to stay watertight. The bleed valves and blanks were leaking last year so I got them replaced. Those little leaks make rust around the caps. Plus a few chips from young children.

So I think these rads were a bad buy due to poor quality. So what would be a good buy?

Stelrad concord are similar to my current rads so are an option, the pipe entry is horizontal rather than vertical though.

Are aluminium rads an option?

I've not seen aluminium radiatorsas of yet, and I wouldn't expect to see any for a while, as you would need to find a way to strengthen the metal and not lose heat so quickly.
I would recommend stelrad, kartell rads or if you are looking for a little cheaper, wolseley centre brand rads.
You will always need at least four wraps of ptfe tap (I use use gas tap, which is thicker than the water tap) when the tails are fitted. Rerouting the pipe work is never to difficult for anyone to do, so if there is a different entry point, that shouldn't be a problem.
If there does look to be anything wrong with your radiators next time, see about getting them replaced.

I’d check these guys out as they have both aluminium and stainless with what appears to be a wide range:

www.designerradiatorsdirect.co.uk/aluminium-radiators
www.designerradiatorsdirect.co.uk/stainless-steel-radiators

Disclaimer: I don’t work for them or have any affiliation!