When and how to change batteries in an apartment

Why change batteries

When you need to replace batteries in an apartment

There are five reasons why you should do this.

The batteries are leaking. There is nothing to think about: if even a few drops of water appear on the radiators, they must be changed. Because sooner or later the drops will turn into a stream that will flow to the neighbors. And then, instead of spending several thousand rubles to buy a battery, you will have to pay tens of thousands to repair your own and neighboring apartments.
The room is cold. If you wear woolen socks every October and don't take them off until May, it makes sense to replace the radiators. Maybe the batteries in the apartment now do not warm up the rooms enough. This means that it is worth replacing them with devices with a higher heat dissipation. Maybe the radiators are designed to warm up the premises to the standard 19-21 ° C, and the residents are too thermophilic. Then it is worth buying batteries of a larger volume in order to better warm up the apartment.
The radiators look shabby. This is familiar to everyone who had classic cast-iron batteries in their apartment, whose paint sooner or later began to peel off. But relatively new radiators can also lose their presentable appearance, for example, if the manufacturer saved money and painted them in only one layer. Or, after repairs, chips and remnants of building materials appeared on them. All this reduces the reliability of the devices: where the paint has chipped off, rust appears faster and, over time, a leak forms.
The modernization of the heating system is planned. If 10 years ago, adjusting the temperature in a room using a vent was considered a normal thing, today there are more technological methods. For example, automatic thermostats or remote control of heating in an apartment via a smartphone are rapidly gaining popularity. Cast-iron radiators and convectors, which once seemed to be the crown of the creation of engineers, hardly fit into such systems, so they are being replaced with more modern heating devices.
The interior is being updated. Including after buying an apartment. This is probably the most common reason for replacing radiators. Sometimes old appliances are simply not visually appropriate for new room designs. And some apartment owners believe that if we do repairs, then change everything, including the batteries.

When is it better to do it

When the batteries are replaced in the apartment

Of course, if the radiators began to leak, there is no time to think about it - you need to start replacing it right away. In other cases, you should focus on the heating system.

Most Russian houses are equipped with a riser system - the same pipe that runs from floor to ceiling in every apartment and is sometimes partially hidden in the walls. If during the heating season the batteries are periodically disconnected because neighbors have started repairs, the house is like a riser system. In this case, if it is off, it is easier to postpone the replacement for the period from May to September, when the heating is turned off and the process will not cause inconvenience to other residents.

In some new buildings, a different system is used - apartment heating. This means that the riser is located at the entrance and on each floor separate pipes go from it to the apartments. The plumber can cut off the water supply to the radiators directly on the collector in your corridor, while heat will continue to flow to the neighbors. Thus, in case of apartment heating wiring, the batteries can be replaced at any time.

Is it possible to replace the radiators yourself

If the apartment owners do not have an engineering education specializing in heating systems, it is better to entrust the replacement of radiators to professionals. The slightest mistake can lead to the fact that the batteries will not heat up well or begin to leak.

For example, I am familiar with stories when, due to a lack of knowledge, batteries were connected to a hot water supply system. It seems to be logical: in order for the devices to heat up, hot water must flow into them. But no, radiators can only be connected to the pipes of the heating system, otherwise they will quickly become unusable.

Is it possible to self-replace batteries in the apartment

The fact is that in the heating system the same water is always used, which is used in a closed cycle. And if there are any harmful impurities in it, their effect on the metal of the battery is limited. In the hot water supply system, however, water flows in an open cycle and is constantly renewed, so new impurities will constantly appear, which will harm radiators over and over again.

Some apartment owners entrust the installation of batteries to teams that do other renovation work: laying floors, plastering walls, gluing wallpaper. But they often do not have engineering education, and they know about heating systems no more than the owner of the apartment.

The best option is to contact a specialist, at least a full-time plumber of the management company. At least, if problems arise, there will be someone to make a claim. The main thing is to get documents from the plumber or the management company about the replacement, because replacement without documents is no better than the work of an incomprehensible master from the Internet.

You can also use the services of specialized organizations. When choosing a contractor, it is important to pay attention to several points.

The company must have a license to install heating systems.
It is useful to read reviews of a potential contractor and understand how long they have been in the market.
It is necessary to conclude an agreement, which will indicate the terms of work, their list, cost and guarantees.
Finally, it is important that, following the replacement, the master pressurizes the system (this is also done in the summer). In this way, it will be possible to detect possible leaks, which must be eliminated by specialists. And only after that, it is worth signing an act of completion, which will come in handy if problems arise with radiators in the future.

Things to Consider When Selecting Batteries

Replacing batteries in an apartment: what you need to consider

If you look at the descriptions on the manufacturers' websites or listen to the sellers in stores, all the devices, of course, are equally beautiful. This radiator is good, but this one is the same, only different. In order to understand all this monotonous variety, it is worth considering the following:

Heating water quality … You can find out about it from the management company. For example, it is useful to pay attention to the pH value - acid-base balance. If it is below nine points, as in most Russian homes, then you can safely install aluminum batteries. If higher, water can have a destructive effect on aluminum and it is better to play it safe and choose bimetallic or steel panel radiators. In both of these devices, steel is in contact with water, which is resistant to high pH.
Heat dissipation of the device. Or, more simply, the amount of heat that it gives off to the room. At first glance, batteries that are identical, even made from seemingly the same material, can have different heat transfer. It's all about the surface area of the radiator, the thickness of the metal and its thermal conductivity. Of course, you can't guess by sight, so you need to look at the technical data sheet of the device and look for the maximum heat transfer rate. For example, in one section (95 mm deep) of a bimetallic battery it is 170-185 W / kg, and for an aluminum one - 185-195 W / kg.
Pressure, which the radiator can withstand. Russian heating systems, as you know, suffer from frequent pressure drops, and, although most modern devices cope with this, it will not be superfluous to check the indicator. On average, this parameter in central heating systems fluctuates around 10 atmospheres. Exactly the same working pressure for steel panel radiators. For aluminum and bimetallic ones, it is higher - up to 20 and 35 atmospheres, respectively.
Availability of a certificate. This is an item that has become mandatory since June 2018, when Russia had compulsory certification of heating devices. All batteries must be tested in laboratories to confirm the safety of operation and compliance with GOST. The lack of a certificate is a sure sign of a poor-quality radiator.
The reliability of the manufacturer. The term of work on the market is important here, and for foreign brands - the presence of an official Russian representative office. A plus will be insurance, which guarantees reimbursement of expenses if the device turns out to be defective. In general, batteries produced at European and Russian factories are distinguished by decent characteristics. But it is better to refrain from buying Chinese-made products, because it often turns out.