Governale Radiators (smell)
Last winter Gateway Plumbers installed two new Governale cast iron radiators in our apartment. We had no idea at the time that we were meant to have them painted first. They were installed “as is” so they had, as we later discovered, a coat of grey primer and that’s it. In retrospect, we feel like Gateway should have told us to have them painted. It seems obvious now, but we had no clue. One of them in particular smelled horrible for a long time last winter– probably up to a month. When the smell dissipated, we were relieved, and were hesitant to go through getting them uninstalled, painted in a auto body shop (?), and then deal with another month of off-gassing. So, this winter comes around, and at first, all is OK, no smell. (Just the ugly look of dark grey clunky radiators.) Then our building’s furnace is replaced a few weeks ago and suddenly that one radiator is very smelly again. We think maybe the heat is now fully working, so more off gassing? We also see the primer is starting to peel in one section of the smelly one. Opinions? Will the smell every go away? Do we need to paint them? Is there a low VOC heat resistant paint to use? Is there any way to paint them “in house” with a low VOC paint that will stand up to heat? It seems expensive and a hassle to send them out. Advice appreciated. We don’t have much more $$ to spend on these things and willing to paint ourselves if that is even possible. Thanks.
elisenew
in Plumbers and Plumbing 10 years and 6 months ago
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19 replies
11211 | 10 years and 3 months ago
We had a new grey radiator put in by our plumber and have same problem with smell It smells less and less every year though Let us know if painting it stops it from smelling IMO the company shouldn’t put smelly primer on the radiators because as Master Plvmber pointed out the vast majority are not painted
deanbh | 10 years and 5 months ago
we have these radiators and love them, look way better and less visual clutter than what are in the other apartments. the answer to your problem is just head over to home depot etc and get “white VHT” spray cans. You’ll need to spray them outdoors though (our builder just laid some newspaper out on the roof and did 3 coats over 3 days). yes they smell for the first day or two each season but that’s just the dust being “burnt off” I keep thinking i’ll vacuum them before each winter but keep forgetting. we got ours from Hicks Street Plumbing & Heating supply store in Brooklyn (stock item, just walk in and tell them what length you want).
cmu | 10 years and 6 months ago
Regular paint seems to work fine on radiators, all of mine are going on 10 years since painting & no peeling. I painted one myself, and while it’s not pristine (try getting that with an old radiator,) it looks fine afa paint adhesion is concerned.
steam_man | 10 years and 6 months ago
MP thanks for the laugh this morning.
sethamin | 10 years and 6 months ago
Since you pushed back, I went back and re-read the book where I remember reading that. And lo and behold, it says that the surface temperature of a radiator should not get above…220 degrees. Mea culpa. I stand corrected.
Master Plvmber | 10 years and 6 months ago
Don’t tell people something is wrong with their steam heating system if their radiators reach 200°.
sethamin | 10 years and 6 months ago
Yes, of course, but the radiator is made out of a lot of cast iron with a very large heat capacity. It should take many cycles to pump enough energy to bring it up past 200 degrees. It’s possible, of course, but only if the boiler were running continuously for a while. That shouldn’t really happen in the steady state of a steam heating system. Perhaps if you had some really low setbacks, or just came back from vacation, but not on a daily basis.
Master Plvmber | 10 years and 6 months ago
The temperature of steam at 1 psi is 215°. Just saying.
sethamin | 10 years and 6 months ago
I’ll second NeoGrec’s point – you don’t need to use high heat paint. I’ve used regular spray paint on radiators in my house, and it works fine. It should be safe for temperatures up to 200 degrees. If your radiators are getting hotter than that, then something is wrong in your heating system.
NeoGrec | 10 years and 6 months ago
In my experience, high heat paint isn’t necessary. Our house still has its original radiators dating probably from the 1930s (before that the house had a forced hot air system). We used high heat matte black paint on many of them which looks great, by the way, from a decorating perspective. But in the bathrooms and bedrooms we just used the semi-gloss version of the Benjamin Moore wall paint to help the rads “disappear”. We also used semi-gloss on all the risers, for the same reason. We have seen absolutely no difference in wear and tear over about 15 years.
nyc_sport | 10 years and 6 months ago
Go to an auto parts store and buy some engine primer and paint. If you like the look of cast iron, several companies make “cast iron” engine paint, including VHT and duplicolor. Or, order it online at eastwood.com Definitely can’t be done while the heat is on, but it is a DYI job
resident2 | 10 years and 6 months ago
Most plumbers do not paint radiators unless specifically asked to, from my experience. Mostly because they are not in the decorating business. You may want designer radiator covers or silver or white, or who knows what color to match your decorating. But yes, you can paint them yourself without disconnecting them. It is probably better to paint them during a time that the heat will not be on for a few days, to give the paint time to properly dry and settle. But just use any heat resistant paint, it comes in spray cans which is probably easiest, just take the time to mask all the walls and floors all around each radiator, and be careful to mask the valves and turn on/off levers etc.
MDR | 10 years and 6 months ago
We used Rustoleum hi-heat spray paint for our cast iron radiators and after it is dry there is no smell at all. You could easily do it yourself, just mask the area you don’t want painted.
elisenew | 10 years and 6 months ago
Gennady: Many thanks for this tip. As I wrote in the OP, the new furnace (2 weeks ago) coincided with a reoccurrence of the smell. We attributed that to just more burning off now that the furnace works properly. But you are suggesting it’s possibly getting too hot and that seems plausible given the timing. We will look into this as a possible cause. Thanks again.
ellenlourie | 10 years and 6 months ago
I would look at steam pressure. Probably set too high, and temperature is off limit. Boiler must be re-adjusted for lower steam pressure to bring steam radiator temperature down.
Master Plvmber | 10 years and 6 months ago
Ok. I remember we went through this last year. And I remember I called Governale to ask them the same question and got a different answer. I don’t know the best way to pain cast iron radiators on the cheap. THere’s a way, but you want to minimize off-gassing. Maybe someone else can answer, but I can find out tomorrow if you want to give me a call in my office at (718/212) 980-0909
elisenew | 10 years and 6 months ago
Master Plumber: Thanks for your response. We did put a call in last year to Gateway, and we were assured that the smell would go away within weeks. In speaking with Governale at the same time, the person we spoke with said that the paint they leave with is a primer, and meant to be sealed with a heat resistant paint prior to installation. Can you suggest a solution now that would not involve un-installing these? Also, only one of them smells. They do seem to have different paint finishes. The one that does not smell is slightly more matte and darker grey. The one that does smell is slightly shinier and a little lighter grey. Aesthetically, we are far less concerned than with the smell. Will painting them with a top coat “seal” in the smell of the primer? Or, can we expect that it will eventually burn off? It just seems to be taking an abnormally long time (second winter now…) -Thanks
GreenThinker | 10 years and 6 months ago
Since there’s already primer on it. I’d go with a benjamin Moore paint. But if it’s peeling, personally I’d sand those spots, paint it with benjamin Moore oil primer, followed by a quality paint from them. Do this when the heating system is turned off and kept off for a day as it dries.
Master Plvmber | 10 years and 6 months ago
Of the 30 or so Governale radiators we install every year, the only ones that we ever see getting painted, maybe 4 or 5 of them, are done because an architect or designer arranged to have them professionally finished before installation. I really feel like you could’ve called me or my office to ask about this since you named us in the post.