Radiator grille functions
The use of decorative products for batteries gives their owners a number of advantages:
- The radiators are effectively disguised, which transforms the room, maintaining a unified and unique interior style.
- Radiators are protected from dust, which makes it easier to care for them and increases the service life.
- Household members are protected from the possibility of accidental burning or bumping into protruding parts of the radiator.
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If you design and build a shield on the radiator yourself, you can endow it with additional features:
- Proper design of the screen will help air flows to evenly distribute across the room.
- The upper lid can be made in the form of a shelf for books, lamps, interior trinkets.
- The screen can be equipped with a folding table for a nice cup of tea or read a book.
- Providing an overlay with hooks, the owner of the shield will get a clothes dryer during the heating season.
With a variety of materials on the market, their colors and textures, a rich imagination and a little experience, you can create an exclusive screen that fits perfectly into the interior and will perform all its functions. Today the openwork model is quite popular.
How to make a screen for a radiator
To make yourself a frame of the screen of the battery heating is not difficult, you just need to saw, to the size of the walls of the screen of Laminated chipboard and connect to each other in any way. The ends of the boards must be laminated with furniture edging, the same that will be used to make a decorative grid. Since the depth of the screen for the battery is not great, the material for the walls can serve as scraps of laminated chipboard, which are in abundance in the shops for the manufacture of furniture. I made the connections with the help of angles and furniture screws. screws. I do not dwell on the technology of manufacturing the screen enclosure for the radiator, because there is nothing complicated here.
Once looking at the basket woven from vines, I “fell ill” with the idea of weaving a grate on the radiator. After analyzing the available materials, my choice fell on the furniture edging with thermal adhesive on the back side. The range of colors is wide, heat-resistant, thin, strong enough. It turned out to be the ideal material for making with my own hands the grille of the screen on the heating radiator.
How the furniture selvage for the screen grille is woven can be clearly seen in the photo.
To make the grating of the heating battery screen, you need to calculate the required length of the selvedge. It is very simple. Measure the area of the planned grid, determine what length is needed to weave one square meter, divide the area of the grid by the length of the edge, occupying a square meter. Multiply the result by 1.3. The received number will be the required length of the edging.
Example: I have a screen grating of 0.56m×0.48 m, the area is equal to 0.27 m 2. Edge width is 0,018 m. Divide 0.27/0.018 = 15. Multiply by 1.3. You need about 20 m. Calculation is of course approximate, but accurate enough for the task. 20 spent on fasteners. The total of 100 for the grid!
There are two ways of fastening the edge to the case of the heating radiator screen, using 8 mm nails or staples.
Although I have a furniture stapler, I preferred nails. The choice was due to the fact that when weaving was finished, we had to detach some of the ends in order to get the binding right. Take the nails out and hammer them in again. Though clips are easy to drive in, but it is very time-consuming to take them out. Therefore, it is better not to hammer the nails completely, so that it is easy to take them out later. When the weaving is finished, it is easy to tap them until they are completely sunk.
Small nails are not as easy to drive as they look at first sight. So, to hold them until the first swing of the hammer, I used a surgical tool with the frightening name “hemostatic clamp”.
As you see, it is very easy to hammer a nail with the clamp. The main thing is that your fingers will be safe.
Functionally, it’s the same as tweezers, but the distinctive feature is that you can hold small objects without using the muscular power of your fingers. Thanks to three toothed clamps, the clamping force can be adjusted in steps. The tool is indispensable when working with small parts. Wrap a screw in a hard-to-reach place, or hold a small nut, put through a cord or string, and little else, with this clip is no problem. If you don’t already have one, I suggest getting one at medical supply stores.
In order that the cells of the radiator screen were all the same size it is useful to make a template, which is a small plate of any material with a thickness equal to the width of the holes. I made the weaving of the edges in such a way that the diamonds turned out to be the same. If you fix the opposite ends of the edge at different distances, you get a fan change in the size of the cells. Here is where to turn the imagination. A matter of taste.
After weaving and sinking the nails, to give the resulting lattice stiffness, you should warm it with an iron at 150-200˚ C, ironing on the front side. The glue will soften and the edges of the screen will stick to each other after cooling down, forming a fairly rigid structure. The same need to stick the same edge of the screen ends for the heating battery. The process is very simple. Apply the edge and iron with a hot iron. Protruding edges are easily cut off with a shoemaker knife. The resulting sharp corners are removed with fine sandpaper.
As a rule, the manufacture of screens on the radiators begins with a choice of necessary material of which this screen will be created. This parameter determines the quality and efficiency of heat transfer.
- Plastic screens for batteries. This material is considered one of the worst, as it is quite expensive and has a low heat dissipation. over, it is much less flexible than metal, so even wooden screens for radiators in this case are better suited. And the most important disadvantage of this material is its instability to high temperatures, which leads to corrosion and deformation of the entire screen construction.
- Metal screens. The metal has good thermal conductivity, and it’s also reasonably priced. Although the use of such material requires a good skill of working with metal elements, as well as a large set of necessary construction tools, which not every amateur can boast of.
- Wooden screens for batteries. The advantages of this material is considered good appearance, good flexibility and the ability to create a variety of structures. As disadvantages we can note a rather low thermal conductivity. Although even this negative indicator can be turned in favor, with competent installation and manufacturing
Alternatives can also be glass screens for heating batteries, as well as screens from plasterboard. The latter option seems incredible, mainly because plasterboard is easily deformed when exposed to high temperatures. Nevertheless, by applying ingenuity and a little extra effort, even a drywall screen can be with a higher level of heat transfer than a standard radiator.
What are the functions of the flaps for heaters?
Not all models of radiators are a decoration of the room. Many of them do not fit into the design of the apartment. But in winter it is impossible to do without them: heating devices create a good microclimate in the house. By installing a special screen on the cast iron radiator, you can improve the situation. In this case, the shutters perform a decorative function. Today there are many different such grilles on sale.
In addition, these elements make the batteries safer. For example, prevent children from sharp corners of heaters and burns that can occur when touching the device. Protect the screens for cast-iron heating batteries and from dirt, dust. Among other things, such elements not only do not prevent the heating of the room, but even improve the heat transfer.
But in principle, the price of the screens on the heating batteries is quite acceptable. True, as a savings, some people prefer to make the screen themselves. It is not difficult at all. But to perform such a job, you need to understand what kind of screens there are by design, what materials can be used and how they are made.
Functions. Pros and cons of individual types
In addition to their main function (camouflage), the screens for heating radiators perform other tasks. Let us consider these tasks in more detail:
- such a design prevents the accumulation of dust layer in the heater sections;
- screens for heating radiators also perform a protective function, protecting children from possible injuries and burns;
- the flap can serve as a shelf or an entire cabinet in which you can store various kitchen utensils;
- such a design can be equipped with hooks and dry clothes in winter.
If you decide to make a screen for the radiator with their own hands, then experts recommend using wood as a manufacturing material. Wood is the most convenient and easy to handle material. Wooden screens are environmentally friendly and do not emit any harmful substances that can be harmful to human health.
The screen can be made so that it serves as a shelf
Note! It is desirable to cover the wooden construction with protective compounds that will protect this material from deformation.
You can make a metal screen yourself. However, it is more difficult to perform a metal screen for the battery with their own hands. Made of metal structures in the form of a flap or decorative lace. Are characterized by durability and high strength.
Wood chipboard, fiberboard refer to materials that are, although short-lived, but very easy to handle. Parts for the screen construction can be cut from these materials even by eye, but it is better by a pre-prepared stencil.
Plastic screens are not as popular as wooden ones. This is due to the fact that they under the influence of high temperatures emit substances harmful to human health.
Structures made of glass are considered the most difficult, in terms of execution with their own hands, so they are bought ready-made. Such a screen can be decorated in any way and is a stylish solution that can fit into any interior.
Material and tools
The screen for the battery is easiest to make from wood, chipboard (plain or laminated) or thick plywood. In this case the front part. the panel of the screen. you can buy in the store ready-made, or make it yourself, for example, weave in the form of “lattice” furniture edging (with the bottom layer of thermal adhesive).
To make a heat reflective screen behind the radiator you will need a foil backing made of polystyrene of any thickness, scissors and glue (you can “Bustilat” or PVA).
About heat dissipation
The radiator, hidden behind an elegant decorative screen, will add positive emotions to our lives. Such a thing can not only hide unsightly old structures, but also become part of the style design of the room. Conceiving to create something grandiose for radiators in your apartment, you should not forget about preserving the heat output of the device.
Thermal energy consists of two parts:
- Radiant. Emitted by streams of infrared radiation from the heated surface of the radiator. If it is heated to 50°C, the proportion of that energy is small. As the temperature rises, so does the radiating power.
- Convective. Heat from the battery is transferred by mixing hot and cold air.
A decorative screen on the radiator will inevitably cut off the flow of the two energies, so part of the heat will not reach the house. With unsuccessful designs in the form of a box, the hot air will partially accumulate inside with no way out. The heat exchange process is disturbed, some of the heat is simply transferred to the neighboring room. When packing the radiator into a beautiful box, 3-7% of heat energy is lost. It is impossible to avoid such a loss completely, but there is a possibility of reducing it. To do this, you need to choose the right screen design.
This is important! Installed on the radiator screen is responsible for the distribution of infrared currents and air distribution. Therefore, the front part of the design should have many holes.
What can be made of a beautiful screen for the battery? We will consider the easiest example of how to make a screen on the radiator from fiberboard.
Materials
To make a decorative battery screen, you will need materials such as:
- Wood-fiber board sheets (wood-fiber board)
- Metal sheet as a heat reflector on the back of the radiator
- Mesh, made in sheets (it is necessary to cover the front and sides of the radiator)
- Facing material
- Construction staples for fixing the grid to the lid
- Screws sized. 4 cm for fastening the elements at the front and side
- Feet
- Screws
- Nails for securing trim
- And carpentry glue (PVA or Bustilat)
Tools for making a “box” screen for batteries
The following tools will be needed to work on making the radiator screen:
- Drill with assorted drill bits
- Countersink
- Circular saw
- Various clamps
- Hacksaws
- Construction stapler
- Metal cutting hacksaws
- Scraper (scrap) to hold the clips in place
On what is the best choice of cast iron radiators, read a review in our next article.
Heat shield-reflector
From the above it is clear that on the wall behind the radiator you should put a heat reflective screen, but not black, but shiny. It will bounce back the IR from the back surface of the radiator, it will get warmer still, the total IR flux to the outer decorative screen will increase, and if the outer surface of the decorative screen is light, it will go into the room more than 0.5 times the regular IR flux. This is already enough for a good profiled aluminum radiator to work more or less normally in convection, with some minor additions, see. then.
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But a sheet of metal will not be enough. Even polished aluminum will weaken the infrared flux on the wall by 5-6 times, at most. You must lay a double-sided aluminum-covered insulating mat made of sintopon or any other fibrous polymer. It will reduce the infrared flux on the wall at least 40 times. Synthetics has the advantage that even at a thickness of 5 mm it practically does not conduct heat and reflects infrared well.
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Mats of other materials must be taken at least 3 cm thick, and mineral wool in the living room can not be used in the open: bad for health. Aluminized plastic foam is not worse than synthetic, but it does not bend and it is difficult to stick it behind the radiator without removing it.
