Old radiator innards need degunging

[WD Forte]

I have an old brass and copper radiator which is a bit shabby but doesn't leak so want to keep it as a spare/backup.
Snag is, it has what looks like grit and shit inside that I'd like to
remove before stowing it away.

I assume it's years of hard water deposits, I filled it with white vinegar
and left it overnight but that didn't do anything to dissolve the crud

So, any cheap/nifty tips for off the bike rad cleaning?
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bikers smell of wee

[MCN]

Buy a couple of packets of kettle de-scaler.
Mix up enough solution to fill the rad.

Plug the top and bottom hose fittings.

Fill the rad and let it soak.

Drain, flush repeat.

Then flush out again and fill with fresh anti-freeze for storage.

Protect the core using some plywood sheet cut to size or MDF or cardboard at a pinch.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[WD Forte]

Ta,
I did wonder about kettle descaler so will try that
first and see how/if that works.

The core will be well protected when it's stowed.
Decent useable CX rads are like rocking horse shit nowadays.
NLA new and recore quotes I got started at £200 plus.
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bikers smell of wee

[Riejufixing]

[stinkwheel]

I'm 90% sure copper wont dissolve in a caustic soda solution.

Maybe check that on a copper plumbing fitting first though.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Riejufixing]

[stinkwheel]

[Riejufixing]

[MCN]

Caustic is better as dissolving organic matter.
Famous acid bath murderer used caustic to dissolve bodies.
Remains were identified by teeth and some home that did not dissolve.

No harm in trying both. One after the other or one will neutralise the other.

Correction: Acid bath murderer used sulphuric acid solution.

https://allthatsinteresting.com/john-george-haigh

(The facts change.)
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[WD Forte]

Update
Squandered £1.59 on 3 sachets of Oust kekkle descaler
and no expense spared, bunged them all in with boiling water.
Kinda hoping to see a fizzing action and sparkly rad innards but got nuthin.

It said 1 sachet and 10 minutes for a kekkle, so left in for an hour, nuthin.
Emptied it out an rinsed it through but not aware any lumps/debris coming out so filled it with vinegar again
and its been stood there for 2 days in the hope it may least soften some of the gritty looking crap up a bit.

Oust packet says its Lactic acid and my vague schoolboy chemistry tells me acids react with alkalis and vinegar is Citric acid.

Hmm, acids may well work on limescale but on reflection the gritty looking crap may well be a mixture of limescale, rust particles,
old antifreeze and who knows what left to harden for years in an old rad.

I did buy some caustic soda crystals and considering using that
but will do that outdoors
____________________
bikers smell of wee

[Riejufixing]

[WD Forte]

Acetic acid !
Right
My chemistry is even vaguer than I thought.
I had heard/read that caustic can be nasty stuff so will
play outside with care.

Worth a go with a wee drop just to see if has any effect
____________________
bikers smell of wee

[stinkwheel]

Someone's been watching too much fight club.

If you get caustic on you anywhere, wash it off with large volumes of cold water.

I wear gloves and goggle when working with it and have a bucket of water on standby to dunk a hand in or whatever.

Mix up a caustic solution in a plastic bucket. Add caustic to water, not the other way round. Stirr with a stick. It will get hot as it dissolves. It CAN boil if you add too much too fast.

EDIT: further research reveals copper will react either extremely slowly or not at all in hydrochloric acid (often marketed as spirit of salts or patio cleaner). This is a strong acid which will tend to react much more vigorously with all forms of limescale and organic material than the ones you've been trying.

NB, do not piss about with strong caustic and HCl at the same time. Keep them well apart and remember to wash one off with plenty of water before trying another. They react, well, vigorously.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[MCN]

Oust kettle descaler I used in South Yorkshire Water region (Tap Water is the Hardest thing in Hull, apart from their wimin BTW.)

Lactic Acid

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.thamesmeadonline.co.uk/downloads/MS0014.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj656ve0MLiAhWySRUIHYtxAdsQFjAHegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw182ZqywofNLaI0cObIUWwy&cshid=1559197981443


The Fernox descaler is Sulphamic Acid.

The Fernox product also has a chemical indicator that changes the solution from yellow to green when it's efficacy is depleted.
Very good stuff and not too dangerous to skin.

https://fernox.com/product/limescale-remover-ds-3-2kg/
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[WD Forte]

Pics always help dont they

Here's the current state of play.

You can see the scratches and lighter areas where I rather stupidly
started scratching off the gunge with a stick before I realised I was removing
the indicators that would tell me if the jollop I was dropping in was having any effect at cleaning it!

The crusting in and around the down tubes are typical of the overall state

As above I now assume its a combination of all manner of shite collected in its 40 year history
The green stuff around the neck is from recent vinegary fun
Made of Brass & Copper plus Tin/Lead solder so anything that will eat/dissolve anything but that is needed I guess

https://imgur.com/GwAjOK1.jpg
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bikers smell of wee

[WD Forte]

Have been to Travis Perkins for some brick cleaner which the data sheet says is 5-10% hydrochloric acid.
Set it up outside safely in a corner then topped it up and will leave it overnight to see what effect that has.
____________________
bikers smell of wee

[Riejufixing]

Perhaps it's time to consider a re-core (or just keep it for emergencies).

[WD Forte]

Yep, its 'orrible looking aint it?
This is the worst one of the two I have, hence the experiments.

I'll have a go at improving it but I'm not throwing money at the thing
Recore quotes started at £200-£250 some were closer to £300+ so that with VAT and postage
inspired me to try and get a bit more life out the old things.

I have a parallel project on the go using a Mini radiator
A brand new Aluminium one I bought for £45 inc P&P !
Its slightly taller and wider and some remedial plumbing and mounting brackets will have to be done
but it's the closest match I could find and at least I get a new rad for that.
I could buy 4 of the things for less than the price of the cheapest quote I got.
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bikers smell of wee

[MCN]

[stinkwheel]

[MCN]

[WD Forte]

DS3?
you sure?

I'm at the stage where I haven't modded the mini rad yet so I could flog it on to recoup dosh
and the original rads look nice and compact if use them and obviously no mods needed

If fling away 20 odd quid on what turns out to be snake oil though.....


https://i.giphy.com/media/O7pL1zfZKI836/giphy.webp
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bikers smell of wee

[stinkwheel]

[Riejufixing]

[MCN]

Alumininininm disnae like Caustic or Acid.

It will remove the oxide layer that protects it from corrosion.

The DS3 sulphamic is not so aggressive so probably will be OK but patch test first.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.