How reliable are reproduction cast iron radiators?

This is a question that we get asked a lot.  As I sit in my workshop looking at another batch of leaking poor quality radiators which have come in for repair I thought that I would address this all too frequent problem.

Once more we’ve been asked to repair poor quality radiators sold by another provider. In this case, our customer from the Newcastle area bought 30 reproduction cast iron radiators from a company that has since ‘gone bust’. These radiators are only 3 years old and have subsequently begun to leak between the sections of each radiator. Made in China and shipped to the UK in separate sections, the manufacturing process has been shoddy and the end product is inferior. The cost to repair the radiators has significantly outweighed the original purchase price.

Our customer has kindly agreed to show photos of their leaking radiators so that you can benefit from their misfortune.

We have been in the business of supplying and repairing radiators for some time now and we have asked ourselves “how reliable are reproduction cast iron radiators?” many times. The simple answer is ‘ It depends on where they come from’ . Through experience and research, we have found a supplier of new, reproduction cast iron radiators that we are prepared to put our name against. Our premium range radiators are a little more expensive but built and imported directly from Europe. They offer you exceptional quality and most importantly excellent after care customer service.

When you’re shopping around. It’s really important that you assure yourself that your radiators are going to last as long as you expect. Customers are often let down by worthless guarantees. At the end of the day a guarantee is just “a piece of paper”.  You need to be confident that, regardless of what happens to the company that sold them to you, the radiator will last as long as they were intended to when you purchased them. We often receive calls from distraught customers reporting leaking seals on radiators they bought less that 5 years ago and the company who sold them refusing to address their concerns.

We specialise in repairing cast iron radiators and can rectify leaking reproduction radiators. That said, it’s far cheaper to spend a little more in the first instance and buy superior quality radiators rather than pay again a short while later.