Stainless or Aluminum?

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Hi All,SWMBO had an idea that she dropped in my lap.The house, 1940's build, has cast iron radiators that throw oodles of wonderful heat into the room!The wood & perforated metal covers are getting tired and are very dated. She suggested an open design "cover" that will basically be 4 legs with 3 stretchers. The top frame will be 4 pieces of angle that will hold a granite top.I have plenty of scrap granite, so that is not an issue. The idea includes the fact that the stone will absorb some of the heat while the furnace is on and continue to radiate heat after the furnace cycles out.My question is weather aluminum or stainless steel will be the better choice for the bathroom?Paint over mild steel will be fine elsewhere.I've gotten hang of MIG and TIG on mild steel, so either metal is a challenge I'm looking forward to mastering.Opinions?Be wary of The Numbers: Figures don't lie,. but liars can figure.Welders:2008 Lincoln 140 GMAW&FCAW2012 HF 165 'toy' GTAW&SMAW1970's Cobbled together O/A
Reply:Alum is a great heat sink and will heat up quite fast. You may find this to be a disadvantage in the bath. You may find the frame gets a bit too hot to touch, especially with bare skin.Remember that many radiator covers work best by convection. You want to allow air in the bottom and out the top easily so the cover can act like a chimney and naturally create it's own air flow. I see a lot of people simply try and build a box that covers the whole thing and that can end up being an insulator trapping the heat and preventing it from getting out into the room easier, even if they use perf type material..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Stainless is much easier to clean.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterStainless is much easier to clean..
Reply:Thanks, stainless it is.Dummy me forgot about aluminum's habit of forming a powdery oxide that will become a problem if not cleaned off every few months. Who cleans their radiator covers more than two or three times per decade?And, DSW, part of why this idea came about is how nice and toasty the bathroom got when the current cover was removed for re-painting.Be wary of The Numbers: Figures don't lie,. but liars can figure.Welders:2008 Lincoln 140 GMAW&FCAW2012 HF 165 'toy' GTAW&SMAW1970's Cobbled together O/A
Reply:Maybe 20 years ago the rural electric coop offered these wall heaters full of ceramic bricks. They are controlled by the power company somehow to heat the bricks during off peak electric rates. They keep the house warm long after shutting off eg power failures.My granite surface in the garage does the same thing when curing composites. But it is 1700 lb. You want some mass. And mount the slab vertically so as not to block the airflow.I would think louvers are in order. Look at wood stove jackets.Water has the highest heat capacity of any material i think. You could do a stainless tank instead of a slab, but aluminum's heat transfer is far better. Anodize or powdercoat. Would hold more heat per cu in. When filled with h20.My .02
Reply:Sorry the granite is 2.6 x density of water and heat capacity is 80% of water so per cu in granite holds at least twice the heat. Per gram water holds more.
Reply:I'm really not so concerned on exactly how much heat the granite will hold. As long as it evens out some of the pulsing caused by the thermostat being in the middle of the living room (a hallway and a stairwell away from the bathroom).For maximum airflow through and around the cast iron radiator, the framework will be as small and lightweight as possible that will safely support the slab SWMBO selects from my scrap pile.Be wary of The Numbers: Figures don't lie,. but liars can figure.Welders:2008 Lincoln 140 GMAW&FCAW2012 HF 165 'toy' GTAW&SMAW1970's Cobbled together O/A