Best Of
Re: Radiant Floor Heat Highly Inefficient, I think I messed up somewhere?
I think, sadly, that your problem isn't the radiant installation — and that, therefore, no other system (furnace, hot water, steam, whatever) is going to make a difference. It just plain is going to take that many BTUh to heat that house. As others have said, the amount of insulation you quote isn't really all that much.
Re: Long-term project to update old hydronic -- let's start with the Mercoid switch!
The precharge on the expansion tank has to be set with no pressure in the system. If it is at 16 psig with 30 psig in the system then the bladder is expanded as far as it can go, the tank is waterlogged likely because of insufficient precharge.
If it keeps dribbling and replacing water that fresh water will quickly corrode everything in the system, especially the boiler.
mattmia2
Re: “Height” of modern radiator valves vs old?
So the complete dimensions meaning the height of the body and the length of the body going to be slightly different than the original valve but usually within working range. The pipe dimensions are going to be the same, in other words a 1 1/2 pipe is an 1 1/2 pipe no matter the vintage. With a bit of thought and some work that radiator should have made right up to the system with out having to go through all those contortions.
Grallert
Re: Radiant floor heating plan help
really the shell itself determines the heat load, not every room needs to be exact, to do some preliminary load calculations
The wall construction, window and door sizes, roof insulation, etc. The more info you have the more accurate your numbers will be
hot_rod
Re: “Height” of modern radiator valves vs old?
He used the wrong valve. They come in every size from 1/2" to 2" and in angle (what you have) and straight. He could have made this work without raising the radiator.
Here is the valve he probably should have used, assuming that is a 1-1/2" supply.
Here are the dimensions. I bet if you compare it to your old one it is close enough to call exact.
Re: Radiant Floor Heat Highly Inefficient, I think I messed up somewhere?
It might be helpful for us if you define efficiency. What do you mean by that? What were your expectations and what exactly are you experiencing?
Re: Steam coming out from behind the boiler...
Please don't allow that plumber back into your building.
Re: Radiant Floor Heat Highly Inefficient, I think I messed up somewhere?
And a further point: changes in flow and delta T and all that can make small differences in fuel efficiency — if the boiler is properly tuned, at most 10 percent.
Which means that your fuel use is not related to the "efficiency" of your heating system — that's within 10% of the very best you could do — but to the heat loss of your house. If you want to get fuel use down, tackle heat loss of the structure. There's no other way to do it.
Re: Long time reader new poster
You seem to be unjustly overconfident in your design and information. Radiantec is a disaster and I think just about everybody knowledgeable in the trade would recommend that you forget everything they told you. There is no such thing as a circ with a built in air separator either. You're obviously welcome to do as you please, but the correct way to do this would be to scrap everything you've got so far and start fresh with a new design using the proper equipment.
GroundUp
Re: Manufacturer specs- mandatory or recommended?
Nobody mentioned the Vaporstat and the union on it. A very nicely piped boiler.
