New condo owner getting screwed by contractor

Andrew Weiner

I recently purchased a condo where there is a single heating zone for the downstairs floor which has cast iron radiators as the upstairs which has copper fin baseboard. The contractor who renovated the unit before I bought it says this will be no problem because heat rises However, the heat is not rising very well. Is this contractor correct? I have heard from various heating professionals including my home inspector that mixing cast iron with copper fin is not how things are done.

bob young

mish-mosh

cast iron retains heat , copper emits heat only on a cold start. you can never ever balance them on a single zone. contractor did bogus job and lied about it or is a moron and simply doesn't know

mph

Fin tube & CI

I disagree. There's no reason not to mix different heat emitters within a zone, as long as the emitters are properly sized for the area they are heating. It may not perform flawlessly, but it certainly should heat the area.

The problem here sounds like trying to have a single zone where there should have been two.

Jeff

Andrew Weiner

but will we be able to maintain a uniform temp?

[Deleted User]

Andrew Weiner

The piping starts in the basement and ends on the third floor (our second floor). The cast iron is tied into the apipe risers on our first floor. Then the pipe risers contiue to the our second floor where the copper baseboards are. Thermostat is located on the floor with the cast iron (our first floor).

Steve D_7

A picture of the piping would help explain how the risers are tied in to the radiators. If the radiators are not in series, you could relocate the thermostat to the upper floor and put TRV's on the lower floor. If there are distinct sets of risers on the upper floor you might be able to put panel radiators on them and have a modern setup that is nicer than baseboard.

Good Luck

Steve

Andrew Weiner

what are panel radiators? Also, would a second zone for the upper floor solve the problem?

Steve D_7

panel rad's

> what are panel radiators?

http://www.mysoninc.com/radiators.html

> Also, would a second

> zone for the upper floor solve the problem?




I would think so if the plumbing could be separated between the floors.

Steve