What's next? Cheap house followup

ALH_4

Different people have different opinions, but I would probably run a single supply header and a single return header out of the mechanical room, wrap the perimeter of the home with these, and branch off with smaller pex to each radiator using reducing brass crimp tees. <a href="http://www.berkeleypoint.com/images/parallel.jpg"target="_blank">parallel</a>

Sometimes it is easier to place a brass manifold(s) in a closet(s) and branch off from there. It depends on what would go faster.

I like the simple <a href="http://vanguardpipe.com/pdfs/CRIMPSERTBrochure.pdf"target="_blank">copper crimp ring</a> style with brass fittings, but any will work. Pressure test the whole system with a good gauge for at least 24 hours before enclosing anything just to be sure. One thing about pex fittings versus sweat soldered copper is that air pressure will expose leaks much better with pex fittings. I have never had a leak in a copper crimp ring joint and I have no reservations about enclosing them within finished ceilings.

Dave_4

Getting closer

Thanks to the contributors here at the Wall who helped get me on the right track, for putting a good heating system into this little spec house we're building up here in deep freeze country.

I've decided to steer my heating contractor toward doing it using steel panel radiators throughout, with the plant being an LP-fired mod-con, something like maybe the Triangle Tube Premiere.

I'm thinking of doing TRVs everywhere, but am wondering where outdoor reset might come into play, or even if outdoor reset can work with TRVs.

Can it? Will it benefit us in this application?

Norm Harvey

With constant circulation, outdoor reset, and TRV's you can end up with a very well balanced system with, ideally, no need to even have a thermostat.



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ALH_4

trv's

Constant circulation with TRV's is the ultimate in control in my opinion. Plus it saves all that wiring. It's simple and inexpensive. I can't think of one bad thing to say about TRV's on panel radiators.

The benefit is you get flow to each radiator proportional to the temperature of the room as you also get temperature proportional to the outdoor temp.

All radiators must be piped in parallel with a TRV on each. Putting radiators in series with TRV's does not generally provide satisfactory operation. The second rad is almost always cold.

The least expensive way to do this is to run pex all the way to the radiator valves. Herz makes an inexpensive Mini Set that includes everything for one radiator. They also sell Rad Snaps to cover the pex once everything is finished.

BTW: If the heat load is in the 50,000 range, the smallest Munchkin Contender might be the best choice.

Dave_4

Parallel, of course. Thanks.

I'm a GC and not a plumber or heating pro, but may I presume that will mean I'll see a supply header in the boiler room, one PEX outflow fitting per emitter? Are they all valved?

And then a return header with fittings equal to the supply?

I'm trying to get a lead on what is good practice.

Norm Harvey

It depends on the construction, but I am a huge fan of brass manifolds like the kind you would use in a radiant system, but here's the big BUT...

BUT!

Make sure to install a pressure differential by pass valve somewhere between your supply and return lines going to the manifold,.. when all the trvs are closed you don't want to dead end the circulator.

- Norm

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hr

home runi

is another option. Locate a manifold at the boiler and run a 1/2 sometimes 3/8 S&R to each radiator with a TRV.

Check the archives at www.pmmag.com for some of John Sigenthalers articles on panel radiator piping options.

hot rod

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