Relocating/replacing hot water radiators for sliding doors

Rich D

Have 75 yo house, plan to replace dining room double hung windows with framed sliding door to rear patio, and thus have to relocate 2 hot water radiators in front of windows. Don't have a lot of comparable wall space in rest of dining room to relocate radiators. Is there a 'rule of thumb' about best alternatives, e.g., keep and relocate radiators to adjacent wall, go with baseboard electric instead, go w radiant floor system, ....?

Joe Brix

Some other options

If you have room under the floor:

http://www.mysoninc.com/Pages/FanConvectors/wh2flr.html

http://www.beacon-morris.com/litlibrary/BFV-4R.pdf

Mike T., Swampeast MO

While rads are very commonly installed on external walls, such is not a requirement. As long as the room is reasonably sealed to the wind with at least modest insulation there will be no comfort penalty--in fact some suggest this results in increased comfort.

Brad White_9

I agree with what Joe and Mike each offered

and may I suggest wall panel radiators such as Runtal? They have vertical ones (I have them, almost 6 feet tall so they do make a "statement"). But can be effective if you have height and no width to speak of.

Myson and Buderus also make similar products but not sure how tall they go with what I am thinking about here.

Also take some comfort in the fact that, if it is a door, people would not ordinarily be sitting in front of it regularly. So having no heat "right there" may not be much of an issue.

Brad

RoosterBoy

hay brad i was thinking the same. cant he take a runtal radiator and put it just above the top of the slider the whole width. has that ever been done? in-case he dose not have the wall space beside it. he can put it just above the width of the slider

thanks

Brad White_9

Hey Jason- That was another idea- thanks

I did not want to confuse our earstwhile home owner, but Runtal does make a ceiling-mounted panel radiator. I have never specified one but am considering it in my own kitchen.

Check out runtalnorthamerica.com and look a bit deeper than the first page or two to find it.

Brad

John Ketterman

> They have vertical ones (I have them,

> almost 6 feet tall so they do make a

> "statement").


However, the cost-benefit ratio gets worse as the panel rad gets taller. That's because hot air from lower sections rises and surrounds the upper sections. You still get the radiative heat, but the convective heat output is not improved by additional height beyond the first few panels.

Brad White_9

I can see that to a point

if the panels have lamells (fins) in the back. Much like multi-tier fin-tube there is a diminishment of the returns.

On my panels the effect is almost 80% radiant I would say. What surface convection there is, is held between the rear wall and the radiator back.

The surface temperatures are actually often higher at the tops than lower-down. Has to do with the way they are internally circuited.

In short, a valid by academic point in that they do heat the space well.

My dad always makes a Bee-Line to the radiator when he comes over in wintertime. Puts his back against it and stays there. Frees up a chair in the living room in the bargain!




Brad