cast iron baseboard

mark_56

Can cast iron baseboard be separated and reconfigured after it's been in service for many years? How?

bob young

baseboard

remove the lug nuts & bolts , remove [ chop out or cut out ] the push nipples, clean female surfaces in sections to prepare for new push nipples , schmear new pushnipples with permatex and simply re-assemble using baseboard hydraulic tool. oh, and good luck. it will not be easy. also prepare sections on FLAT level work space. ie: plywood

mark_56

I was afraid you'd say exactly that. Thanks. I'm looking at it tomorrow.

Unknown

c I b b

Just completed a job with cibb, I laid them sections on short pieces of 2x4 on flat surface. Use the radatiors tool to draw the sections together evenly....

bob_46

Tip

To take the sections apart lay the baseboard flat on the floor on it's face. Lift it and slide a 3/4" nipple under it at the joint you want to seperate(remove the nut and bolt)and step on the short end. It will fall apart.

Chris_78

Cast iron baseboard radiator, heat loss circulation calculation,

I'm in the process of replacing old fin-type baseboard radiators and am trying to decide between the same fin-type vs. cast iron baseboard radiators.

I read the article on Loop Hot-Water Heating on this website and it was specifically about 3/4 inch fin-type
baseboard radiation. Would the same rules apply to
cast iron baseboard radiators?

Also, how do you calculate heat loss circulation for a given
room?

Heat output per linear foot is determined by the gpm
of your circulator. My circulator does not provide
this spec. Would you know the gpm for a Taco 007-F5
Cartridge Circulator? The Taco site lists a range (0 - 20gpm). I'd like to know the exact gpm.

By the way, the Q&A on Loop Hot-Water Heating System really helped me understand hydronic heating systems.

Unknown

the board

Chris... I've done change over from copper finned tubing radiators to cast iron baseboards in existing homes,after I installed the new cast iron in addition...
The btu outputs are the same, the comfort level is what people noticed the differnce... Instead of varible temps swing with the copper finned, room temps are more stable with cast iron..
I give the customers this anglogy (sp)... Fill two same glass with hot water... Then dump one out and have it sits next to the full glass... Which one will cools quicker? While the full one will keep ya comfortable longer and the empty one will needs to be reheat more often... Cast iron base boards, when installed properly, its the 2nd best heat u can have.. (Radiant floor is 1st) forced air is waaay at bottom..

Chris_78

Cast Iron baseboard btu's

Thanks for the reply rjbphd. I am now convinced that cast iron baseboard is worth the expense. How can I calculate how many linear feet of radiator I can run based on my boilers heating capacity? My boilers output is 75,000 btu's. Also, how can I calculate the amount of linear feet needed to heat a particular room properly?

Brad White_93

Let's not go there just yet....

Unless you know for a fact that your boiler output actually matches your heat loss, do not size radiation this way, at least until you understand a few things.

Firstly, know thine heat loss. Make sure your radiation matches and meets that at least.

Secondly, if you are smart about energy use, oversizing/over-radiating is a good thing because you can run the radiation at a lower water temperature on a design day and cooler still on warmer days.

Thirdly, (heed the second point), make sure your radiation, if oversized, is proportionately so. If you oversize one room by 20%, all should be so, such that they heat evenly.

That said, no real harm in sizing the radiation to match the boiler so long as you know at what high limit HW supply temperature your reset curve will start.

A worse offense is sizing the boiler by the radiation (aka "Long Island Heat Loss" as Dan H. so well describes).

Steamhead (in transit)

Chris, we know you have a computer ;-)

you can get a free heat-loss program from Slant/Fin by clicking "Heat Loss Calcs" above. Every good heat system design starts with a heat-loss calc. You might even find your boiler is oversized- many are!

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