Setting up baseboard heat

Stewy_2

the hot water loop up stairs, if I can’t run it continually? Can I run it to a manifold and circulate it form there?

Stewy_2

Runs for Baseboard heat

I know this is going to hurt some of you steam guys but I'm going to convert to hot water. My problem lies with the lay out of the baseboard, I cant run a continuous loop because of the separation of the baseboards in the different rooms. Can I run PEX under the floor to make the loop or is there a way to set up a manifold and have the runs from different rooms come to the boiler. I would like to have 2 zones (upstairs and downstairs). My current boiler is a 90's WC thats 83% efficient and is rated @ 340sqft. If my heat loss calc is correct I need 30,000 btus (50lnft) to heat my house. Please don't be dissapointed about the steam, it just isn't practical for me or my wallet @ 4.70 a gal. Thanks for any help

Steamhead (in transit)

Why not

get some smaller radiators and a smaller steam boiler, and TRVs for the second floor? This would require much less labor. It sounds to me like your current plan has you laying out a lot of money for something that won't really return your investment.

"Steamhead"

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Stewy_2

The walls are apart now so its do or die. Do you think that 50 feet of base board a few hundred feet of PEX, a circ pump and misc. other parts, would be that costly. I've spent 2 winters with the steam and its just not what I expect from a heating system. Id like something a little more even, and 2 of my upstairs bedrooms need heat because they have nothing at all.

Steamhead (in transit)

The way prices are going up

it could very well be, though I haven't checked prices lately. Then there's the extra labor involved, which has value of its own.

I'm assuming this is a one-pipe system...... it certainly takes less labor and material to run two risers (especially with the walls open!) and correct your steam distribution problems than to demo and repipe the entire house.

And unless baseboard is installed properly, you will definitely hear it expand and contract, the same as you hear with steam.

It sounds like it would be more cost-effective to fix the steam and add two risers and rads.

Whereabouts are you located?

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Stewy_2

In New Hampshire.

What do you think about using Mr. Holohan's plans and adding just a hot water loop? If I had a steam zone downstairs and a hot water zone upstairs, I could be very happy with that. If I am figuring this right, I have a WM boiler that’s rated a 340 EDR (81,000BTUs?). I’d need 14,000BTUs to heat 3 bedrooms and a bath upstairs and then I have 4 rads looking for heat downstairs. I read that radiant heat should not be used in this application because the muddy boiler water doesn't play very well with the tubing used for radiant heat, so does that mean I should not use 3/4 PEX

Stewy_2

Can I run a hot water heat zone off the hot water supply outlet

of my steam boiler and switch to an electic water heater or an on demand tankless? Instead of feeding sinks, showers, washers etc with boiler hot water why cant I feed radiation?

Steamhead (in transit)

The condensate loop will work

as long as the load is under 40 MBH or so. Go here for more:

http://www.heatinghelp.com/newsletter.cfm?Id=29

Note that when doing this you MUST use a 3-piece bronze circulator like a B&G 100AB or Taco 110B. Cast-iron 3-piece ans all wet-rotor circs don't like the water characteristics found in steam boilers.

If you want to use the tankless, the load it can serve might be different depending on what you have. And you'd need an expansion tank, fill valve etc.

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Bob Bona_4

what

you are proposing, running the loop under the floor and popping up to stub for each bb section, is the usual way to run series loop bb. Keep the total linear ft under 165' 3/4" piping.

Could run a manifold home run set up too, if you want,, a little overkill possibly for the scope of your job, but it looks cool and gives you a little more flow control, but really, are we splitting hairs here? This can use 1/2" piping, limiting your emmitters to 14-15K (about 38' max per bb section.

Steamhead (in transit)

I still say

it's less hassle to add two steam risers and rads, and put TRVs on the second-floor rads.

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