Radiant floor versus one pipe steam

klaus

I've never done a steam/ hot water combo system off the same boiler as Bob and Terry are describing. It seems like it would be a great way to address adding radiant to an existing steam system or especially the long recovery period that radiant requires.

Do you have any pictures or piping schematics?

Thanks, Rich L

Blackmajah

Hydronic Radiant floor versus one pipe steam

Hello,

I have an existing one pipe steam boiler (gas) radiator system. The boiler is probably fifty years old.

How does the cost of a hydronic radiant floor system compare to getting a new boiler? The basement is wide open so it would be easy to install. The subfloor is wood planks with oak as the finish floor.

Or is it better and cheaper to just get a new boiler? Would all the existing piping to the radiators and return stay in place with only new piping needed where the new boiler connects to the old?

Thanks

Rob

Keith_38

Apples to oranges.

What is better is to rip out the steam pipes, and run an underfloor radiant system with a stainless steel modulating boiler. This will not be cheap. What is acceptable is to change out the steam boiler directly, and yes, a direct replacement is not uncommon. There is no way that the radiant system will be cheaper than the boiler replacement. Don't talk about prices on the board.

klaus

Cheaper

Cheaper up front or cheaper to run over the life of the system? Those are two very different questions.

You're talking about two of the most comfortable systems out there so comfort wouldn't be much of an issue.

Blackmajah

Hey Rich,

I am wondering which would cost less to do upfront.

Steamhead (in transit)

Steam!

Replace the boiler, tune up the rest of the system and you'll be surprised how efficient and comfortable it'll be. And the up-front cost is much, much less.

Where are you located?

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Blackmajah

Hello Steamhead,

I am in Chicago

klaus

Upfront costs

As Steamhead said it would definitely be cheaper upfront to keep the system you have and replace the boiler. Make sure who ever you use looks at your entire system. If you have any problem areas, rooms not heating well, radiators that don't get hot all the way across, etc, let the contractor know about it up front. Just replacing the boiler won't fix those issues. Be sure you ask for referances from other boiler jobs the contractor has done. Be sure he's licenesed to do hydronic work. I'm pretty sure Chicago requires that.

A well installed, upgraded steam system will give you many more years of quiet, comfortable, reliable operation.

That said, a properly installed radiant floor system, while costing more up front would most likely prove cheaper to operate over the life of the system.

Radiant floors by nature are designed to require much lower operating water temperatures and can benefit from high efficiency modulating condensing boilers. When combined with a simple outdoor reset controller the savings, and comfort level increase even more. Also with radiant you could "zone" your house and provide different temperatures to different areas. That's what I've done at my house. There's something about walking across a warm tile floor when the wind and snow's whipping by outside.....

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

Zone Your House With Steam

Replace the steam boiler and add a radiant zone off the bottom of the steam boiler. Put radiant in the bathroom and living room where you spend most of your time, and save money by keeping the steam turned down except when it is real cold.

Thanks, Bob Gagnon

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ttekushan_3

I have to admit

I sort of like the idea of doing some radiant under the bathroom and kitchen areas off a boiler loop. This allows you to use fairly deep temp setbacks without feeling like Nanook of the North with permafrost floors. You can even forego a morning recovery if no one lingers around the house for very long on the average weekday.

This also gives you the opportunity to install an indirect water heater to the boiler to you can heat your water more efficiently as well.

Then you can put the pedal to the metal with the steam to recover indoor temps when you really want them. Working and going to school in steam heated buildings has taught me that steam heating is most capable of recovering from low indoor temps since this was how they were operated in the manual-fired coal era.

This way you neither have to do any tear out perfectly functional equipment you already own nor install extensive and costly new equipment. Operating costs of the total set up should be very economical overall.

-Terry