Gravity circulation?

Mike T., Swampeast MO

No, you won't get gravity circulation that way. I have though seen a diagram for a basement radiator with a gravity system. You use the return from an upper floor radiator (2nd or 3rd floor) to supply the basement radiator and then run a dedicated return line from the basement radiator back to the boiler.

Unknown

Correct me if I'm wrong but,,,

If you have a boiler at ground level and the pipes leave upward,travel across the ceiling and then branch downward to commercial sized baseboard this creates a heat trap and there is no chance for gravity circulation to occur. The system is designed with a supply and return main, not a loop just FYI.

Timco

Modern Hydronics covers this...they called it an under-slung return that made a trap and no need for a check there. There was a minimum distance needed but it was not much...

Tim

Unknown

Thanks,

someone hit me with "we think the check valve is bad because we're gettin warm pipes when the pump is off" and later I got to thinking, this can't happen, UNLESS there is a connection betweeen supply and return at the ceiling level that I'm not aware of. Must look again.