Should I replace Entran 3 ? [not Entran 2]

carpe_ventum

I have stapled up PEX to heat the first floor of a large, 1890's house in New England radiantly with a new mod-con boiler, but will continue to use some fin-tube on the upper floors. The CU fin tube is fed by Heatway Entran 3 orange rubber hose ["Warrantied to 200 degrees F / 100 PSI"], 3/8" ID for the second floor and 3/4" for the third. It was installed about fifteen years ago, feels pretty flexible, and never gave any trouble with the original boiler.



I am very fortunate that this is Entran 3, rather than Entran 2, which led to numerous class-action lawsuits and contributed to the disappearance of Heatway a few years back.



I can replace the horizontal Entran runs in the basement with PEX, but the risers [2 x 10 feet to the second floor; 2 x 20 feet to the third] are buried in a wall and would be very expensive to replace, requiring lots of difficult carpentry. On the other hand, if they are likely to fail, it would be easier now than later. [I considered snaking 3/8" PEX through the fatter Entran, but some T's prevent that.]



On this forum and other websites, I have not found lots of reports of Entran 3 failures [in contrast to Entran 2]. I'd like to hear from anyone with long-term experience with this product -advice on replacement and the likelihood of eventual failure.

kcopp

I have only....

had 1 experiance w/ the Entan 3 and it was not good. After 10 years it was plugged on 1 loop and poor flow in the other 2. This was a radiant application in a staple up. It was VERY brittle. needless to say it had to be removed.

Now you say it is still flexable.... thats good. I would wait untill you see other issues. no sence making a lot of work unless you need to. Now having said that you should start to plan for that day when problems start.....

icesailor

Entran 3:

If you are really worried about it, why not take the time and check the flow on the loops. You should be able to purge the individual loops and check the GPM flow into a bucket.

Myself, personally, would close all the loops except one, bypass the fill valve with the fast fill and get it to 15# PSI. Once I get the flow going at a steady 15#, time how much water flows into a 5 gallon bucket in a minute. If you have a loop that is much slower than others, it is restricted or plugged.

It will give you a general idea of what the system can do. The results are open to your interpretation.

That's what "I" would do.