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baseboard heat not enough...

Matt_70
Matt_70 Member Posts: 14
in THE MAIN WALL
Hi all,



I have a small <a href="http://www.diychatroom.com/f7/baseboard-heat-not-enough-88915/#">bathroom</a> on the main floor of my house (about 3'x5'). There is a door in this bathroom leading to my backyard and the bathroom is in the corner of the house - so two exterior walls. This bathroom gets COLD in the winter - even with me sealing up the door pretty tight. The only heat in the bathroom is a 30" hot water baseboard. Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to increase the heat output? Would it make sense to change out the baseboard to a runtal radiator? Any other ideas? suggestions?



thank you !

Matt

Comments

  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,441
    Toe Kick Heater

    Consider one of these:
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
  • Matt_70
    Matt_70 Member Posts: 14
    ...toe kick..

    Would rather avoid using a toe kick heater.  First - it would require me to break up either floor or ceiling to route plumbing under the vanity - which would be the right place for it.  Second, I have some toe kick heaters throughout the house and I'm not a big fan of them... Unless they've made them better over the years the ones I have are loud which makes me nuts.  I'm planning to rip up all the tiles on my first floor next year and will probably go with radiant heat at that point, but for now I would like to see if I can just swap out the baseboard with something else that will throw out more heat.  The current baseboard heat is next to the toilet so I can't have anything that sticks out far - that's why I was wondering if a Runtal radiator was a good alternative...



    Thank you for the suggestion!
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,824
    a small electric towel warmer

    is how I did my "cool" bathroom. I put it on a thermostat to keep the room from overheating on mild days.



    hr
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • Ironman
    Ironman Member Posts: 7,441
    Runtal Rad

    I'm not sure which one of their products you're referring to, but their  6 inch baseboard has about the same output per lineal foot as what you've got. You'd have to go with their 18 or 24 inch high to make a substantial difference in output for as short a length as you need. Nice stuff, but pricey.



    Hot Rod's suggestion sounds easier to me and would give you something you could keep if you go with radiant in the future.
    Bob Boan
    You can choose to do what you want, but you cannot choose the consequences.
  • dathinker
    dathinker Member Posts: 1
    european radiator

    I bought this radiator, very happy with it.



    http://www.amazon.com/Catalonia-European-Hydronic-Aluminium-Radiator/dp/B002LLN7TC/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1292206216&sr=1-1
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,218
    Tell us about the rest of the system

    for example, does the rest of the house have big radiators? 
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Mark Eatherton
    Mark Eatherton Member Posts: 5,852
    Control issue??

    Back of the envelope calculations says that the 30" of baseboard should be more than adequate for a 30 square foot bathroom. I suspect the problem is that the thermostat is mounted inboard to the house, and this is an appendage that is on the outside edge of the house.



    Maybe you should consider installing non electric thermostats with bypasses on all base board heaters, and put a wireless thermostat in that sees the worst case heat loss scenario.



    Bigger and more emitter isn't going to do you any good if it is a control placement issue. Also sounds like this is a slab on grade home. What about putting XPS insulation along the exterior footer/foundation/floor line?



    Just thinking out loud.



    ME

    There was an error rendering this rich post.

  • Matt_70
    Matt_70 Member Posts: 14
    follow up..

    The entire house has hot water baseboard spread out over 4 seperate zones - and the rest of the house is very comfortable.    This bathroom is on the main floor, which is on its own zone.  The basement is also on one zone.  The 2nd floor is split into two zones. 

    I think the problem arrises just due to the heat loss in that room.  There is a door  leading outside, an exhaust fan vented outside which will always cause a little heat to escape no matter how well the baffles work, and then the simple fact that two wall of the bathroom are exterior walls.  The boiler room is on my first floor right next to the bathroom so I could always put that radiator on a seperate zone I guess - althought I would have to break up some tile or ceiling and I really don't want to do that right now.  I'm thinking maybe just put a small flat electric heater on the wall or towel warmer like the previous poster suggested...  I originally though chaning out the baseboard to something with more output would do it, but it seems that the consensus is that may not be a good idea...



    Thanks all!
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