Heating help and decisions

Amelia

We have an older "package" A/C (electric) and heat (gas) unit. During our pre-winter checkup for the heater we discover a crack in the heating unit making it unusable. We now need to make a decision on how to heat the house for the winter (in Oklahoma with a crawl space). We would like to avoid installing a new package unit or even a separate furnace. The options we have been researching include Hydronic Heating, Geothermal (very costly upfront, great long term), placing several fan or space heaters around the house, or figuring out how to utilize the floorboard pipes that have been capped off where the radiators use to be in each room. Any advice will be appreciated and worth discussing.

nicholas bonham-carter

choice of heating system

if the furnace heat exchanger is now kaput, then find out what sort of system used those abandoned pipes, and test them for leaks. next would be finding a source of radiators of the appropriate type [steam or hot water]. finally the installation of the boiler completes the picture. a boiler-fed system will be more comfortable, unfortunately, you don't have much time to do this before the winter sets in.--nbc

Amelia

Choosing

Nicholas,

Thank you for your response and information. Is there any way to visually identify if the pipes were steam or water or should I call a professional in for this? I like the idea of using the existing system and would hope it would be more energy efficient and cost effective. Additional thoughts and ideas are welcome.

Jamie Hall

There's no goof proof way...

to tell what those pipes were, but there are a few clues.  If they are copper, and if they are relatively small (an inch or so across or less) they were probably hot water.  If they are larger -- say an inch and a half or bigger -- and threaded iron, they may well have been steam.  If there is only per radiator, instead of two, they almost certainly were steam.



Also, if the house was built after about 1940, it's very likely they were hot water.



I would be very inclined to bet on hot water, though. 



Either one can be reinstalled -- and either one will give you lovely warm heat.

jeff_25

heat exchangers

how old is the unit the heat exchangers can be replaced if available. what brand is it jeff

Tim McElwain

The truth is

do not repair or replace the heat exchanger.



It would probably be cheapest to install a new combination forced warm air/electric AC and make it a Mod/Con horizontal furnace in the crawl space.

John Mills_5

Cooling?

If you go some kind of hydronic heat, how ya gonna cool the place? OK isn't a place to be without summer climate control! Seems to me a new gas pack is the best answer.