kickspace heater

jtz1229

My friend's daughter is building a small modular house. He is trying to do a lot of small things to help save her a little money. All the baseboard is in and there are 3/4" pex drops into the basement. There are going to be two zones. He can save a little money by running the pex around the basement tying in all the baseboards and terminating the pex where the boiler is going to be. I am going to help him this weekend. There is a kickspace heater in the kitchen with 1/2" drops into the basement. It is activated by a switch in the kitchen. I'm sure there is an aquastat in the heater so that the fan only runs when there is hot enough water going through it. I'm just not sure of the correct way to tie it into the 3/4" pex. Thanks for your help.

kcopp

simple way is to do 2 -- 3/4 x 1/2 x1/2 tees. in series separated by at least 12". 1/2" to the kick and back and 1/2" in line.... some goes to the kick some continues along.

Steamhead

Yup- that's how I'd do it.

Bob Bona_4

I'd do with a 3/4x 1/2 copper T, and a 3/4x1/2 monoflow T downstream, about 12" apart. If you get the "scoop" style monoflow T, that comes first. Don't forget a 1/2" baseboard T and a coin vent at the TK, accessible for bleeding.

Rich_49

How many pieces of baseboard are there ?

jtz1229

27' 5 pieces

jtz1229

Thanks for everybody's help. It's always easier to have a plan before you start something.

Rich_49

Instead of a series l o o p I suggest using a manifold / homerun approach . All the heat will receive the same temp water then and you won't have to worry about declining temps and comfort issues . The kickspace would get it's own homerun then also . Each piece of heat could then be adjusted flow wise for best performance and comfort .

SWEI

Assuming the emitters are placed around the perimeter of the house, I would pipe it in reverse return using PEX. Simple, inexpensive, and performs wonderfully.

markham56

I have a 1928 home with cast iron radiators and a hot water boiler. Most of the home is toasty warm except the kitchen which has always been drafty and is furthest from the boiler.

I usually have my thermostat set to 72 and the boiler will come on as needed to maintain that temperature.

I just gutted my kitchen and replaced the radiator with a BeaconMorris K120 kickspace heater and low temp aquastat. The problem is that it will run in the morning when the boiler first fires up but doesn’t stay on long enough to heat the room. And during the day the boiler doesn’t heat up enough to trigger the aquastat. The kitchen stays about 6 degrees colder than other rooms.

Any constructive, cost-effective suggestions? Thanks.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, You say the kitchen is drafty. I'm wondering if there are things you can do to reduce heat loss from that room. Damper on exhaust fan? Looking at it with an IR camera? Leaky windows to fix? As you gutted it, did you have opportunity to properly insulate walls? Suppose the thermostat could be moved closer to the kitchen, but that might just overheat the rest of the house.

Yours, Larry

pecmsg

markham56 said:

I have a 1928 home with cast iron radiators and a hot water boiler. Most of the home is toasty warm except the kitchen which has always been drafty and is furthest from the boiler.



I usually have my thermostat set to 72 and the boiler will come on as needed to maintain that temperature.



I just gutted my kitchen and replaced the radiator with a BeaconMorris K120 kickspace heater and low temp aquastat. The problem is that it will run in the morning when the boiler first fires up but doesn’t stay on long enough to heat the room. And during the day the boiler doesn’t heat up enough to trigger the aquastat. The kitchen stays about 6 degrees colder than other rooms.



Any constructive, cost-effective suggestions? Thanks.

Foam the exterior walls behind the cabinets?
Why don't you get hot enough water to trigger the fan stat?