Adding baseboard to steam boiler

adambnyc

Hey all,

I'm in the middle of a basement renovation and was thinking about the heating system for the basement. I have stumbled across alot of threads on adding baseboard heat to my burnham independence but they are old and none of the pictures/links seem to be working, sorry to ask all over again.

So i'm trying to wrap my head around this. Exactly what parts would I need to purchase to add a zone for baseboard heat to my boiler? One thing i'm trying to figure out, if the baseboard zone requires heat and that kicks on the boiler to heat the water, wouldn't that cause steam to be generated and heat the rest of the house?

JohnNY

A break-on-rise aquastat set in tapping "P" will limit the temperature of the boiler water.

Danny Scully

You might want to consider installing a wall hung steam radiator. It's a lot less complicated. Then again, if it's baseboard you want, I'm not suggesting it's too complicated. I just always try to avoid a condensate heating zone.

adambnyc

Hey Danny, I'm looking at the prices to add baseboard and the pump alone is pretty costly. I will check out wall hung steam. The basement has the height. We dug the basement down from 6 foot ceilings to 9 foot. Pretty dramatic difference. It's gonna be wall hung or electric baseboard.

JohnNY

You'd rather go with electric heat than reclaim some of what might be otherwise lost heat after a steam cycle?
I thought you said you were doing research for this?

adambnyc

150 bucks in electric baseboard heat vs 1300.00 bucks or more for adding a loop. How long would it take to recoup the extra 1150.00? I'm guessing over 5 years.

adambnyc

Alrightly, taking a second look at the pricing. I think the pump costs threw me when looking at that bronze circ pump. I know a lot of guys on here say don't go with the Taco pump but it's 100 bucks vs 600. Gonna hit the books on this some more.

Could I use pex between the rads and pipe copper near the boiler?

New England SteamWorks

Did you see this?

Also keep in mind that the basement, because it is mostly underground, is the warmest room in the house. It won't require a whole lot of radiation to heat. For that reason, I'd probably lean towards wall (or ceiling) hung steam, or electric and keep things simple.

adambnyc

That explained just about everything . Technically I could use Pex without issue and ensure that with an aquastat and the proper mix that I never get above 180 in the baseboard. It's all so clear now

adambnyc

anyone have some kind of wiring diagram for all of this including the thermostat?

EzzyT

This is what I got

Danny Scully

For what it's worth @adambnyc, I would NOT use pex without a heat exchanger.

adambnyc

Follow up questions as I look at this project. I'm trying to keep my costs low so I don't want to use a manifold.

I'd thinking about using a single pipe system with monoflow valves to feed each rad and a single zone. I want to heat rads in both the basement and on the first floor. There is no heat in the basement. First floor has steam, but not enough radiation.

So when first floor calls for heat, steam will kick on and pump for hot water loop.

For the basement, I was thinking about using TRVs to control the heat. Basement is pretty warm already. Do they make TRVs that connect to a thermostat?

The downside to using just TRVs is that if the basement is cold, it will have to wait for the first floor to call for heat. I don't think this is a big problem as the first floor/second will need heat much more often than the basement.

Given this config, do I even need an aquastat? Figured I could just mix enough to keep water around 180 in the loop as normal.

Danny Scully

Just re-read my post and had to edit. To reinterate, I would NOT use pex without a heat exchanger.

adambnyc

Which heat exchanger would you recommend? I can't find that everhot anywhere.

EzzyT

Sid Harvey's sells Everhot heat exchangers

adambnyc

Thanks Ezzy, Trying to price it. Do you know the ballpark?

EzzyT

All depending on what model you need

adambnyc

Looking at the RH 8

EzzyT

We don't discuss pricing here

Danny Scully

The everhot it nice, especially the vertical one. Also, B & G makes a compact one that grainger sells. Pricing can be found on their website.

adambnyc

EzzyT said:

We don't discuss pricing here

Pricing of services I understand. Ball park on a part eh, not so much. No big deal. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction

adambnyc

How efficient are heat exchangers typically? If the water entering is 200 degrees, what do you think the expected temp of the output water for the loop be?

Jamie Hall

adambnyc said:

How efficient are heat exchangers typically? If the water entering is 200 degrees, what do you think the expected temp of the output water for the loop be?

That depends entirely on the flow rates on the two sides, how big the exchanger is, and how it is piped. There is no "expected" temperature.