Snow melt design and materials preference help

broth9640

I am about to undertake some concrete work at my house and wanted to take the opportunity to add a snow melt system. I am planning on doing a partial DIY install. I hired Uponor to design the system for me and I will be installing the tubing, snow/slab sensors, and manifolds myself. I have an HVAC guy whom I trust and is very knowledgeable with boilers and radiant systems who will be installing and setting up the rest of it. He has worked on snow melt systems before, but hasn't ever designed one or installed them. I attached the design by Uponor along with a spec sheet for most of the required parts that they sell on the top of this post. I will of course need pumps, boiler, etc to complete the list. The list has prices on it that are standard retail. After shopping around I was able to shave about 12k off of their estimate. What I am wondering about is, what is the general opinion of Uponor products for use in snow melt systems? Some of their stuff seems very pricey compared to other vendors. I know that you generally get what you pay for, but I also know that I don't necessarily need the absolute best. This system will be used in Golden Colorado and will likely only see about 10-15 days a year at most of actual use. Maybe more, but hard to say. Basically I am trying to find a balance between budget and durability. Are there other manufactures out there that any of you prefer? The tubing seems to be one area where I could save some money. I do understand that not all tubing is equal and suited for this application. Obviously I need oxygen barrier tubing that is rated for whats spec'd on the design sheets. Is there an alternative that any of you prefer? How about manifolds that will be used in a closed system with 40% polypropylene glycol mix? Boiler? etc. Any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Brian

STEVEusaPA

You should black out the pricing in the proposal.

Tinman

Not much to add since the design is complete. Uponor offers really good products. I can't say anything bad about them.

Take a look at the Lochinvar Knight Firetube boilers, another really good company with really good products.

Tekmar for SIM sensor and control.

Pay close attention to insulation detail or you'll have flowers growing in January.

broth9640

what product would you recommend for insulation. I had the project numbers run with a R10 for under slab insulation. what do you use for edge insulation? How do you hide the insulation on the edges? Is there another brand of tubing you would recommend?

Tinman

https://www.uponorpro.com/~/media/Extranet/Files/manuals/SIMeltMan2003.aspx?sc_lang=en
This manual will tell you most everything you need to know.

Owens Corning Foamular, R-10, with enough compressive strength to handle the load.

The edge insulation is a miter cut so it's a thin edge at the perimeter.