Incorporating Anaconda Vibration Elimination hose in hydronic heating system piping

jeffwi1958

Hi,

I'm re-plumbing the hydronic heating system in my house. Mostly I'm just replacing Cu piping that was already there (i.e., doing a cleaner job than was done before), but I'm also replacing original, 1901-vintage cast iron piping where it had been left in place when the cu piping was installed. There are a number of places where iron pipe was still in between the ceiling joists and that pipe did not go straight through the ceiling below, the joist cavity, and to the surface of the next floor above. Instead, there were jogs in those lines. I think I can manage - with much measuring/cutting, dry assembling, test-fitting, repeat - to make up soldered replacements for these jogs, but I wonder if it'd be possible and wise to use vibration-elimination braided-cu-wire, solder-socketed hose in lieu of these made-up solid pipe jogs. The Anaconda-branded Vibration Elimination hose is what I'm considering. It was intended for high-pressure refrigeration applications, so my thinking is that it might be useable - at least wrt to pressure limits (I'd be using these hoses in 1-1/4" pipe lines) - in a hydronic heating system. The hot water side of things is what I'm not sure about. Anyone know how safe it would be to use these hoses in the way I suggest?

Thanks to the experts in advance.

Jeff

Jamie Hall

Far as I can make out you're on your own. Anaconda does not appear to have ratings for anything over 125 F.

Or you could use flexible copper pipe. Use a tube bender, though, for the bends -- don't even think of trying to bend it without one. You'll kink the tubing.

Or why not use PEX?

hot_rod

MetraFlex will build most any connector you want.

1-1/4 pex is fairly stiff tube, doubt it would help.

possibly some heater or radiator hose would work, but it may not be O2 barrier.

JUGHNE

Was your house a gravity system?
They used a lot of swing 90's to maintain the slope on the horizontal pipes so the vertical risers would be plumb.
Also there was a concern of expansion that these fittings would compensate for.
With the pumped system the slope is not needed. If you have a large enough hole for copper risers the expansion issue may not matter.

jeffwi1958

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Would rather not get into PEX at this point. Point taken, though, about temp ratings and being on my own. I may just go ahead and buy one of these Anaconda hoses and check out the construction of the thing, i.e., the inner lining - what it's made of. I've also seen solid copper corrugated flex pipe. Question is whether it comes in 1-1/4" and the lengths I'll need. I'll also check out Metraflex. (Thanks for that lead.)

As to gravity system, I'm pretty sure it was originally, but by the time I came into the picture the system had a gas boiler (alongside the old cast iron boiler) that had an associated pump on it, so that's how it's been operating over the last 30 years. And as to swing 90s, I'm not really sure I know what those are, but in the cast iron piping that I've removed - with gently sloped horizontals and numerous 90s - I didn't see anything other than what I'd call standard 90s. Nothing articulating or anything like that. I've gone to great lengths to make sure that all of my runs - from the mains off the boiler to the laterals going to the radiators - have a gentle slope (1/16" fall per foot) back to the boiler for ease of draining the system in whole or in part. Took my queues from the previous copper plumbing (where they bothered to slope it) and the old iron that I duplicated in copper. I suppose that'll help when the electrical grid fails.

Thanks again for all of your help. I'll report back with how I finally address the issue.

Jeff