Panel Radiator Recommendations?

jad3675

What's the go-to recommendation for a panel radiator for basement usage? Pensotti? Buderus? Anything to look out for?

Thanks,
John

Derheatmeister

Depending on your decor and Heatloss and space availed... In europe the sky is the limit...they have all kinds of shapes,sizes and colors..
Buderus,Runtal,Myson,Jaga,
I have found that the UF Series from runtal are well recieved in the USA..
Again...I would start with a heatloss.
Just keep in mind that >>>Especially with codensing boilers<<<Bigger is better

TAG

The Buderus have been the ones I have used for general heating. They fit nicely under a window and the tall deeper ones are nice for odd spots that require higher outputs. Piped with PEX using the bypass valve and Danfoss head. Have done some Runtal .. mostly the towel racks. Had them make me a few specialty units ... tall towers in one space. A thin tower and baseboard for another.

The Buderus and Myson years ago looked Identical .... not sure who made them.. I see now that Myson has a panel where the connections are in the middle VS the lower right. Not sure if that is any better. Runtal requires all external hookups -- the Buderus Panel type has the valve and connection point for the Danfoss head and it's just a question of buying the bypass valve for the bottom if you want a one pipe set up.

They pump out some heat. I was always able to oversize them so as to use lower water temp and still have them look correct under a window. In a one pipe you have to factor some down stream temp drop -- they give you all this information.

hot_rod

Dianorm and QHT are some other options..

TAG

hot_rod said:

Dianorm and QHT are some other options..

Do all of these come out of the same factory ?

I see on the QHT site that the bypass valve has "Caleffi" on it -- looks a little different with vs the Buderus that I have used. Same idea

Ironman

I use Buderus and Pensoti and they appear to be indentical.

Redrum

Disclaimer - I am not a pro, but I used an ecostyle panel (available from ecomfort) in a 180 sq ft "sunroom/porch". It was less expensive than Buderus, but the build quality is nice and I have been real happy with it (for about 6 years) here in the North East US

psb75

Buderus and Runtal are $$$. Ecostyle from QHT has higher BTUH ratings than Myson. The twin-port connection on one bottom corner is a nice way to connect--with "H" valve or not. Can pipe direct to rad with copper or pex. Runtal is nice for "baseboard" type application--6" high or 9" high in many lengths. Fittings for all rads have become expensive. The wall brackets are very nice to work with. Use three brackets for big rads. Be sure to find SOLID fastening behind wall surface. The only thing better than panel rads is radiant floor (or ceiling and walls) and cast iron rads.

TAG

psb75 said:

Buderus and Runtal are $$$. Ecostyle from QHT has higher BTUH ratings than Myson. The twin-port connection on one bottom corner is a nice way to connect--with "H" valve or not. Can pipe direct to rad with copper or pex. Runtal is nice for "baseboard" type application--6" high or 9" high in many lengths. Fittings for all rads have become expensive. The wall brackets are very nice to work with. Use three brackets for big rads. Be sure to find SOLID fastening behind wall surface. The only thing better than panel rads is radiant floor (or ceiling and walls) and cast iron rads.

Have you used any of the OHT towel warmers? The Runtal is a bit "dated" at this point IMO.

The OHT look to be the same as the Buderus? A friend bought Myson and did not look when ordering and he bought w/o the internal valve ...

jad3675

Thanks guys, I appreciate the recommendations. There are two basement areas to heat; one was actually (in)directly heated via the 1 1/4 copper manifold that fed the radiant system. Plenty of wall space, luckily.

Huh. Myson has overstock on their website...which seem really, really inexpensive. Of course, I still need to do a heat loss. Oh, and they take BSP fittings?

psb75

Yes, you'd better be aware of BSP threads! Myson definitely has them. You also need a big sized(?) metric Allen wrench to turn fittings into the radiators. Ecostyle QHT towel racks are nice. Always a bit pricey--(plus they have their OWN fittings and controls) compared to panel radiators. I consider them a luxury item. They aren't as efficient as the rads.

TAG

jad3675 said:

Thanks guys, I appreciate the recommendations. There are two basement areas to heat; one was actually (in)directly heated via the 1 1/4 copper manifold that fed the radiant system. Plenty of wall space, luckily.

Huh. Myson has overstock on their website...which seem really, really inexpensive. Of course, I still need to do a heat loss. Oh, and they take BSP fittings?

Make sure you understand the output -- it's based on the water temp obviously. Often at 180 degrees. I think I based mine on 140 the last go around. Also the connection required. Most have Euro threads and need an adapter so you can connect up USA -- that's why the bypass valve is a good choice.

That's a very good price ... it seems Myson may have discontinued the long time style with the connection point on the right and now only sell the middle type. As I said in my earlier post -- make sure if you want the Danfoss head -- you get the ones with the internal connections. Otherwise you need to get an external w/ the fitting. That's what I don't like as much with the Runtal -- the hook up is not as elegant. I end up doing the towel warmers on it's own loop with a wall thermostat and manifold head.

jad3675

TAG said:

jad3675 said:

Thanks guys, I appreciate the recommendations. There are two basement areas to heat; one was actually (in)directly heated via the 1 1/4 copper manifold that fed the radiant system. Plenty of wall space, luckily.

Huh. Myson has overstock on their website...which seem really, really inexpensive. Of course, I still need to do a heat loss. Oh, and they take BSP fittings?

Make sure you understand the output -- it's based on the water temp obviously. Often at 180 degrees. I think I based mine on 140 the last go around. Also the connection required. Most have Euro threads and need an adapter so you can connect up USA -- that's why the bypass valve is a good choice.

That's a very good price ... it seems Myson may have discontinued the long time style with the connection point on the right and now only sell the middle type. As I said in my earlier post -- make sure if you want the Danfoss head -- you get the ones with the internal connections. Otherwise you need to get an external w/ the fitting. That's what I don't like as much with the Runtal -- the hook up is not as elegant. I end up doing the towel warmers on it's own loop with a wall thermostat and manifold head.

Thanks - and yeah, I'd be running 140 max through the radiators. The kids playroom was heated rather nicely by the copper manifold. 1 1/4 copper at 120swt and 70 degree air is 24btu/foot. The exposed header was 16 ft, which gave it 400 btu of heating capacity. That seems a bit...low. Right now a 750w oil filled electric radiator keeps the room pretty toasty, and that's right around 2500btu. Looking at the charts Myson provides, the SX7060G @ 140swt does 2100btu which would probably be close enough for a room that's not heavily occupied.

jad3675

Anyone have experience with Fondital Radiators? My wife isn't a big fan of 'box-on-the-wall' style radiators and likes the euro-style of these radiators.

psb75

Not familiar with Fondital. But it looks like another "box-on-the-wall" style to me though. Most panel rads available here ARE "Euro style". Get your wife some good old U.S.A. cast iron radiation. Better than panel rads!

jad3675

psb75 said:

Not familiar with Fondital. But it looks like another "box-on-the-wall" style to me though. Most panel rads available here ARE "Euro style". Get your wife some good old U.S.A. cast iron radiation. Better than panel rads!

Ha. Fair point.
Box on the wall being akin to this:


This is what she likes - Runtal-esque I guess? From the literature I've found they're made for low-temp water, which I'll need.


In the end, it's for two rooms in the basement, one of which is finished the other is partially finished. My OCD may not allow me to have two different style radiators though...

mattmia2

The swt they are designed for is all in how you size them. I can highly recommend runtal although they are a bit pricey.

jad3675

mattmia2 said:

The swt they are designed for is all in how you size them. I can highly recommend runtal although they are a bit pricey.

I have seen some panel rads not recommended for swt under 140, which makes them sub-optimal for modcons. But who knows? Maybe they work fine and the company just doesn't want complaints?

Nice as the Runtals look, the price does give me pause - it's for the basement. The cats and the kids are the only ones who really use it.

I'm starting to get paralysis via analysis with this whole idea; it shouldn't be that hard. Ha.

mattmia2

The engineering data should have the formulas to calculate output at various SWTs. It is a curve, you just need a bigger (possibly much bigger) radiator for lower SWT.

TAG

Once up they are no more offensive than any other -- less than a larger cast. Sort of like a well placed mini split.

kcopp

Runtal... 2 times the price 1/2 the output...

Paul Pollets

Runtal can be ordered in many different sizes, thickness, and output. For basements I generally use a 24x48 or 72" #22 Dianorm or Buderus. Sometimes 2 or 3 may be needed.