Piping Baseboard back to back

TerrS

Hi,

 I have a question about 3/4  inch piping for baseboard elements.

So I have a 1-pipe system. In from the supply thru element and next element in the series. So my issue I want to resolve is in my basement.

I have an 4' baseboard in my basement bathroom but there is no real other one close to the basement thermostat. What I would like to do is add another 4' element to the opposite wall outside the bathroom.

Could I come off the supply with a TEE and supply both 4' baseboards? And the same with the return side?  Would it work?

Jamie Hall

This is hot water, right? And by "one pipe system" you mean that the water flows from the boiler through various baseboards from one to the next to the next and so on and finally back to the boiler?

If so, is this little baseboard of which you speak the only one on its loop, or does it get the water from some other baseboard somewhere and (or) send it on to yet another somewhere?

Your T arrangement will work, but it is unlikely that the two units will get equal flow. It would be better to add valves in the lines to the two units, one in each supply, so you can adjust the flow. If the original unit is in series with others downstream, this will also reduce the temperature of water which they get, which will reduce their output -- probably not much, but something to be aware of.

On the other hand, if by "one pipe system" you mean a monoflow system, your idea may or may not work. Those are finicky about head losses.

TerrS

Jamie Hall said

Thanks Jamie.   Yes by 1-pipe, goes from boiler supply thru probably 6 elements on this zone, each in series, than back to the boiler.

It's okay in this case if they don't exactly heat the same. Meaning 180 degree water and the theoretical BTU output of around 570 btus per foot, but Is only lets say 500 btu per foot in this element.

I know in my kick radiator because it reduced down to 1/2" I had to use mono flow tees to force the water into that mini loop.

I just wanted to make sure that on the return side of both units colliding lets say that it would work and not reverse or something strange?

Or does it need reduced or anything to return back to the boiler. Btw I think this is currently the last element in this zone.

Terri

Jamie Hall

Not a problem. You will have a little more headloss from the T, and I would very much recommend that the two units come into the cross of the T and the flow back to the boiler come out of the leg. That way the head loss at the T will be equal for both branches.

It does sort of seem that the flow might try to go right across -- but water is pushed by pressure, and all that will happen is some turbulence right at the junction.

JUGHNE

It would be best to come out of the existing heater on one end, go thru the wall to the new one.

Then add a return pipe inside the new BB to connect to the system where you cut the pipe.

This would put these in series as the other BB's are.

If you parallel them, then you get only 1/2 the heat out of each.
If this is the last BB then the temp will have dropped by the time the supply water gets there.
If it is actually the first then it will be the highest temp in the system.

TerrS

@JUGHNE @Jamie Hall

I would agree if I had my druthers, I would come out of one and into the other, like all the others are piped. Except in this case, they are back to back in this scenario, with the bathroom wall separating.

So what about this. Since the supply side comes down the wall, I add a TEE, and most of hot water would be split to each element.

On the return side, I use a 90 and 3" above it I put in the tee. This would stop maybe the collision head on from both sides. I wish there was a directional tee. This way the water from the 2nd baseboard would not come in straight but be directed to the direction of the return water flow

EBEBRATT-Ed

@TerrS

a couple of rough drawings attached. Does the existing supply & return come from overhead or along the floor? If you use the first drawing put the tees so that one baseboard is fed from the branch of the tee but the return goes in the run of the return tee so the flow will balance

TerrS

@MikeAmann @Jamie Hall and others
So I want to really thank everyone, This forum is amazing.

Mike, sent me a ton of fittings I didnt know existed, like copper WYE's and others, Thank you!

So I have attached a few picture, and I thing I was making this way too complicated for myself, thinking the water had to always flow left to right. When in reality as long as all the Supplies go in, the return feeds the next supply and then return back to the boiler. Correct????

So in my diagram, I will just open up the wall and relocate the current Bathroom return line to the return side of the new 3' baseboard fin. Then I can just attach both units together with like a 6" small piece of pipe.







The picture with the return marked, will just need extended a foot or so, but it would get connected now to the new 3' baseboard Fin return. The only reason I shrunk the new to 3' was because of my dryer. If I can figure out and move my dryer over 1-2" then I might go back upto 4', but then I am afraid my supply/returns would be in the way of each other unless I offset them, so TBD.

Thanks
Terri

EBEBRATT-Ed

That will work. That is all you need to do. I would put a drain valve down low somewhere and a vent on the return at the highest point unless you have a purge and balance station set up at the boiler.

bburd

If you have to reduce the length from 4 feet to 3 feet, you may want to use high output baseboard which will give you nearly the same amount of heat in a shorter length.

TerrS

bburd said:

If you have to reduce the length from 4 feet to 3 feet, you may want to use high output baseboard which will give you nearly the same amount of heat in a shorter length.

Thanks I have been looking for the HE fins and really can't find them. Do you have a site I can look at?

bburd

https://slantfin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/MultiPak-80-Catalog-Sheet-718.pdf

this brand is widely available at local plumbing and heating supply shops. If you can't find it, try online at supplyhouse.com.