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Tubing type?

MichaelT
MichaelT Member Posts: 26
in Radiant Heating

Hello, I'm looking at buying a property that has an older radiant floor heat system. Attached are some pictures of what the tubing looks like. Any idea what this stuff might be? In person, it looks different than some of the old black rubber tubing I've seen used long ago. It is almost like black pex.

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Comments

  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,893

    Is so hard to tell. Hopefully it's not Lawn Sprinkler tubing. Can you wash it off and read a y numbers? Mad Dog

    Consulting by Mad Dog & Matt Jr.
    mattmia2
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 24,792

    Usually there are markings on them tube, printed or stamped. However it may be every 2 feet.

    Based on the clamps my guess would be pp, polypropylene. We called it well pipe, as it is commonly used for underground piping from the well to the building. ASTM F2389 is one designation. Also used for lawn sprinklers. There was a company that packaged it with copper tube boilers for carwash snowmelt.

    I have never seen any with oxygen barrier, and there are usually lower temperature ratings, different wall thickness and pressure ratings.

    It looks like the barb adapters are brass, many were galvanized and would react with the copper manifold, so that is a plus :)

    A sample of the water or fluid would tell if it is causing corrosion to ferrous components.

    When was it installed? Does it have low temperature protection, a mixing valve to limit excessive temperature?

    With proper protection is may work and last for decades.

    If you determine it is causing ferrous components to fail, pumps, expansion tanks, steel piping, it could be isolated with a plate heat exchanger, for example.

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • MichaelT
    MichaelT Member Posts: 26
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1824864#Comment_1824864

    I did end up trying to clean up some of it but wasn't finding any numbers sadly.

  • MichaelT
    MichaelT Member Posts: 26
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1824866#Comment_1824866

    Thanks @hot_rod I can't imagine using galvanized fittings for any of this stuff. I should take a sample to check for corrosion, great idea!

    It seems like it was installed back in the mid 90s. But the person selling the property isn't the original owner, so they don't know for sure. It doesn't look like the current system has a mixing valve at all. Unless it was an older style I didn't recognize.

    Great advice on using a plate heat exchanger. The system is only for snow melt, so it doesn't have to be ran super hot thankfully.

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