Has any one tried fishing 1/2\" Wirsbo He-plex

phil the drill

thur failed 3/4" PB pipe in slab supplying BB? THANK you!!!! best wishes=== the drill

hot_rod

Fishing tube

I looked at the snowmelt system for the heli-pad at Childrens Hospital in Washington, D.C. The job was originally installed with 5/8" pex but it had frozen up and failed. Another contractor fished 3/8" pex inside the 5/8" loops. It wasn't working very well. I submitted a proposal for re-doing the job by laying new loops on top of the existing slab and pouring a cap over top. I haven't heard back from them yet. -DF


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David Van Wickler

Just went fishing

I installed radiant in a finished split level ranch at my Aunts house. The second floor kitchen was at the opposite side of the boiler. I fished 1/2" HePex from the basement, up through the wall and into the attic where I hung a pumping station. When any of the 4 existing zones operate the panel recieved flow. There is a check valve between the closely spaced tee's to allow the radiant pump to circulate back to the boiler if required. It kicks **** and should freeze as long as the powers on!!!.

You may have to open up the ceiling but it may be worth it if the joist run in the wrong direction.

molly

yes, just this summer........

we had a customer call us with leaking 90*'s on the ends of the baseboard heat on their first floor. What we found was the original installer had run p.b. tubing in the slab to stub up for all of the baseboard ends. Of the 20 pieces of basebord in the first floor slab, at least 1/2 had leaking joints at the p.b. connecton. We were fortunate and were able with,2 people, to push/pull 1'2 wirbo through all of the pieces of 3/4" p.b.. At the end of 2 long days we had replaced all of their old 3/4" p.b. with 1/2" wirsbo. We used an electrical fish wire to pull on the tubing while the other person pushed. You need to come up with a method of attaching it. We mad a small hole in the side of the wirsbo and from the inside of the tubing hooked the fish wire into it (like a fish hook). Our longest fun was about 45'. It was tough! We found the lube electricians use and dish liqued dish soap to be very helpful in pushing this stuff through. Also, flush the enire system out. Years of oxidization due to no oxygen barrier will be coating everything. When the rust residue dries in the out p.b. it makes it harder to pull the new tubing. Good luck brother! It's going to feel like an impossibility at first. But with A LOT of back aching hard labor you'll get through it. Use lots of lube at the 90* bends where the p.b. turns to come up out of the cement. Wear gloves and use a pair of vise grips to pull on the fish wire when it gets rough. Some of the runs we'd be working on seemed like it would NEVER work. At times, it's litterally inch by inch! I just c/s this customers system 2 days ago, everything is working out great! Good luck, let me know how this works out for you I'd love to hears about it.