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radiant floor heat piping locatiing

frank payne
frank payne Member Posts: 1
I have found myself in a situation where I need to locate plastic wirsbo heat piping encased in 1 1/2 inches of light weight concrete with 3/4 inches of plywood and 3/4 inches of hardwood flooring on top. I have tried an infared camera, but it does not seem to give me accurate enough images. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Comments

  • kevin_5
    kevin_5 Member Posts: 308
    grasping for straws

    It seems a lot more crude than your camera, so I don't know if it would work, especially with all the stuff on your floor, but in one of Dan's books an elderly homeowner showed the hot shot tech where the tubing was imbedded in concrete by simply mopping it and watching the pattern that showed up as it dried. Wish I had a better idea for you. Kevin

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  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,834
    I'm surprised

    the IR camera didn't work? I have been shooting thru 3/4 plywood with carpet and it shows the tube very well. I can even see the screws and mounting clips!

    Try boosting the temperature or it may be the quality of the camera.

    hot rod

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    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • Terry
    Terry Member Posts: 186
    or kill it first

    I would kill the system (not litterally), let things cool a bit, then turn system back on & elevate temps a bit. This should help things show up.. whether you are using IR Camera or IR Mop.

    :)
    Terry
  • Tom Meyer
    Tom Meyer Member Posts: 300
    Cool the system then restart with higher intial temp

    If the system was designed properly, the intent was to prevent "striping". The idea of cooling the system and restarting it, giving a larger delta T between the tube locations and the surrounding floor space is an excellent idea. You're going to have a small window of opportunity to take the IR photo or use the wet mop before the lateral temperatures start to equalize, so it might be an idea to be ready when you restart the system.


    Senior Designer/Trainer
    Precision Hydronics
    www.precisionhydronics.com
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