any ideas

Howard

I'd make it a primary-secondary system. Your cast iron boiler will spend less time below 140'F. Radiant zone(s) would have modulating injection or mixing. Can't recommend one control scheme over the other. Lots of wallies have 100X the experience that I do. Though I did see something cool at Viega facility in Germany. Radiant temperature controlled by what looked like a remote bulb thermostatic radiator valve. What an elegant simple way to get the job done! Adds just the right amount of hot boiler water to maintain temperature. No circuit board or variable speed anything. Saw you're from Chicago so I thought I'd jump in. Not much HVAC service today. I'd better go try to keep the gas in the motorcycle from getting stale.


Howard Hansen Service Technician Extraordinaire

duffy

any ideas

i am a licensed plumber in chicago working on a rehab to an old bungalow.read most of dans books and just finished J.S> modern hydronic heating am trying hard to educate myself on radiant heating and enjoythis forum immensely.am looking for ideas on how to radiant heat the kitchen and bath on this bungalow,the owner gutted both and removed the big cast radiators because of space concerns(kit=15*10,bath 5*7).bsmt is unfinished.existing system 120,000btu boiler with 2 2" supply and 2" return with 3/4 &1" takeoffs to radiators.owner wants to keep other radiators in the other rooms.will go with ceramic tile in bath and kitchen.probably go with a over floor system as opposed to staple up.still working on the math and heat loss calcs.am wondering about simple method of controlling sytem i add onwithout effecting existing 2" mains.will move pump to supply side and pump away and want to use existing expansion tank in ceiling.appreciate any thoughts and forgive any spelling mistakes this tool quite a while to one finger type.

Al Letellier

duffy

Kudos for going at it the right way. We all have to learn it one step at a time. Wouldn't it be wonderful if computers where as easy to use and understand as a pipe wrench? Give a good Ridgid anyday!!
Without seeing the system, it sounds like an old gravity converted system. Those 2" pipes can be difficult to work with. You might think about a small heat exchanger and hook up your radiant to that. It would give you ease of zoning those spaces. Experience has taught me to always put the bath on its own zone to keep it warm.
We use a lot of Wirsbo QuikTrac with much success and I have a bunch of it in my own home (kitchen and bath).
Messing with those big mains could present more labor costs.
Good luck!!

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

duffy

any ideas

yes it is a old gravity system.the owner now might want me to elimate the 2" pipes in bsmt because of how low they are.i have to price it out for him.he wants to keep the radiators in the other rooms though.might go with a two pipe system with monoflo tees on the supply and returns.should they be spaced the same lenght apart as the radiator lenght and isit better to come out of the monoflos on a 45* as opposed to just 90* up in joist space then 90* up through floor.have to go back to dans book and check a few things.still looking for control ideas,could i do p/s with a two pipe monoflow system and kitchen and bath on radiant.thanks in advance appreciate any ideas,this typing is harrder then the underground sewer work we did today

chuck shaw

and one more thing to consider

how about making the system constant circulation, with outdoor reset, and TRV's on each radiator. Someone told me the name of a company that makes TRV's for just that application. I can't remember the name of the company, but I think they are in Western Massachusetts. Can anyone help me on this?

Just a thought, if you are repiping anyway....nice application for reverse return.

Chuck Shaw

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Al Letellier

Duffy's heating job

Duffy, I'm an old licensed plumber myself that fell in love with heating years ago. There are so many ways to do this job, you could get 100 opinions on how to do it, and it's impossible to give you all the details over the net. Ask around your suppliers and find a heat guy that can help you design and lay out the best system for this application. Around here this service is free and they'll do an accurate heat loss for you. Most of the radiant folks offer design services and most are ready and willing to help out someone who's trying to do it right. Heck, even our competitor are lending a hand these day. We're all too busy and have too little help. I do a lot of coaching for guys around here that need it, for a modest fee, of course, but advice and talking help are always free for the asking. Just ask, you may be surprised at the help you get.

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Unknown

Sure Chuck

Macon, which is related to Tunstall. Tom Tunstall is part of the wall, sometimes.

http://www.tunstall-inc.com/

http://www.maconcontrols.com/

Noel

Brett O'Connor

Always willing to help

As stated prior there are numurous of ways to approach this system from piping to control strategies. I would be more than willing to answer and help you out with any design questions that you might have. You can email me and I will give you number to contact me at. There are know fee's attached. Just looking to insure that radiant is installed in a proper manner so we can all gain from the growth of the industry.

duffy

duffy heating job

thanks for all the info.your right al everyone has adifferent opinion and ideas .i will check wtih able heating here in chicago saw their article in p&m,on alot of my plumbing remodel jobs lately people have been asking about radiant so im taking it upon myself to learn how to do this correctly(signed up for wirsbro school in minneazpolis)i dont like going back to jobs to fix mistakes(no profit in that )so i want to get it right the first time.anyone take wirsbro 3day classes is it worth it.dont see many contractors from chicago advertising as radiant specialist like on the east coast.i enjoy the plumbing but think that i could really learn to enjoy doing radiant always love achallenge,was a delta aircraft mechanic for 10 years quit in 95,just in time good decision in hindsight that industry is on hard times,gotta keep learning new thing keeps you young cant seem to get typing down though

duffy

duffy heating job

sorry dont know why my responses arent in order

duffy

correct email adress