Tubing

Andy_6

I recently ran across the Watts Radiant ONIX tubing and was wondering what others experience has been with this product. They say that the tubing has no linear expansion thru its temperature range. Just want to know what others have experienced with this product. Sure looks alot easier to use for staple up projects. Thanks

Mark Hunt

I've been using it


since it became available.

Love it for staple-ups!

Mark H

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Andy_6

Do you just staple it up or do you add heat transfer plates?

Bill Nye

you just

Staple it up. I have it in my house. With just 135° water I can maintain 72° in -6° weather. So I guess it works.

I bought the heatway pneumatic stapler but most supply houses will loan or rent one to you. I did projects in a couple of 1900's houses with unusual framing. The heatway is much easier to manuever than the pex.

Tim Doran

Heat loss

Do the heat loss. Rules of thumb and it worked on the last job don't cut it. The decision to use different applications must be based on a heat loss. This is the only way to come up with correct water temperatures, flows, and application types no matter who's product you choose.

Tim D.

Robert O'Connor_7

Heat WAy

3/8" id w/oxy barrier, black in color?? If so good stuff, expensive, but good. EZ for staple up (w/the nailer). A #1 in MY book, go for it..... boc

Troy_3

Rubber hose

Just ripped out a couple thousand feet installed by others. Replaced it with 1/2" pex and thermofin plates lowered the water temp. 20 deg. Believe it or not the room came up 15 deg. I will give this lovely orange hose to the first person to pick it up.

Bill Nye

Well

I never said I didn't do a heat loss, and I never said the originator of this post did not have to do a heat loss. But , thank you for pointing that out.

So many people have told me the hose #$*&^, and I just wanted you to know it works fine in my house. I have done miles of wirsbo and stadler vega, in these projects the rubber hose was much more forgiving on a difficult installation.

That, and the manufacturers rep gave me good incentive to use his product. Sorry I didn't explain myself better in the original post. I kind'a feel like you flamed me over it though.

jwade55_3

Don't take this

the wrong way, but I find it interesting that the water temp went down 20 deg and the room went up 15. Any more details on the project, i.e. insulation, floor covering, was the original installed improperly?

Thanks,

J

hr

It's had a

bit of a hard, colorful, litigatious, past history. Rubber hydronic tube in general that is The jury is still out, no pun intended!

Lots of challanges with leak proof fitting.

All the problems may be finally worked out in the latest offering, it's gotton obece in the process and expensive. Still by far the easiest tubing to install.

Test show it will cost 7- 10 degrees more supply temperature than pex.

Too bad they don't offer transfer plates for it. Probably get a lot more acceptenance

hot rod

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Andy_9

I always do the heat loss calculations on my jobs to. It is nice to know from the start what water temps to use and the required tube spacing. Hot Rod has a good point, why no heat transfer plates? However the thought of a tubing with no linear thermal expansion sure has me interested. HotRod what has you experience been with the fittings and leaks?

Troy_3

Rubber hose replaced

Here are the fax- Removed insulation. Removed rubber. Replaced with Thermofin plates and 1/2" pex tube. Replaced old insulation. Homeowner called me and told me the room maintains 70 deg. even at 0deg. outside. When we started this fix the room was 55deg. and the day we started it eas 25deg. outside. I find all this quite surprising my self. I told her we would improve the heat but wasn't sure if we could make that kind of difference. I attribute it to the extruded aluminum plates. My customer is a believer. One thing I left out- we also installed a Wirsbo duomix injection control, repiped the boiler. The last guys were just pumping the same water temp to the floor that the radiators received. 160deg. The question I ask myself is why pay a premium for a product that I see as being very limited. And with a questionable history. I guess thats why we live in America. Choice.

Tim Doran

Flammed

Not my intent Bill, sorry if it came across that way. I just wanted to point out that doing a design is important. This is a particularly frustrating subject for me as our industry uses way too many rules of thumb and many folks forgo the design process only to end up in trouble.

Tim D.