manifold location

John Wells

My plumber has just installed radiant tubing for an upstairs bathroom and bedroom. My heating contractor insists that the manifold for that zone should be above that floor in a wall with an access panel...my plumber says it is fine to just run the tubing to a basement location for the manifold.... whats the best plan?

chuck shaw

I agree with your heating contractor

I like to have the manifolds in pretty close proximity to the zone being served. It cuts down on the overall flow thru the smaller tubing, therfore lowering the head and pressure you need for the zone to work at its best. And allows you to have a more accuretly (sp?) sized pump, thus giving the proper flow rate accross the zone, to ensure even, comfortable heat.

I'm sure your heating contractor knows this as well, and isnt his expertise the reason you hired him? If your plumber had more know how and experiance with raidiant heat, wouldn't you have had him do the work?

JMO

Chuck

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hr

If

there is a good location near that zone to install a remote manifold. Manifolds in the closets often become inaccessable! Manifolds above the tube become the high spot in the system, make sure you have a purge point. Stay away from auto vents in that application, someday they will leak!

Unless the distance is real far I prefer them in the mechanical room. I like to have as much as pratical near the boiler. And floor drain

Easier to bleed and repair zone control valves without rummaging through a closet. Insulate the supply and returns, however.

Hard to find room to install a manifold in the bathroom, generally.

All depends on your rooms and homes layout, I suppose. Either will work, which do YOU prefer?

hot rod

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Rudy Feddema

manifold locations

The best location for a manifold is always above the floor level of the loops it is feeding. Air elimination is easier to achieve.
Placing the manifold below the floor or even two floors below makes for dificulty in removing the air, especially if you do not fill the system one loop at a time.
Above the floor is what I teach my plumbing & heating customers.

Mark Wolff

Plumbers/Heating Techs

Let the plumber stick to DWV and domestic water. In a very small house the loops can be individually returned to the mech. rm. and attached to the manifolds, but it is more work on the pump, more tubing to run, more labor to install, etc. Running one supply and one return to a manifold location immediately adjacent to the zone being supplied by it is the best bet. Access panels can be the cheap white plastic ones, or better yet, have your finish carpenter trim the access to make it look professional and planned.

On the manifold, I would use an auto air vent or coin vent, but isolate it with a 1/8" MIP x 1/8" FIP ball valve and leave it off, so after the initial bleeding of the loops at their respective manifolds, you can later go back and remove any additional air that may have accumulated over time. One note, if you use an auto air vent, you MUST leave it off, because as stated on another post, it will eventually start to leak.