ultrafin system

Jeffrey Campbell

Moved into a new home this June. The heating system is the ultrafin system. I have contacted the company and have plenty of information about the product. Today the high temperature was 45 degrees so the I decided to fire up the system for the first time. The company claim that I will see a 10 degree temperature rise in one hour supplying the system with 180 degrees. Well I can say my system is a dog. The results were 2 degrees in the first hour for the largest zone, fianlly after 3 hours I achieved 70 degrees(I started at 64). But to my surprise the thermostat over shoot its setting by 3 degrees. Also, the master bedroom zone has now been running for 2 hours and I have a one degree rise. Has aybody had these type of results with this product. I am worried because the outdoor temperature is only 45 degrees and the design is -20. thanks Jeffrey

Unknown

well frankly I think the whole system is crap.

however, that said, don't be toooooo harsh on initial startup. You have a whole house full of mass that wants to get "up to speed". So I would say that it will probably react better later on.... adequately, I can't say, but better anyway when it isnt' fighting a "cold start" scenario. You might get some benefit switching out the thermostats for something with 'radiant anticipation', perhaps, as well if you are overshooting... though the 3 degree overshoot is pretty typical for "regular" thermostats if I'm not mistaken. I think some of the fellows around here could even tell you how to adjust that.

Never judge any system... no matter how crappy... on initial start up conditions. Let it run and see how it does over a few days.




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

ALH_3

Trouble

Ultra Fin doesnt work. They make completely untrue output claims. In my opinion it's almost criminal.

What are your floor coverings? Any carpet would definitely make the output nearly zero with Ultra Fin. Hopefully you have a crawlspace so you can retrofit with some extruded plates or perhaps you can add some baseboard to supplement. The overshoot is due to the high water temps used which is getting your floors too hot. Plus then you have 180 degree water sitting there in the pipes after the zone has been satisfied.

In short you need some way of getting the heat out of the water and into the room. Ultra Fin wont do it well enough...as your experience shows.

-Andrew