pumping up 3 stories

MarkH

I just came back from a visit with the in-laws in the chilly Arizona highlands and saw an interesting problem in their new house. They have a munchkin boiler in the basement heating the house hydronically, and it mostly does a good job. But there is this one 3-foot section of SlantFin baseboard in the bathroom upstairs that doesn't seem particularly effective. I'm wondering if the problem is that the circulator pump just can't push the water that high? Or is it that it is the furthest from the boiler, or that 3 feet of baseboard isn't enough and he should have put in a radiator? Or a combination of those factors and others?

Arthur

Pumping hi

The pump does not pump the water to the highest heater, the water should be up there aready without the pump. All the pump does is lower the pressure on the inlet side of the pump and raise the pressure on the discharge side of the pump so that the water circulates around the system. If the heater is not heating properly test the water temperature at the one end of the heater which should be almost boiler temp and compare with the temp at the other end. should only be about 15-20 degrees.
If a lot more than 15-20 deg this would indicate poor circulation, Maybe the system needs balancing?. pipe size all wrong? pump too small? pipe blockage? air lock in system? Insuffient static water pressure in system?
Note, static water pressure is pressure needed to fill the system past the highest heater 2.3 Ft = 1 psi. if highest heater is 23ft vertically above the boiler it needs 10 psi just to put the water up to the the heater, But for safety at least another 2-3 psi is needed. Circulation pressure is the pressure required to cause the water to circulate thoughout the whole system.
Don't confuse the difference.

Weezbo

hmmm...

thats some heat, maybe it is air locked...if it doesnt work very well,then maybe the three feet of slant fin is only an after thought on a very long system/zone....

Weezbo

this is an interesting deal

Weezbo

something new every day

Weezbo

hmmm... 4X thats new *~/:)

.

(a) I assume you have not just a bathroom but other rooms on the second floor. If they are getting heat, hot water must be getting to that floor, right?.

(b) You say the baseboard "isn't particularly effective". Is it getting warm or not? The solutions depend on whether it is not working at all or working but the room is cool. Have you bled the baseboard?

hr

The blue portion

of that gauge generally is the pressure i8n the system. Check it with all the pumps turned off. I'd say you want about 15psi if you have 20 feet of building above that gauge.

Most gauges read from left to right, if so yours looks a bit high on pressure??

If the baseboard in the bath is the last on the loop it will see the coolest water temperature and have the lowest output. hard to say without seeing more of the zoning, lengths, pipe size, etc.

hot rod

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Ron Schroeder_2

Is this house all radiant floors except for that string of baseboard? If it is, is the baseboard just running at the same temperature as the floor heat? If it is, I wouldn't expect much heat from the baseboard.

Ron

MarkH

the rest of the house

in some parts has Runtal radiators, and there is a SlantFin Kicker (toekick) heater under the downstairs bathroom vanity.
But the upstairs bathroom has no vanity, so just has that one short baseboard. There are no radiant floors, sadly. I think their architect was sorely lacking in vision for not specifying radiant floors. Especially since there is so much marble, stone, and tile flooring.

The main part of the house is heated by the "fireplace" (gas furnace) and the hydronic is considered supplemental heat.

MarkH

something is flowing.

Some heat is coming through the baseboard unit in that bathroom, but it doesn't seem to be enough to effectively warm the room. From readin the other posts, I am beginning to think that they should have put a radiator in there instead if a short baseboard tube.

The house has a very open floor plan, with much of the heat travelling through the central stairwell (it has floating steps with no kick panel to impede airflow) and the top floor is one big open studio area with a kitchen-style sink in one corner. The small enclosed bathroom in that corner contains just the toilet and a shower.

The half-inch pex lines running to that baseboard appear to be darkening more than the others. (It is just off the top of the above picture.) I assumed the darkening was because that zone is flowing more than the others, and they will all eventually darken.

I don't know if the baseboard has been bled. Is that something that can be done by the homeowner?

Ron Schroeder_2

Do you know if the PEX has an oxygen barrier?

Ron