Hot Water Baseboard for Modular Homes

jwade55_3

Sent you an email.

Todd Griffith

Hot Water Baseboard for Modular Homes

We are a progressive modular home builder that has designed a home with a self contained forced hot air heating system in our homes.

Many of the geographical areas we sell to use primarily hot water baseboard heat. We will stub the hot water baseboard registers but do not get involved in the boilers.

During a recent seminar one of our builders said we should research the installation of a boiler on the wall of our homes. We already have the cavity where we put a high efficiency gas furnace (or oil) for the force hot air. This builder came out of the heating business and gave me this web site to start my research.

What are the options to put a boiler on the main floor (or an additional one on the top floor of a two story) where hot water baseboard can be used?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Todd Griffith
Sales Manager
Pennwest Homes

Brad White_9

Plenty of Options, Todd

Depending on the heat loss of your houses (climate dependent of course) there are a good variety of wall-hung boilers, boilers that require little or no clearance to combustibles (but do not skimp on service clearances, please). What you normally allowed for a furnace would seem ideal.

For all but the largest homes you should be able to get a single boiler for the whole house and not need a second one for a second story. Even if you did require two, the piping is insignificant and worth putting both together if you can. Share the load.

There are high end, middle end and even low end but I think the highest efficiency is good positive marketing. At least you can offer options.

One minor point of semantics: Hot water baseboard registers... the last term, registers, generally applies to air systems only. The term baseboard or element would serve nicely!

Best,

Brad

jwade55_3

Sent you an email.

Rodney Summers

I thought

there are required equipment approvals for moble home installs. Doesn't the boiler need UL approval? That limits the choice of equipment a great deal (at least in oil).

singh

modulars

Modulars are pretty common in my area.We usually supply the boiler and
hook up to the baseboards.
One mod company in particular solders pex adapts on the elements, and runs pex for everything to plumbing fixtures.Seems like a natural progression that mod co's start using pex. Sure is a sight to see coils of pex hanging down all over the place.
However, I think one of the benefits of using hydronics heat is the ability to use an indirect tank for domestic hot water, can you squeeze that in your closet also.
Plus, are you willing to service the units or warranty the wall hungs for a year,after they just been driven down the highway full of potholes at 65mph?

Brad White_9

Modulars or Modulating?

Just a clarification in terms being requested. I always took Mod-Con to mean "modulating fire" and condensing. Modular means to me a series of usually equal boilers manifolded together to form a plant of larger capacity. Curious really.

brucewo1b

Modulars or Modulating

Brad I agree mod-con is "modulating fire" and condensing. modulating could be a modulating burner but doesnot condense however I think Singh was refering to Modular homes.

Brad White_23

Thanks, Bruce

That gets a "duh" out of me. Freely given.

Now, if there were modulating homes, THAT would be a sight to see (except in Kah-li-for-nia)

Steve_35

Modular and mobile homes are different critters

built to different standards. A modular home is built to the same code standards as a site built home.