Need solution for inset radiator

Dave Stroman

Beacon Morris makes a convector that goes in the floor call a Floor Vector. That might work for you.

Dave in Denver

Dan_15

Need solution for inset radiator

Hello, I am a bit stumped on finding a solution for heating my newly remodeled kitchen space, and I was hoping to pick your brains for some advice. My situation is a bit unique. My home has an old (1921) two pipe radiator system. The cast iron rads were replaced a while ago (before I owned the house) with big copper fin-tube convectors. Last year I upgraded the boiler with a new Buderus G/215 and an indirect tank for DHW. The system is very simple, no outdoor reset, no logamatic conrtol; but it does a wonderful job. So now I am remodeling the kitchen. Its a complete gut-and-redo job which gave me the opportunity to insulate all the walls before boarding and plastering. A big feature of the new kitchen is that we are replacing the windows next to the eating area with a big box window that sticks out two feet. The bottom of the box will be be 18" off the floor so it can be used as a seating area for one side of the kitchen table. The problem is that there is currently a 5' long fin-tube convector under that set of windows. So, whoever is sitting in the box window is going to bear the brunt of that convector under the window. Our current plan is to bury that convector in the joists under the window, so it will not get in the way of sitting there, and fashion some type of cover for it that will not burn the legs of someone sitting there. The problem is that the convector is rather unattractive and I would love to use something else in its place. I cant think of anything that would be streamlined enough that it wont get in the way of someone sitting there, and at the same time will not get too hot and burn the person. Baseray or fin-tube baseboard seems like it wont do the trick; Burnham makes those cast iron radiators that can be sunk into the wall, but they get really hot. I need about 15,000 BTUs in the kitchen, and to be honest with you, the current fin/tube convector sure does give me a lot of bang per foot. I think would need a lot more cast iron to get the same BTUs as the convector. I would also hate to use an electric kickspace heater and cut the kitchen out of the hydronic loop. What else can I do? What would be a good solution for this application? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Al Letellier

kitchen heat

Why not radiant floor heating? Easy to do, no radiators or baseboard in the way, a wonderfully warm floor and all kinds of comfort.

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Dan_15

Thanks for that idea Al; we considered radiant and decided not to do it because we are trying to keep expenses down and we would rather work with the current layout. We did not want the added expense of zoning the kitchen, installing mixing valve, pex tube, controls, all that stuff. We dont plan to be in the house very long term, so the cost of radiant didnt justify the long term comfort. We have a lot of other stuff the do in the house, so it just became an issue of priority if you know what I mean. If I had a bigger budget, radiant would definitely be a good solution; but its not going to work in our situation.

Ted_9

Then just keep it the same, since your moving out soon. Why bother changing it then. Let someone sit over the convector. Are you using the window seat as the convector? Is there a large piece of element in the box, with a slot cut open in the bottom and top of the box? If not, why not do that instead?

PATRIOT HEATING & COOLING, INC.

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