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Maintaining Manifolds on IPEX/Warmrite/Kitec Radiant Floor System

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MikeySW
MikeySW Member Posts: 21
edited November 2025 in Radiant Heating

I purchased a home in 2019 that has a Munchkin boiler tied to an indirect water heater, and an in-floor radiant heating system in tile floors. I have two manifolds, one in the garage that handles the main floor of the house (approximately 3,700 sq ft) with 7 circuits on 5 zones controlled by actuators, and another in the boiler room with 5 circuits on 3 zones controlled by actuators that services the walkout basement area (about 700 sq ft). The in-floor radiant system was unused by the previous owner for 7 years to the best of my knowledge. All manifold valves were in the off position when we purchased the home.

Long story short, I started using the radiant system and have been successfully to date. It seems to be working well, and I have had some other issues with vent leaks and manifold leaks over the years that have been addressed to some degree of satisfaction by a vendor or two that sort of worked on these systems.

As you can see in the pictures below, the fluid in my system is contaminated by something. When I brought things back online, the fluid in the flow meter glass was not clear, but it was not this color either. I am on a well and our mountain water does have high levels of iron in it.

So my question is should I/ can I clean out those flow meters by taking the IPEX manifold apart? I did have one vendor offer to do that for $$$$. I thought that was insane so I passed.

Seeing how the water/glycol mix (I think) is discolored should I flush the system and then replace the fluid with a new mixture? I have one run of pipe that goes up against a wall in our shower and the other side of that wall is the garage so I guess that is why they have glycol in the system. I have used this system continuously during winter for the past 6 years.

What else should I do for maintenance? Is it DIY friendly tasks? Thanks for any advice.

tempImageBaOzGI.jpg tempImage38AQSo.jpg tempImageNqcwCK.jpg

Comments

  • HydronicMike
    HydronicMike Member Posts: 354

    First you should test the concentration of the fluid with a refractometer. And the quality. And if you don't know which type of glycol.
    I cant for sure rule out oxygen ingress.
    If you don't have to open it up to change the fluid, I wouldn't worry about it. If you do open it up check for oxygen corrosion.
    With system off and all the heads closed, you could remove the circulator and see what that looks like inside.

    MikeySW
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 27,566

    Definitely not a Caleffi manifold.

    5,6 & 7 look like Caleffi actuators, they would be labeled on the top.

    It's possible those flow indicators will disassemble at the black nut.

    Screenshot 2025-11-06 at 10.44.46 AM.png

    CLR available at the grocery store works well with a cotton swab. Although I wouldn't bother knowing they will get colored within days of a cleaning. If they all indicate or bounce a bit, you have flow. Let the sleeping dog lie :)

    I don't see signs of leaks or dezincification anywhere, I think you are in good shape.

    A small piece of foam insulation zip tied over that sensor on the left end would help it read more accurately and quickly. Not a dealbreaker, however.

    Ipex is still around, growing in fact. Probably the last thing they want to hear are the words Kitec or WarmRite.

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    MikeySW
  • GGross
    GGross Member Posts: 1,915

    can you make out anywhere on the tubing that it has an oxygen barrier? I can just make out the word "potable" on a piece of pipe, which doesn't necessarily mean it has no O2 barrier but just a little suspect considering how dirty the water is.

  • MikeySW
    MikeySW Member Posts: 21
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1871151#Comment_1871151

    I cannot make out anything specific about it having an oxygen barrier. I know it is Kitec and that there was a class action lawsuit about it reacting with zinc fittings or something?

    Does anyone else know if Kitec had an oxygen barrier in it? It was installed in 2006.

  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 27,566

    kitec and Warmrite is, was a PAP. The aluminum is the O 2 barrier

    I don’t recall them ever making a plain pex, under those names

    It is a different OD than pex so it takes a specific PAP fitting

    On alleged cause of failures was the aluminum touching the brass fittings, causing electrolysis, breaking diwn the aluminum

    The better fittings had a fiber isolation washer in the fitting. And a double o-ring on the insert part.

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    GGrossMikeySW
  • steferelli
    steferelli Member Posts: 1
    edited April 8

    Interestingly, your system is exactly what was installed in my house when built in 2008. Unfortunately, the Munchkin boiler turned out to be defective and needed to be replaced within a few years, and I have only just learned (because my 2nd boiler just died) that all of the Ipex tubing in my floors was found to be defective, resulting in a class action lawsuit. The deadline for claims was 2020.

    I'm thinking that this is probably why the previous owners of your house stopped using this as their heating system. Could I ask what they were using for heat?

    I am currently in the predicament of looking for a heating alternative, so that I can drain all of my in-floor tubing and stop using that system. Did the previous owners of your house install heat pumps by chance?

    I am wondering if this would be a viable heating alternative for a 2.5 story home with a separate basement apartment.

  • MikeySW
    MikeySW Member Posts: 21

    Yes, the IPEX (Kitec) tubing was recalled. Although, I don't know that they actually said there was something wrong with the tubing itself. It is my understanding that the connectors were the issue and it would cause some sort of chemical reaction that would deteriorate that section of tubing. I'm sure others on this forum who know much more about this could chime in.

    My house is on the Munchkin boiler and it also has a heat pump on the primary floor. The walkout basement is not on any heat pump system at all. I can only assume the prior owner used the heat pump for the primary or he could have used the Aux heat which in this setup is the DX coils on the blowers that is heated from the boiler. I actually use this for a couple hours in the morning and it is fantastic.

    It is plumbed directly from the boiler using copper pipes and circulating pumps that feed the DX coils. It is fast and efficient heat that is wonderful. Just to clarify, these boiler heated coils sit on top of my two air handlers (one on the primary floor and one in the basement) and it's forced hot air for these coils that then is circulated throughout the home via the air ductwork.

    If my floor heat ever fails (meaning the recalled Kitec tubes), then I'll shut the valves off to the floors and run the DX coils only. They are fantastic.

    I don't know if the installer did it that way anticipating a failure down the road, but I'm glad he did. My experience has been that heat pumps don't work very well in the SW Idaho single digit nights.

    Best of luck on rehabbing your system. Maybe you could get DX coils on your air handlers on your new boiler (if you decide to install one)? Obviously, piping would need to be done from the boiler to the air handler. Not a small deal I'm sure.

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