Is a Modine Heater a good choice for heating a basement?

bob young · January 2007

great idea Ed but it does sound a bit dangerous. that condensate is a little hot ,no ? popular science needs you.

Ron Wassel · January 2007

Is a Modine Heater a good choice for basement heat?

HI, I have a new W/M Steam Furnace with a one pipe system that is now working great because of all of the good advice I got here. Thank you! I now have a new challenge. My old furnace was very inefficient and made the basement extremely warm. It is now extremely cold. It is just a basement - laundry & exercising, but we like it very warm. Would a Modine heater be a good choice for basement heat? This is what my plumber is recommending we have installed. I'm looking for a reasonbly priced way to heat my basement using my new furnace. Thank you. Ron Wassel

bob young · January 2007

a baseboard loop would be a better choice.

[Deleted User] · January 2007

baseboard

go with base board heat a modine heater would be loud and it is not the best thing to use.

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Paul Fredricks_3 · January 2007

I'd agree that baseboard is best, but if this is an unfinished basement maybe the Modine would be best. If your basement is anything like mine, baseboard may not be so easy since there are no finished walls to put it on. The fan coil unit does make noise, but if you aren't watching TV and you don't care that may be easier and possibly cheaper.

Christian Egli_2 · January 2007

Look look, it's hot, it's flying, it's a radiator.

Another very attractive proposition is to attach horizontal radiators to the ceiling, that way, they can benefit of the fully simple steam operation. Pure silence, no fan, no pump. Routinely done.

Furthermore, if you glue this basement radiator underneath your kitchen area, you'll have a form of floor heat to keep your feet warm at breakfast time.

Alternately, very simple 2 inch fin tube strapped to the ceiling works without any complication. Proper pitch and proper venting and you're hot.

Lastly, if you have a very draughty basement, the air operated Modine might be a cause for very hot air leaking away before it's had time to warm you up. (That's the whole advantage of radiant heating)

J.C.A._3 · January 2007

Like these guys said....

The Modine is noisy, and heating air wouldn't be MY first choice.

I'm gonna take the "heating from the boiler"approach, and suggest some nice cast iron radiators on a loop from the bottom of the boiler.(see Burnham's web site for sizes and types)

With a Bronze pump and some thought as to where they should be placed for comfort, along with a proper thermostat placement, you should be able to keep the spaces you want heated at a reasonably comfortable temp....and keep the "chill" out of the basement.

This assumes that the boiler is sized normaly...which is usually too much anyway. Why go small with so much extra heat available? Chris

Chris_82 · January 2007

Modine

They can be a very cost effective way of heating an unoccupied space. Just get the one with the built in thermostat otherwise or the one with the strap on sensor, comes on when the pipes warm up, either way the noise isn't all that bad and they come in a variety of sizes. Ringing a basment with CI baseboard is expensive and the height is dictated by the return, which sometimes means chest high and you can't cross doorways

Ed Lentz_2 · January 2007

AS a HO and self installer, I will (at the risk of getting flamed) put in my 2 cents. For one in some cases I am one cheap sucker. I have part of my basement that I use for woodworking, projects. I fashioned a window fan behind a $20 car radiator that is connected to a loop off my boiler (its only about 3' away). Hung it from the ceiling, installed a regular thermostat connected to my Taco zone controller. Looks like hell, works great. There is a lesson here as well. Make sure the transition from copper to the radiator is RADIATOR hose. I was standing right in front of the connector (read cheap rubber) when it blew. Two weeks later after I started to feel better, I used radiator pipe. Was it a stupid mistake? YUP, never to happen again. But for a room that is about 400sq ft it heats up real good. For a workshop it works for now. I also thought about a radiant loop around the room, then considered the dust and come up with this.

Ed Lentz_2 · January 2007

I was in a hurry and the really stupid thing is, is I was a mechanic in another life!!!

Rich Kontny_3 · January 2007

Why Not?

Modine makes many models of fan coil units some with even air filters thermostats etc. You said a steam heat boiler so that can be a little noisy if you go with a steam coil unit You can however fairly easily put a small steam to hot water convertor in and enjoy the comforts of hydronic heat (along with it's quietness)

I would think that baseboard would be a bad choice if the basement is unfinished.Baseboard of the fin-tube (cost effective) style is not going to take alot of abuse!

Modine most certainly has a website.They are based south of here in Racine, WI.

Rich K.

Make Peace Your Passion!

Boston · January 2007

I have on in our garage/basement

They are not silent but not noisy. A small unit heats the basement up real well - baseboars would have been a tough project in my situation. Modine was reasonably priced.

Depends on the application.

In a full finished bsmt, radiant or baseboard is much better. For a workshop of unfinished basement, modine is fine.

That car radiator story is amazing. Sounds like you were lucky. Personally, I would not want anything that could not pass code by the plumbing inspector in my home heating system.

Weezbo · January 2007

not unless you like noise.

or have an ample supply of MUPRO clamps

Is a Modine Heater a good choice for heating a basement?

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