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[Pinehouse4]

I am doing a new install into my house ( 4500 square feet, three floors )which has no duct work, and I have decided to use traditional radiators.

I was fortunate last week to buy 13 various size units from once source, used continuously up until 2 months ago. Six of these are brutes, 2 men cannot lift them off the ground one inch, 41 to 48 inches long and 27 to 38 inches high, width 7 to 11 inches. Two of these will sit in my shop ( 32 x 22 x 11 feet high ) on a concrete slab. The other big ones will go into the basement, 1825 sq feet.

Some of the small ones are for bedrooms and bathrooms.

Last Friday was one of those days I usually hear other people are lucky enough to enjoy but which I seldom have. I got a call back from a local plumbing shop that I had called at the start of the week when looking about for rads. As it turns out he said he did have 6 or 8 sitting in his back shed. I asked him if he had any with the floral patterns on them and he said yes, a couple did.

I was shocked when I got there to find seven with that type of design. Bought the 7 which I feel will handle the 1825 square foot main floor.

3 measure ( L H W )  24 x 40 x 9,
3 measure ( L H W )  27 x 40 x 9,
1 is 39 x 37 x 9

They are all in these pictures.

I have a number of questions to ask in this thread but want to get the pics uploaded first.

Thanks,

Bob

[mlappin]

Looks like a trip to a powder blaster is in order.

Go whole hog and have em powder coated then. Oughta chrome the ones going in your shop

[Pinehouse4]

I will replace all of the nipples and valves.

What is the recommended safe running temperature of the rads, I believe the in-coming water will be near to 185, but feel that would be too hot for safety, do I use a mixing valve to lower this temperature?

It has been suggested to me to use copper to go vertical but pex to travel horozontal.

Is this a special pex, I have seen white and orange colored pex.

Do you usually insulate the hot line of pex within the house?

Do you connect a group or zone together?

Do you recommend glycol for a multiple radiator install where a possible leak could spread throughout the house? There are dogs that could lick it and I believe it is poisonous.

Would it be suggested to make the basement zone 1, the mainfloor zone 2 etc each with a seperate pump and aquast?

As you can see I have no experience in this area.

Bob

[Sprinter]

Well you could pipe it several ways, but anyway you do it they will need some kind of flow control to achieve good space temp control.
 Thermostatic radiator valves-TRV's
Zone valves with TStats for each device
When they were steam they had adjustable maid o mist valves on them, these controlled how much heat came out individually.
 Since these are consider high mass radiant you might be able to go as low as 100 degree supply temps when outdoor temp is 40-50 for example. If you use these with just a fixed temp they can over heat a space on mild days. Your house environment will determine flow and set point temp. Look up radiant panel installs for some ideas. Run oxygen barrier pex for all of it but your header piping. This would be a good job for outdoor reset temp control if you do a mono flow design.  I didn't see any rads with the bread warmer......

[caper]

hey pal, i have several of these in my home (4000sq feet), they work great,some issues i have tho  are,yes they do throw alot of heat and on warm days the house is an oven,but in the winter they are great, one big rad makes alot of noise when the house calls for heat and its not air,another issue is that the rads use a lot of water,so your boiler will have to work alittle bit,and make sure u use mixn valves,for my first yr i didnt and wow ,what a diff,other then that they are great,all of my rads are on there own loop from the manifold as well...

[slimjim]

WOW! Nice score Bob, you will not need all of them for sure,  I'm heating about 3500 feet in Maine with 3  units about 4 feet long and 4 feet high, we run 185-190 and they are controlled separately with a taco circulator control and circs, we have no issues with controlling the heat in the shoulder months, if it is overheating the home, there is a control issue, there is no need for mixing valves as 185 will not burn you before you realize it's hot and children need to be aware of hot as well, do not use toxic anti freeze period, hydronics anti freeze such as NO-BURST is non toxic but pricey, I have a very old book at home that will give you the BTU output of each of the rads at 185, I will be home sunday.

[fryedaddy]

Slim,

is your house insulated very well?

I have infloor heat with about the same or maybe a tad bigger and can't keep up with the heat.
It has to switch over to forced when 37 or below (20 yr old HVAC as well).

[Steinacher Sales]

frryedaddy,

Your outdoor furnace if sized right should be able to keep up. It sounds like the furnace may not be big enough. What are all your numbers. Suck as sq. ft., outdoor furnace size, distance from furnace to heat source, pump size etc. Gallon per minute?

Greg Steincher
618-401-0726

[slimjim]

2x6 walls, fiberglass insulation, 8 inch in 2'nd floor attic, low budget thermopane windows.

[fryedaddy]

Yeah,

alot more efficient that mine.

Center block walls (3) stories with fair insulation and poor windows.

[Pinehouse4]

Thank you for your help guys. First step is to clean them up and paint them appropriately after sand blasting.

Bob

[Pinehouse4]

Looks like a trip to a powder blaster is in order.

Go whole hog and have em powder coated then. Oughta chrome the ones going in your shop

- chrome the ones for the shop, priceless!

I will check out what is available around here for powder coating for the floral units.

Bob

[Pinehouse4]

 Run oxygen barrier pex for all of it but your header piping. This would be a good job for outdoor reset temp control if you do a mono flow design.  I didn't see any rads with the bread warmer......


[/quote]

Hi Sprinter, yes no bread or plate warmers in this batch for sure.
.
These were all hydronic heaters as opposed to steam use.

Is oxygen barrier pex the orange one?

Can you explain what you mean by header piping please?

Bob

[Pinehouse4]

hey pal, i have several of these in my home (4000sq feet), they work great,some issues i have tho  are,yes they do throw alot of heat and on warm days the house is an oven,but in the winter they are great, one big rad makes alot of noise when the house calls for heat and its not air,another issue is that the rads use a lot of water,so your boiler will have to work alittle bit,and make sure u use mixn valves,for my first yr i didnt and wow ,what a diff,other then that they are great,all of my rads are on there own loop from the manifold as well...

Yes I have heard people say how they enjoy the heat they deliver, believe me heating the house this winter with three wood stoves did not create any oven experience here. My wife will be quite happy. I had felt that I had let my family down in that respect, fine for me but not always warm for them.

Bob

[Pinehouse4]

WOW! Nice score Bob, you will not need all of them for sure,  I'm heating about 3500 feet in Maine with 3  units about 4 feet long and 4 feet high, we run 185-190 and they are controlled separately with a taco circulator control and circs, we have no issues with controlling the heat in the shoulder months, if it is overheating the home, there is a control issue, there is no need for mixing valves as 185 will not burn you before you realize it's hot and children need to be aware of hot as well, do not use toxic anti freeze period, hydronics anti freeze such as NO-BURST is non toxic but pricey, I have a very old book at home that will give you the BTU output of each of the rads at 185, I will be home sunday.

Richard I have discovered this link http://www.columbiaheatingsupply.com/page_images/Sizing%20Cast%20Iron%20Radiator%20Heating%20Capacity%20Guide.pdf

which offers a means of calculating the BTU output of any rad based on the number of columns and square footage of each section, quite straightforward so I do not think you need to dig up your book, no doubt you have many other things to attend to.

I did not know that hydronic antifreeze was non toxic, good.

Once I get these guys sitting where they belong I will need help plumbing them together.

thank you,

Bob