Anyone help with radiant water heat?

simmy952 · 11-24-2008, 08:36 AM

I am wanting to install radiant hot water heat in my house. I would like to use the tubes in the floor. The boiler is a waste oil boiler since I have lots of waste oil from the garage. I need a little help in setting up the system in the house. It needs to be zoned. From what I understand, there needs to be 4 zones, maybe five with the basement. I also am tying it to the water heater to add extra hot water. I got an estimate from a HVAC place but the service guy was not too sure on what to do. He was a little overpriced in my book. The material should not be that expensive and I am pretty handy that I should be able to install most of it myself. I just need a little help with the layout.

Christian Nelson · 11-24-2008, 09:25 AM

I did my own.

Lot's of options there.. In floors, you need to install a mixing valve, with at least one pump after the valve, so it actually mixes the water properly. If you don't, the mixing valve will simply return the water back at the valve, and not go through the floor zone. I just went with a manifold, with ball valves, and since you can only go 200 feet with the 1/2 inch PEX anyways, I ended up with three zones per floor, for a total of six zones (basement and 1st floor) I simply put the pump in after the mixing vale going into the manifold on a thermostat, and adjusted the ball valves if one area got too much warmer than the other. Since that rarely changes, there isn't much need for multiple thermostats and junk. I haven't had to adjust those ball valves once I got them set up for two years now. It's really alot simpler than the industry likes to make out that it is.

You'll want two drain valves to push the air out, you will want a small pressure tank, and you will want an air separator, and a ball valve to domestic to refill the system. Some sort of heat exchanger to your other system, unless you simply want to add that to your loop on the other boiler, in that case you probably already have everything but the components you need to add for the floor. I go most of what I needed from pexsupply.com

If you have any more specific questions, I can try to help.

11-24-2008, 08:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
simmy952 Seasoned Member Join Date: Mar 2007	Anyone help with radiant water heat? I am wanting to install radiant hot water heat in my house. I would like to use the tubes in the floor. The boiler is a waste oil boiler since I have lots of waste oil from the garage. I need a little help in setting up the system in the house. It needs to be zoned. From what I understand, there needs to be 4 zones, maybe five with the basement. I also am tying it to the water heater to add extra hot water. I got an estimate from a HVAC place but the service guy was not too sure on what to do. He was a little overpriced in my book. The material should not be that expensive and I am pretty handy that I should be able to install most of it myself. I just need a little help with the layout. __________________ Simmy's Feedback! Check out Springfield's new .45!

11-24-2008, 09:25 AM	#2 (permalink)
Christian Nelson Post Whore Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wisconsin	I did my own. Lot's of options there.. In floors, you need to install a mixing valve, with at least one pump after the valve, so it actually mixes the water properly. If you don't, the mixing valve will simply return the water back at the valve, and not go through the floor zone. I just went with a manifold, with ball valves, and since you can only go 200 feet with the 1/2 inch PEX anyways, I ended up with three zones per floor, for a total of six zones (basement and 1st floor) I simply put the pump in after the mixing vale going into the manifold on a thermostat, and adjusted the ball valves if one area got too much warmer than the other. Since that rarely changes, there isn't much need for multiple thermostats and junk. I haven't had to adjust those ball valves once I got them set up for two years now. It's really alot simpler than the industry likes to make out that it is. You'll want two drain valves to push the air out, you will want a small pressure tank, and you will want an air separator, and a ball valve to domestic to refill the system. Some sort of heat exchanger to your other system, unless you simply want to add that to your loop on the other boiler, in that case you probably already have everything but the components you need to add for the floor. I go most of what I needed from pexsupply.com If you have any more specific questions, I can try to help. __________________ The greatest want of the world is the want of men- men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by it's right name, men who's concience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.