| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| BOILER WATER TEMPERATURE | 11/21/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: For a infloor water heating system, what should my boiler water temperature be set at.
A: Boiler water temperature is dictated by the way the appliance is manufactured. Some boilers require ...
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| Replace single old radiator with in-floor heat? | 11/15/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: Our 1905 brick Victorian has the original radiators throughout, all in excellent working condition. ...
A: Yes! But it probably won't satisfy the heat load. To assure you have enough output from any ...
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| radiant heat for cold county vacation home | 11/13/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I would like to install a radiant heat system in a new vacation home in the Adirondacks but will ...
A: Anti-freeze. Though it isn't good for anything else when it coming to space heating, it does not ...
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| Updating gas fired steam system | 11/12/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: My house was built in the 20's in western Massachusetts. Currently I have a Peerless(installed ...
A: Whenever possible the steam has to go. Though state-of-the-art at the turn of the century, steam has ...
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| Installing radiant heating over existing slab | 11/11/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: We are planning to install hydronic infloor heating in our basement on top of an existing concrete ...
A: It is unlikely that your existing slab is insulated. A vapor barrier (6mil.) goes down first, then ...
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| radiant floor getting too hot | 11/6/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I live in a condo with three thermostats and three zone valves with one pump supplying water from ...
A: "Professional" is a term too loosely used. True professionals don't "mess things up" but low bidders ...
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| Throw rug pad over radiant heat | 11/2/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: This may not your expertise, but I need to purchase a rug pad for 2 area rugs I have over porcelain ...
A: Rugs are for people that lack the luxury of radiant floors (my wife doesn't believe it either). ...
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| Recurring Failures in Radiant System | 10/30/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am in the process of buying a house with existing Radiant floor heat in the basement. The house is ...
A: Your plumber is correct. It is not the non-barrier tubing that is at fault. It is still commonly ...
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| radiant floor and wood | 10/28/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am about to build a new 864sqft workshop. I am looking to find a way to heat this space by using a ...
A: If you heat water with a "stove" you will have a yourself a "boiler". With that, you will have to ...
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| boiler for radiant floor heating, Warmboard | 10/27/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am building a 2,200 SF house in upstate NY (6,700 heating degree days) with a product called ...
A: Warmboard is an excellent product (I wish I would of thought of it) combining structural ...
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| Leaking copper pipe in concrete floor | 10/25/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: We have a leaking 1" copper pipe which has been poured either in or directly under a poured concrete ...
A: I design and install panel wall radiators to replace the heat lost when a floor circuit starts ...
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| zones don't move water | 10/23/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: 4 of my 12 zones are doing the same thing. The zone circulator pump comes on, but water does not ...
A: Near piping is critical to air elimination and flow control. Unfortunately, I can't see or hear ...
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| Navien Tankless Radiant disaster ! | 10/19/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: 2800 Sq Ft Bungalow with radiant floor heating 10 rms; 3 up and 7 down. Water temp set 130 deg ...
A: Tankless water heaters are not boilers and should not be used as such. Those who push them are often ...
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| Radiant Floor Heating and Geothermal Retrofitting | 10/16/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am interested in retrofitting a geothermal system for my country home in eastern Iowa. The house ...
A: Some manufacturers have combination units whereby warm and cold water are delivered to the ...
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| lubricating oil for old pump | 10/15/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: My mother has an hydronic radiant heat system installed in the late forties/early fifties. She ...
A: B&G says; "Proper Oiling Procedures Most misalignment problems can be attributed to motor mounts ...
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| radiant in floor heat, noise | 10/2/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: the system has been off for at least 6 months. i just turned it on and it would make a squealing ...
A: If properly designed, installed and maintained radiant floor (and all hydronic) heating systems ...
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| In floor heat and tankless heater | 9/29/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: my question is, can I use a tankless hot water heater in my closed in floor system. If I can, do I ...
A: Yes you can. It is done all the time, albeit with little success. It is easy to confuse the ...
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| Aircraft hangar floor radiant floor specs. | 9/27/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: Am getting ready to have the concrete floor poured in my new 45 x 65 feet hangar to hold light to ...
A: A structural engineer should be involved. In my experience, if you can get a big truck in the ...
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| Radiant heat noise in the pipes | 9/25/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: We our purchasing a home that has radiany heat. The boiler works but for some reason when we have it ...
A: Broken pipes in radiant heating systems is very rare. What is more common is poor "near piping" ...
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| Boiler or water heater or Combination unit | 9/21/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am building a 24x36 (one story open w/ loft) house in Montana. We installed PEX tubing when ...
A: The are many opinions but the facts speak for themselves. It is a matter of priorities. First, the ...
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| Heated Driveway Design | 9/13/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am a 4th year student working on a project to find an energy efficient way to heat an inclined ...
A: The most efficient and often used form of snow (really ice) melting is hydronic based. The reasons ...
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| water temperatures for radiant panels | 9/12/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I have a oil fired boiler with runtal steel heating in some rooms, cast iron radiators in some rooms ...
A: Radiant panels (emitters that give off more than half their energy in radiant vs. convected heat) ...
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| Heating pool and floor with the same boiler. | 9/6/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am building a wet room that will have a concrete radiant floor on which we plan to place an above ...
A: I would start with a ModCon boiler sized to the combination load. Tubing goes in the slab (generally ...
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| Combination heating and domestic hot water systems | 9/4/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I would like to know if there are any water heating systems out there that would allow you to heat ...
A: The simple answer is yes! Let me start by saying; you are correct in exclusively considering ...
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| Polybutylene tubing and my new boiler | 9/3/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am about to replace my seven year old Laars Mini-Therm 50K BTU cast iron boiler with a condensing ...
A: Polybutylene and ModCon boilers were made for each other. Polybutylene was an excellent tube for ...
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| Pour-over existing basement floor | 6/26/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am installing pex pipe in our basement floor before concrete is being poured. The block will be ...
A: I would have to know your climate (location), the depth of your basement below grade, the insulation ...
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| Radiant Heat leaks in concrete | 5/13/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: Contractor installed & tested with water in tubing but failed to remove water after test. Unaware of ...
A: I don't understand why many manufacturers (and the RPA) still recommend or allow hydrostatic ...
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| Which heat source is more efficient? | 5/12/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am considering installing radiant floor heat in my studio and was wondering which system heats ...
A: Efficiency of radiant panels has to do with surface area and temperature. Cost of operation can be ...
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| mod-con vs cast-iron boilers | 5/11/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I have cast-iron radiators on a 2 story house built in 1909. I have purchased a Crown AWI095 (spark ...
A: I just serviced a (much-demonized) Glowcore condensing boiler last year. It has reached it estimated ...
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| installing tubing without heat source | 5/4/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: We are in central Iowa and haven't started our retrofit project yet. We want to install the tubing ...
A: The heat load analysis not only determines the heat load, but the heat emitter and from there the ...
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| Insulating existing slab-on-grade radiant floor | 5/2/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: This winter I noticed cold drafts coming in from under the trim along the exterior wall in my patio ...
A: This spring while gardening (call the "Digger's Hot Line 800-252-1166 before you dig) excavate the ...
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| greenhouse radiant heat | 4/28/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I own a green house approx size 10x12 8 ft high installed on a 4" concrete slab,what could I use to ...
A: I recommend a product called Crete-Heat for many DIYers lacking tools and skills. ...
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| Onix staple-up | 4/27/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I am doing a radiant floor design and I am doing the calculations for the mean water temp in the ...
A: Staple-up is my least favorite (most challenging) type of radiant floor application. The fine people ...
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| is a full conversion necessary | 4/24/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: i live in a campanelli style slab ranch,built in 1960, still have original boiler, have radiant ...
A: I assume you have finned baseboard. If that is the case it fin should be measured and the heat load ...
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| Antifreeze for remote cabin | 4/23/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I have a customer that is putting infloor in basement and cast iron rads upstairs.Home is remote, ...
A: There are three things you can depend on when it comes to antifreeze. First, that it is the surest ...
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| Modular Homes Hydronic radiant flooring | 4/22/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: We are just about to have a modular home build (3000sq feet). We live in the state of maine. How do ...
A: I recommend the use of a certified radiant floor designer. Once you have a design (which takes into ...
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| baseboard and radiant heat together | 4/20/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: can i have both on same boiler
A: Yes! Baseboard is normally designed to operate at 180°F average water temperature during design ...
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| geothermal radiant floor heating | 4/18/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I have a 2000 sf 1951 ranch with a full concrete block basement in central Iowa. I would like to ...
A: There is nothing more efficient than a properly designed and installed ground source heat pump. ...
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| Wirsbo (Electric) Combined with Solar solution. | 4/13/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: We have our 2nd home approx 7000 sq feet in Northern Minnesota that was built in 2001/02. It has a ...
A: It's a great idea. Unfortunately we do not yet have affordable technology to make this happen. ...
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| NTI and non-barrier radiant floor tubing | 4/10/2009 | Morgan M. Audetat |
Q: I'm about to design a radiant system for my home and garage and I have read that you feel glycol is ...
A: I use barrier PEX now on all but some commercial designs, but that was not always the case. In the ...
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