Radiant heat for garage floor?

[TurboBuRick]

only if your going to hook it up to the radiant lines that are in the ground.In the codes eyes that line would be considered a dead end and any water thats in the line would be considered contaminated water

A loop that circulates but yet it's considered a dead end?
The more I know the less I understand. :redface:

 

[DIAZ 87]

A loop that circulates but yet it's considered a dead end?
The more I know the less I understand. :redface:

im going to double check both of my code books, the state and chicago codes tomarrow,i left both of my code books in my pick up, just to make sure im giving you the right info.
by the way, their is a water HEATER design for this application thuo!!!

 

[blackmonte]

I think a code book for where Cork lives might be more helpful , for this is his post, and I think a small cast iron boiler ( water heater is really a small boiler also) RPZ the auto feed , your going to need Gycol added to the sytem also but you need to find out how many gallons the sytem will hold to find how much Gycol to add so correct sizing is important too much Gycol and you will loose heating.Sometimes a simple inline check valve will work also, but all water feeds to anything need RPZs , I have mine Certified every year by A plumber, we use to be able to certify them ( pipefitters) but the plumbers squacked about it .This is a simple install one zone, all in all with concrete, tubing fittings, boiler, pump, copper, exspansion tank , auto feed, relief valve, gas piping,Wiring, flue material, yor talking 10 grand just a guess but I without sizing it or looking at it you will be close to that number. But I still believe this is the best heat source hand down clean and works great.

 

[S2V6RACER]

im going to double check both of my code books, the state and chicago codes tomarrow,i left both of my code books in my pick up, just to make sure im giving you the right info.
by the way, their is a water HEATER design for this application thuo!!!

You are right. Bradford/White makes a unit for this. I toured the plant years back and I remember talking to them about it. It's really just a tank type heater with a built in exchanger. It's a lot faster than building up the primary loop.

It is legal to use a water heater in the State of Michigan, but the water heater MUST be used to heat domestic water also. I would be surprised if it is illegal in Illinois as the manufactures seem to do a good job of petitioning the states to get their products allowed.

There is no question efficiency is going to be horrible with a water heater as they just are not very efficient. I'm told about 68% from my suppliers and I would tend to believe them.

Rinaii tankless heaters would be another option, then you get over 90% efficiency plus the other benefits of a tankless heater.



Just remember that most of the $$ of a radiant system is in the controls. You get what you pay for. A garage system will be very forgiving so if a hack puts the system together it will probably work "OK" and you will never know the difference.

It's a whole different deal when you have to keep the inside of a home warm. There are no shortcuts to be made unless you are just stupid.

 

[DIAZ 87]

blackmonte,i was just making sure that i was givin Rick the right info for our state.As far as looking INTO what would work best for Cork,i would still look into what would he's state would allow as an approve fixture.

S2V6RACER,yup thats the one i was talking about:biggrin:
Cork, just make sure you pull a permit for this install and do your research before you go out spending your hard earn money....

http://www.bradfordwhite.com/images/shared/pdfs/specsheets/546-B_ICON.pdf

 

[DIAZ 87]

personally i don't think a regular hot water heater would get hot enough"120 max for residential homes" to do the job, but i can be wrong.

 

[DIAZ 87]

You are right. Bradford/White makes a unit for this. I toured the plant years back and I remember talking to them about it. It's really just a tank type heater with a built in exchanger. It's a lot faster than building up the primary loop.

It is legal to use a water heater in the State of Michigan, but the water heater MUST be used to heat domestic water also. I would be surprised if it is illegal in Illinois as the manufactures seem to do a good job of petitioning the states to get their products allowed.

There is no question efficiency is going to be horrible with a water heater as they just are not very efficient. I'm told about 68% from my suppliers and I would tend to believe them.

Rinaii tankless heaters would be another option, then you get over 90% efficiency plus the other benefits of a tankless heater.



Just remember that most of the $$ of a radiant system is in the controls. You get what you pay for. A garage system will be very forgiving so if a hack puts the system together it will probably work "OK" and you will never know the difference.

It's a whole different deal when you have to keep the inside of a home warm. There are no shortcuts to be made unless you are just stupid.

and yes, that is an approve unit here too

 

[cork]

Thanks guys. I live in a rural area and the house and garage have been built for nearly 10 years. I had the tubing installed prior to the floor being poured. We have basic building codes but this would never need inspected unless I were to sell the house. I do not plan to use my domestic water heater. I plan to use a separate heater or boiler and a mixture of water/glycol.

 

[DCVING 6]

I have water lines that run through my garage floor, runs off a water heater. It is REALLY nice to not have a cold floor. Only problem is I don't think it's enough to use as a primary heat source. The garage is insulated VERY well which helps, but takes forever to get it up to temp. I am thinking of getting a small gas heater to help supliment it. I think once I get the temp up with the gas heater, the floor heat will have no problem maintaining the temp.

 

[S2V6RACER]

personally i don't think a regular hot water heater would get hot enough"120 max for residential homes" to do the job, but i can be wrong.

Actually, the code defines hot water at 120F min. Residential hot water can not exceed 140F. For culinary reasons you should have around 130F at the kitchen sink (our inspectors check this on finals).

Floor heating temp is reduced with a mixing valve. I would start around 80F. With a proper sized pump you should see less than a 10 degree delta T so that means return water temp will be around 70F and that is PLENTY warm to heat a garage that is insulated. The key is to run the water temp to the slab as low as possible that will keep the room temp stable and not have big temp swings because there is too much heat in the slab when the room finally comes up to temp. Radiant heat is not known as a fast recovery system, I would not shut the system down and expect it to be warm in a couple hours like it would with a unit heater.

You would be surprised how cold floor temps are in your house when your air temp is 68-70F if you shoot it with a heat gun.

 

[blackmonte]

Heat gun? you mean a Infrared Thermometer? Sorry had to:biggrin: http://www.raytek.com/raytek/en-r0

 

[S2V6RACER]

LOL, you are right. You can also heat your garage by pointing your heat gun at the floor and try and get a surface temp reading..... :biggrin:

 

[DCVING 6]

pointing your heat gun at the floor

Good way to heat up cold toes when out at a job site.

 

[blackmonte]

we use Heat sticks on the Job sight nice and Safe 3/4'' Black pipe with holes drilled hooked up to a gas line