Keep radiators or HWBB
I bought a house with a heating system of both radiator & HWBB on the same system/boiler. I only want one type but which is better/cheaper to keep/convert to?
I bought a house with a heating system of both radiator & HWBB on the same system/boiler. I only want one type but which is better/cheaper to keep/convert to?
master plumber, you may be right…this past heating season i got a job off these boards where some licensed plumber had convinced the homeowners that the reason their radiator was blowing out water was because it was “broken”, and replaced with a piece of steam slantfin installed at a (not kidding)20 degree angle on the wall…it was a bad vent in the basement main and fouled probe type lwco autowaterfill at fault…but they were okay with the steam base in the middle of the wall…go figure..
Any time I have seen this combo in an older house it was because someone decided to run a little free baseboard heat off the condensate return to their boiler.
If indeed you have hydronic heat, do a heat loss calc and determine the amount of BTUs needed in each room. Then figure out how much heat you can get out of either a rad or a baseboard heater and then pick based on size and aesthetics.
If all this is too technical for you, call Gateway Plumbing….
If you have a hydronic system and want to upgrade it and add solar domestic hot water send me a follow up e-mail.
-SM
I’ll bet they have a steam system.
pretty right on eman…a person’s personal preference is a big factor in the decision. Also, you need a lot of baseboard to match the output of one radiator and may not have the available wall space. However, I believe that installing a hot water radiator is easier than installing baseboard. The baseboard may be a little cheaper to purchase, but the labor cost will negate those savings. Also, baseboard tends to get beat up and won’t hold it’s look as well as a good cast iron radiator. A radiator will also take up less real estate in a room and will give you more flexibility with your furniture.
it depends on your aesthetics and the heating need of each room…the cheapest option is hot water baseboard, but it barely provides enough btus to heat most rooms, and in my humble opinion looks like crap