Is there an area on this forum to talk about hot water baseboard heat?

[snow4me]

Just bought a house with hot water baseboard heat and I know NOTHING about it! I can tell you it has three zones, basement, main floor and upstairs. Just looking for a place to get some questions answered as they arise.

Thanks!!

 

[BrotherBart]

The Boiler Room is the home of the central heating wizards.

 

[firefighterjake]

I assume you're talking about HWBB heat with an oil or gas boiler . . . since I never look at the Boiler Room . . . what are your questions?

 

[begreen]

moved to the boiler room. now you're in hot water

 

[Jim Post]

Another good source of info on Hydronic heating is The Wall @ www.HeatingHelp.com ....that site is loaded with good info and books that will explain alot.

I have 3 zones of HWBB heat in a 60s vintage two level ranch. I tied a tarm solo plus 30 to the system in 2005.

I've been in the house 10 years and have been very happy with the heating system.

The 40 year old LP boiler works fine but I don't even light it unless we are not around to tend the tarm.

jp

 

[snow4me]

Hey guys! I am not in the house just yet, close at the end of the month though. I am heading out there this weekend and I will see if I can get some info on the boiler. I can tell you, it is natural gas.

Thanks.

 

[Gooserider]

Most of us are here primarily to discuss heating with wood boilers, and the baseboard and other such stuff is mostly there to give the boilers something to do, but I'm sure folks will try to help you out at least some...

What I would probably try to do for starters is get the information off as much of the boiler room equipment as you can, and make a sketch of how the parts are plumbed together... You can also look through some of the threads here to see some typical layouts - the boiler types and the exact heat emitters will vary a lot, but the plumbing in between tends to stay pretty much the same as it does the same sort of stuff...

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to call in a heating pro that does hydronics to have him give the system a checkup and make sure everything is OK, and explain to you the basic care and feeding of hydronics - he will probably be able to pickup details that we can't see over a net connection...

The good news is that hydronic heat tends to be inherently more energy efficient than other forms, and it is pretty good in the reliability and low maintainence departments as well. Downside is that if you don't have some relevant background it can be expensive to service if something does go wrong with it, and a poorly engineered system can have some serious problems, but hopefully all will be well on that end.

Once you've done that, feel free to ask any more specific questions you might have.

Gooserider

 

[kabbott]

What I would probably try to do for starters is get the information off as much of the boiler room equipment as you can, and make a sketch of how the parts are plumbed together... You can also look through some of the threads here to see some typical layouts - the boiler types and the exact heat emitters will vary a lot, but the plumbing in between tends to stay pretty much the same as it does the same sort of stuff...

If you have a digital camera take pics of the system and nameplates and such, much faster then pen and paper.
Post some of them here and I'm sure some of the pros will offer some comments.

 

[Tony H]

No No there is not a space to talk of hot water heat and boilers, well maybe a little but its frowned upon unless your heating that water up with good ole wood.
Just kidding !
You will probably find some useful info here

 

[flyingcow]

One thought. Make sure the baseboards have all the parts on them. In order for them to work properly, fins need to be cleaned(dust, dirt, cat hair, etc. preferably every year) and fins need to be straightened out if bent. Put covers back on. Do not put anything up against them as it will screw up the convection and not perform as they should. Try not to put furniture up against them, sometimes easier said than done.

 

[88rxn/a]

lets say you dont have a choice but to put a couch in front of baseboard...how much room should i leave between the couch and baseboard?

 

[pybyr]

lets say you dont have a choice but to put a couch in front of baseboard...how much room should i leave between the couch and baseboard?

I suspect that such discussions could take on aspects of "oil change debates" where everyone has an opinion but where there are also a lot of variables (size and shape of couch, its legs/skirting, is the wall insulated and how well...who knows what else...?), differing views on what matters most/ what is the point of diminishing returns (what's the size of the room and the amount of space you can "give" by moving things away from the wall....).

Trial and comparison of different spacings in your own circumstances (how much warmth can you sense above the rear of the couch and in its general vicinity) will, I think, be the most useful indicator for you. My understanding is that 'modern' (copper tube, alumimum finned, sheet-metal shrouded) baseboards (as compared to earlier/ transitional iron ones that I've seen) deliver a higher proportion of heat by air convecting up through the unit than by heat radiating directly from it, so at a minimum, you'll want reasonably unrestricted air flow at the top and bottom of the baseboard units.

 

[Gooserider]

I would say it's less an issue of space between the couch and the baseboard as it is the space between the couch and the WALL. A lot of furniture has inclined backs so that the top edge of the peice hits the wall while the legs are still 2-3 inches away from the wall. What you want to avoid is hanging something in front of the baseboard (like the skirt on the couch) that would keep air from getting to it, OR having an obstruction over the baseboard to keep the air from circulating up and around by convection.

As Pybyr said, some experimentation is in order, but I would make a first guess that you'd want a gap at the top of the couch at least as wide as the thickness of the baseboard - say about 2" or so... It probably doesn't have to be a completely uniform gap, I've seen couches where the back was curved so that the center stuck out more than the sides - if the average was enough, it probably wouldn't hurt if say the center touched the wall, and the sides had a 3" gap or something like that... IOW, small furniture peices touching won't be a huge problem as long as you have enough of a gap along MOST of the wall...

Gooserider