Low temp baseboard changeout

[vtwoodheater]

I can get Sterling petite9 baseboard locally for $17/ft. 150 degree water output is the same as 180 on my original stuff. Actually looks to be productive down to 130-140 range. Thinking of this route just for ease of installation.

Wondering what other brands have been used for this type of project? Thanks in advance.

 

[velvetfoot]

I put a thread together a while agp. I think I might havw flipped the costs on the petitte and heating edge thoiugh.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...rs-work-well-with-gasifier-and-storage.125502

 

[vtwoodheater]

The search feature really sucks. I remember reading that post. Basically did all the research you had done already. The multipak 90 has awesome performance numbers, but at $40/ft., doesn't make sense.

What did you end up going with?

 

[velvetfoot]

I didn't. Got a pellet boiler, stuck with what I had.

 

[vtwoodheater]

well bummer. I was hoping for some real world performance numbers.

 

[velvetfoot]

TCaldwell has installed some Smith's Heating Edge 2.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/low-temp-heat-emitters-source.152236/

 

[vtwoodheater]

I remember reading that one too. The HE2 is $30/ft, and involves a little more work for double supply piping.

So far the petite9 seems like the best bang for the buck.

 

[tom in maine]

If you are looking for low temp performance, a radiant panel or fan convector is less hassle to install and can function down to about 100F.

 

[E Yoder]

If you are looking for low temp performance, a radiant panel or fan convector is less hassle to install and can function down to about 100F.

I agree. My father-in-law has copper baseboard but the living room on the northwest side of the house was cold. Didn't want to rip out the baseboard so we teed into the baseboard loop and ran a short loop of Pex under the floor.
Amazing difference. Wasn't a lot but just enough to boost the temps. And didn't have to tear out the baseboard. A panel rad would have been my second option.

 

[TCaldwell]

as far as baseboard goes I'm very happy with the he2, to make life easier i piped it reverse return. If i remember correctly it was about 28$/lf from houseneeds.com

 

[tom in maine]

I have done a lot of radiant floors over the years, as a contractor and for myself and family.
Installing radiant panels or convectors is so much simpler and much faster.
The last panel installation I did for my daughter was 1/2" PEX plumbing to a manifold. The whole house was done in a couple hours.
Everything was great except for the two panels I had plumbed in series. Did not know there was an inlet and outlet.
The thermostatic valve really messed with my head until I made the call to check. Nothing was labeled.
Of course, there were those directions........

 

[Bad LP]

How much 12" single panel radiator (or sqft) running low temp (120) water equal in feet of BB at 180?

 

[tom in maine]

Here is one that is fairly representative. Check the literature link.

(broken link removed to http://www.pensottiboiler.com/en-us/products/panel-radiators-towel-warmers/16/panel-radiators/102)

 

[Bad LP]

Thank you Tom. That's perfect for my use.

 

[vtwoodheater]

Those panel radiators are darn expensive. For the price, the performance doesn't seem to be there. With existing piping in place, hard to beat a Petite9 swap out.

The SlantFin C-340 element looks really hard to beat for the price.

HE2 with dual supply shows 290 btu at 110 degree water. Any other configuration yields low 200's btu/ft.
C-340 shows 322btu at 110 degrees. 1100btus at 180!

 

[velvetfoot]

Looking at this, http://s3.supplyhouse.com/product_files/SlantFin - 105007080 - Product Overview.pdf , refers to installing in twin and triple tiers. Imagine that!

 

[vtwoodheater]

The C-340 element is $20/ft. It's been around for how long? All this talk about "high output" baseboard, "low temp" baseboard, fancy/ skinny emitting baseboard. Even the he2 and the Mod-con stuff from Canada "looks" impressive.
None of it is any "better" than something that has been around forever.

 

[velvetfoot]

It's 28 bux a foot at supplyhouse.com and I don't think that includes the enclosure.

 

[vtwoodheater]

Supplyhouse.com is good, I've ordered plenty from there. Shows up at $25/ft. When I logged in. I was quoted $20/ft. locally.
I know it doesn't count the enclosure, but I guess I was trying to point out the dinosaur technology that just works.

 

[tom in maine]

We sell fan coil convectors which work very well at low temps.
Another option is to use a standard hot water baseboard fin tube element in a custom enclosure that is tall.
The taller the enclosure, the more convection and better performance at low temps. It is a chimney effect and is passive.

 

[vtwoodheater]

So Haydon Hi-output 958 looks like a product with some good btu ratings.

I was quoted $13/ft. with enclosures.

Seriously thinking about this project now.

 

[velvetfoot]

Awesome!

Another thing I was thinking about was the actual changeout. I don't have much to work with and I was afraid of screwing up. That wouldn't have been so bad, except that I had done an awesome job of putting foam boards in the rim joists, and the pipes became covered as well. The second floor was just the fear of screwing up, but I think I could've gotten over it. Who wants to remove floor chunks...ugh. And then there's the fire thing, lol.

Other people have done it though!

 

[vtwoodheater]

Can't let the fear of messing something up stop you. They make sharkbite fittings for anything, if the risk of fire bothers you.

Screwing up is OK, if you learn from it. If you have never screwed anything up, you haven't done much.

 

[E Yoder]

Can't let the fear of messing something up stop you. They make sharkbite fittings for anything, if the risk of fire bothers you.

Screwing up is OK, if you learn from it. If you have never screwed anything up, you haven't done much.

Right on!
Keep some water handy and wet paper towels. Go for it.

 

[vtwoodheater]

My change out will be relatively simple. My house was plumbed with pex to begin with in 2001. Just sweat the adapters in the garage, mount them on the wall, crimp them in.