Why no metal based radiant floor heat? Danger?

[MknHeat]

Why hasn't someone just welded rebar or something like this to a wood stove rather than using pex and water?
Would it get too hot and maybe dangerous?

If so, why not do a suspended system under the floor like they do with pex but with rebar welded together? Maybe still to hot?

Just thought I would ask. My house has a wood deck rather than a concrete slab so I was concerned about trying this. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[jebatty]

Confuses me. What I hear being asked leads me to ask how you expect to flow heat through a solid steel bar many feet long? Wouldn't heat move through the steel by conduction, rapidly losing heat closest to the heat source because of the temperature difference and having little heat if any not too many feet down the bar. Still confused.

 

[bholler]

I agree with jebatty. and would add that even if you could get heat transfer there would be no way to control the heat It could easily get to hot

 

[bmblank]

You can look at the heat profile of a cross section of heat sink (I'm sure you can find pictures like this on the interwebs). You're essentially describing a heat sink. Alot goes into designing a great sink. Mild steel makes a poor heatsink, anyway. Especially stretched out so far.

 

[Grisu]

Liquids like water can be pumped so you can move hot water to a distant location easily. Same for gases (air) moved by a furnace. For solids you would only rely on passive heat transfer which will soon stop around the stove. Water has also almost 10x the heat capacity than iron.

 

[MknHeat]

Thanks for all the responses. In my mind if you attached the metal to the stove it would conduct the heat ok and would just take longer than hydro systems. After the responses I looked up the best metals for this. Turns out it's the same for electric. So copper and Aluminum would work. Aluminum rods are kinda cheap but I will prob stick with a standard system. Not sure it would work or work to well at the stove end. You could make a thing that rests and could be removed, to bridge across to the rods and the stove so it wouldn't get too hot but I would prob forget to remove it when it gets too hot. I was just curious so thanks again.

 

[Highbeam]

You're right that those metals conduct heat well. That's the problem, they conduct too well. Heat will be stripped away within a short distance. The metals conduct heat at a rate much much slower than the rate hot water can be pumped through a pipe. You can't push heat down the rod as fast as the rod loses heat to the outside.

 

[jameswhitsett]

Wood can catch heat easily and also metals are poor conductor of heat. This is the reason why people use to insulate their metal buildings. Hence in my opinion insulation is the best option to keep your house energy efficient.

 

[Highbeam]

Wood can catch heat easily and also metals are poor conductor of heat. This is the reason why people use to insulate their metal buildings. Hence in my opinion insulation is the best option to keep your house energy efficient.

Too funny.