picts of your in-floor heat set ups.

Burl · Feb 15, 2019

Latitude42 said:
Could you please post a pic of your system??
Thanks

Sorry I don't know how to post, I've tried but can't seem to get it. My system is a one-zone panel and 115 boiler from Hydrosmart. Check their website. Its the middle of Feb. and all is good, quite pleased at how efficient the system is.

xyster101 · Feb 17, 2019

5 years ago when I built my 1200 sq/ft shop I put in PEX Oxygen barrier pex in the floor. Finally I hooked up a heat source. Thanks to here for the ideas and help.

I found ISO old roof foam on CL. I got a boat load for cheap. R-30 in the walls and R-49 in the ceiling. This is more then a house requires in my area.

I went with a tankless Takagi unit that was $500 on Amazon. Fittings and other bits were $600.

I have 4 loops of 250 ft that runs off 1 circulator pump. I did the "pump away" set up as recommended here. I borrowed a IR camera for an Iphone from a friend. Really neat to see the tubes in the floor.

Tucked away in the back corner. Installed Jan 2019 and has been running about 3 weeks. Really nice to have a warm floor.

I also made a video describing the set up. Basically all I learned from hours of research on here.

Please take a look.

bams50 · Feb 17, 2019

Very interesting. I am in Central New York, and just bought the land where I want to build, just outside of the city of Oswego. I am hoping this year to build my new shop, approximately 60 x 120. Ideally I wanted to go with in floor heating. I haven’t really done much research yet. I’ll have to determine if the initial investment justifies the upfront cost. Thank you for making the video, I did watch it. Since mine will be automotive repair, I am thinking of a waste of oil boiler. Also will be researching wind and solar. Obviously the goal is to make my overall utilities as low as possible. How far away from me are you?

jaycoflyer · Feb 25, 2019

Have learned a great deal from reading all your posts. Had my system installed recently but not sure it's "dialed in" performance-wise. Hoping a few of you will be able to compare notes with me. I'm using LP tankless heater capable of 20K-125K BTU/h. Have 4 loops of 1/2 pex oxygen-barrier nearly centered in 5" slab (total of 1200 sq ft) and 2" R-10 foam underneath and along sides. Currently, my inlet temp is about 125. Outlet temp is about 65, so about a 60 degree drop. Flow according to manifold guage is about .25 GPM per loop. I keep thermostat set at 55. I believe the flow rate is quite low and the temp drop very high, thus system runs a LOT! TACO-007e is my circulator just ahead of inlet manifold.

Will appreciate any folks out there willing to share numbers on similar systems.

I *think* that increasing my flow (and reducing the temp drop) will significantly improve my efficiency.

Thanks for any help!!

kj_mustang · Feb 26, 2019

Flow rate probably should be closer to .4-.5 per loop. Do you use Loop Calc or anything to design the system? The design would have told you the flow rate needed.

PWC Repair · Feb 26, 2019

bams50 said:
Very interesting. I am in Central New York, and just bought the land where I want to build, just outside of the city of Oswego. I am hoping this year to build my new shop, approximately 60 x 120. Ideally I wanted to go with in floor heating. I haven’t really done much research yet. I’ll have to determine if the initial investment justifies the upfront cost. Thank you for making the video, I did watch it. Since mine will be automotive repair, I am thinking of a waste of oil boiler. Also will be researching wind and solar. Obviously the goal is to make my overall utilities as low as possible. How far away from me are you?

You could literally pay for all your upfront costs in a couple winters......
Closed loop radiant floor with waste oil heater in it's own room outside. A couple zones for water to air fan coil blowers. AND.......as a bonus there would be no open ignition source from the heat!!

jaycoflyer · Feb 26, 2019

kj_mustang said:
Flow rate probably should be closer to .4-.5 per loop. Do you use Loop Calc or anything to design the system? The design would have told you the flow rate needed.

LoopCAD was used. Flow target is about 1 GPM for each loop. Delta T is supposed to be 20. My installer insisted on using 100% glycol which I think is a big mistake. From what I read, this lowers system performance (heat transfer) and makes circulators work harder likely reducing flow. Thoughts?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

koditten · Feb 27, 2019

That makes no sense to use 100% glycol.

Strait water gives you the best heat transfer. The glycol is only there to prevent freeze ups as well as the little bit of inhibitor that is present as well.

stingry · Feb 27, 2019

jaycoflyer said:
LoopCAD was used. Flow target is about 1 GPM for each loop. Delta T is supposed to be 20. My installer insisted on using 100% glycol which I think is a big mistake. From what I read, this lowers system performance (heat transfer) and makes circulators work harder likely reducing flow. Thoughts?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I looked at the pump specs for your pump. Two things stood out. First, the mfg says to use no more than 50% glycol. Second, your pump will not operate well over 10 ft of head loss. I’m guessing you have well over that between the piping and the tankless heater. You need to calculate your total head loss and size your pump to that.

Denwood · Feb 27, 2019

xyster101 said:
5 years ago when I built my 1200 sq/ft shop I put in PEX Oxygen barrier pex in the floor. Finally I hooked up a heat source. Thanks to here for the ideas and help.

I found ISO old roof foam on CL. I got a boat load for cheap. R-30 in the walls and R-49 in the ceiling. This is more then a house requires in my area.

I went with a tankless Takagi unit that was $500 on Amazon. Fittings and other bits were $600.

I have 4 loops of 250 ft that runs off 1 circulator pump. I did the "pump away" set up as recommended here. I borrowed a IR camera for an Iphone from a friend. Really neat to see the tubes in the floor.

Tucked away in the back corner. Installed Jan 2019 and has been running about 3 weeks. Really nice to have a warm floor.

I also made a video describing the set up. Basically all I learned from hours of research on here.

Please take a look.

Nicely done. I like the relative simplicity of the setup..with all the essentials covered. You also managed an excellent budget! I've learned that when it comes to efficiency, building envelope comes first. You did great by re-tasking all that insulation.

Check your door seals! Our usage dropped 80% on the slab after replacing the old top/side seals with new dual blade versions. Thread here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414538

This graphic says it all. It shows data from one of our four radiant zones via the Ecobee3 stat running the show in our loading bay. It's about 16x32 with 20ft ceilings. The overhead door is 10x14 or so, 2.5" thick with a foam core.

Matt723 · Mar 1, 2019

Very nice setup xyster101!

Do you have a pump controller? How is it hooked into the system?

Thanks!

xyster101 · Mar 4, 2019

Not sure what you mean by a pump controller. I just have a 120 volt thermostat ($20) that turns on the circulator pump when the air temp reaches 50 degrees. Once the tankless heater detects water movement it automatically turns on to heat the water.
I have 4 loops of 250'. Temperature in the floor is 104 and temp out is ~60 with 1.8 gpm flow rate.

iowa4x4dieselman · Jul 18, 2019

crook038 said:
42X48 Shop/Garage in progress. I installed the stegowrap then the crete heat panels. I built a pex uncoiler and then I placed the pex into the panels and plumbed it to the manifolds. I marked out where I will be placing 2 2-post lifts and ran the pex around the area and installed the wire matt on 2.5" chairs. I had the floor poured in December 2017. I am currently waiting for the weather to warm up so I can lay down ArmorClad Epoxy with fleck and military grade top coat. I will install the high efficiency triangle tube boiler this summer and finish off the heating system as well as insulation and steel wall liner panels.
Sean

How did you make your tubing un coiler? BTW that shed looks BA! :bowdown:

Fastback · Jul 19, 2019

Re: picts of your in floor heat set ups.

morehead said:
Thanks for the info very helpful!
Any issues or updates with the system ?
Thank you
John

Thanks.

It's been on for years now with no issue. In fact other than checking the air pressure in the tank once a year I never touch it, I keep the thermostat set at about 52º and it kicks on a lot less than if I try to maintain 72. But, since I don't have any paint projects going on 52º seems warm when it's 10º outside. (But, somehow 52º seems chilly in October

) The thing about electricity is, the more you buy the cheaper it gets, so at some point you are better off keeping it warmer and going for that magical break even point because you are buying in bulk so to speak.

Mancino · Aug 23, 2019

Finally got some funds for my boiler install! Still a work in progress, but its getting there.

papp101 · Aug 23, 2019

thanks for posting a Pic, Mancino! I appreciate your input on my other thread.

Nice setup!

Verado1250 · Aug 26, 2019

I have a question for anyone who can answer..I have a hydronic system also, with a propane micro condensing boiler (Hydrosmart). The directions when I installed it said the intake pipe (air) does not have to be routed outside. Therefore, to eliminate the extra hole in the side of the shop, I decided not to for the first winter and just leave it uncapped inside. However, on most of the pic's in this thread, I see the intake and the exhaust pipe being routed outside. I know my intake pipe is taking heat out of the room, but, with it being outside, it would be taking cold air into the unit. What is the rationale here? Should I run the intake pipe outside? I won't install one of those combined fittings, as the instructions does not have them listed as an option. Thanks.

kj_mustang · Aug 27, 2019

One reason is for safety, less chance of combustible fumes going to the furnace.

here is one article for you, there are plenty of others out there.

https://www.weather-tech.net/furnace-fresh-air-intake-101/

Verado1250 · Aug 27, 2019

KJ, informative article. Thanks for posting it.

Mancino · Aug 27, 2019

I believe it's for efficiency also. Cold air is much better than warm air for combustion.

tricountytrail · Sep 18, 2019

Just installing mine now.

Couple of Questions Low water cutoff sensor, I was told to install in a tee at top of boiler right before pressure relief valve for boiler loop.
where is best place to install circulator and air separator

Pressure relief on domestic side where is best place for relief and can air separator and expansion tank be any where?
And if I am only running my boiler(for radiant floor heat only) axp 120 degrees max can I not use the mixing valve, only two sinks and shower very minimal use.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=928507&stc=1&d=1568825715

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=928508&stc=1&d=1568825715

tricountytrail · Sep 19, 2019

papp101 · Sep 23, 2019

Here's mine!
24*26 detached garage.
2" eps foam underneath, R22 walls and roof.
Navien NCB-180e
Building load is only 30k loss, but the boiler can go down to 14k btu, so it works.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using The Garage Journal mobile app

OptionalStop · Sep 26, 2019

papp101 said:
Here's mine!
24*26 detached garage.
2" eps foam underneath, R22 walls and roof.
Navien NCB-180e
Building load is only 30k loss, but the boiler can go down to 14k btu, so it works.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using The Garage Journal mobile app

Nice setup, where did you buy the boiler from? Might look into one of these since my building is around the same size.

papp101 · Sep 26, 2019

OptionalStop said:
Nice setup, where did you buy the boiler from? Might look into one of these since my building is around the same size.

Thanks! Got a deal on Craigslist. $1300!

What are do you live in?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

OptionalStop · Sep 26, 2019

I am in Western NY.

iowa4x4dieselman · Sep 26, 2019

Here’s my basement setup so far. Hopefully working on the garage this weekend!

Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

durk_2007 · Oct 6, 2019

I have done quite a bit of research on radiant And have hydronic baseboard system in my house. I'm building a new shop and one ? I have that I can't find an answer to is besides a larger manifold is there any downside to shorter loops? Thinking 75-100 feet each 6 loops. 500sq ft pour.
My thought is less temp change across floor, lower deltaT, and less pressure/head

papp101 · Oct 6, 2019

OptionalStop said:
I am in Western NY.

Cool. There is a 50k btu without the on demand hot water which may be a good candidate for you. Good luck!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

bodean123 · Oct 13, 2019

Can any comment on this setup?

We are looking at purchasing a new home, it consists on a 2800sqft shop with 1000sqft attached residential. The entire slab is heated with radiant floor heating. We do plan to have a home inspection done, but from past experience they generally just check to make sure everything is in working order.

seanc_mt · Nov 3, 2019

Here's a couple pics of mine...

IMG_20191103_123529 by Sean Connell, on Flickr

IMG_20191103_123540 by Sean Connell, on Flickr

PWC Repair · Nov 3, 2019

Finally getting my system together now that it's already cold :bounce:

. I still have to hang my fan coil and finish a bunch of soldering. Been quite a while since I sweated any fittings but it came back to me and I have high hopes that these will all be leak free when I pressure test. Then I'll shove some contactors and stuff in that repurposed meter box and try to make it look acceptable.

tricountytrail · Nov 4, 2019

Ready for the winter Working Great!!!
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=943552&stc=1&d=1572882052
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=943553&stc=1&d=1572882052
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=943554&stc=1&d=1572882052

PWC Repair · Nov 4, 2019

tricountytrail said:
Ready for the winter Working Great!!!

Nice!! I've used those fittings with the solder already inside and LOVED how easy they were! Wish they still had them around here but even the regular copper selection is getting slim. I guess everybody uses pex and sharkbites.

I hope to have mine going before long. I spent 4 hours Sunday sweating fittings and 4 hours today building my fan coil cabinet so I can hang it.

like2wheel · Nov 4, 2019

I think those are crimp fittings.
O rings inside, no solder.

PWC Repair · Nov 4, 2019

Gotcha, copper press fittings. The ones I was thinking of look real similar and work like a champ.

tricountytrail · Nov 6, 2019

PWC Repair said:
Gotcha, copper press fittings. The ones I was thinking of look real similar and work like a champ.

ProPress fitting they worked great for the tight space.
No soldering just use the battery operated crimper.

z28toz06 · Nov 7, 2019

Help! drained system this summer and refilled it. Tried purging air from top bleeder but I don't seem to be getting hot water. heater sounds like its cooking but im not getting hot water. it was working fine when I shut it down. simple closed system. trying to post pix but its looking for URL.

seanc_mt · Nov 7, 2019

z28toz06 said:
Help! drained system this summer and refilled it. Tried purging air from top bleeder but I don't seem to be getting hot water. heater sounds like its cooking but im not getting hot water. it was working fine when I shut it down. simple closed system. trying to post pix but its looking for URL.

Upload the pictures to imgur or flickr then they will give you the url to link it.

tricountytrail · Nov 10, 2019

seanc_mt said:
Upload the pictures to imgur or flickr then they will give you the url to link it.

Check your valves you probably have one closed or in wrong position from closed from draining system.

picts of your in-floor heat set ups.

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