In floor radiant heat question

[drewalt]

Is there any downfalls to having two zones set up with one zone off for future use if needed? Any problems with corrosion or pumps going bad if that zone isn't used?

 

[drewalt]

Also thinking of putting epoxy down with the in floor heat. Do some products work better/worse with in floor radiant?

 

[Ezzie]

If you use good quality components (ie. stainless steel manifolds, etc.) and fill the system with a 50/50 mix water/propylene glycol, I don't see why there would be any corrosion issues. You might want to have a thermal break between the two slabs to prevent heat conduction from the slab you are heating to the unheated one. I used a vertical piece of high density foan in my system for this (insulated door cutouts).

 

[raspy]

If you make a closed loop system and you get all the air out before shutting it down and you use barrier PEX, you will not have corrosion problems. But you might get a stuck circulator if it sits for a year or so.

Closed loop does not need propylene glycol for corrosion control. That's used for freeze protection.

 

[badgerboiler]

A 50/50 mix of glycol is almost never needed in hydronic heating systems installed below the arctic circle. Antifreeze always deminishes heat transfer (costs more to operate system) and circulator efficiency (costs more to run the circulator).

One circulator can drive many loops or zones with with many loops if designed properly.