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Trying to evaluate a common boiler for radiant floor & domestic hot water for new construction…. It sounds trick but, I’m a little conservative. The system uses PEX throughout and the whole thing will be run from a propane boiler. Does anyone have some actual experience doing this??? Problems, pitfalls and positive experiences appreciated.
Please reply through breaktime board….
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The heat is great under ceramic. The domestic tank with the boiler is in my opinion the ticket. Keeps that boiler operating year round and is economical to operate. Quick response time too. I have nat. gas and am totally satisfied. Take your message over to "Heating" and get more input. Best of luck.
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I have done this on several houses I have built, but I have
been able to get away with it because I build with straw
bales, SIPs, or Rastra ICFs. I also insulate to R-50 (the
most cost effective way to save energy) in the ceiling. I
can run a 40K to 50K BTU hot water heater and easily heat
these places. Of course, my passive solar houses could
probably be heated with a match!
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Trying to evaluate a common boiler for radiant floor & domestic hot water for new construction.... It sounds trick but, I'm a little conservative. The system uses PEX throughout and the whole thing will be run from a propane boiler. Does anyone have some actual experience doing this??? Problems, pitfalls and positive experiences appreciated.
Please reply through breaktime board....
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Construction on my house is nearing completion, and I have a single propane powered water heater supplying all the hot water in the house, including the PEX in the floors. I'm not sure how well the domestic use is going to work out since no plumbing is installed yet, but the heat has been on for 3 months. I call it a water heater rather than a boiler because that's what the plumber calls it and what the box it came in labeled it. It's Polaris 100,000 BTU water heater, and it's about half again as big as a regular 30 gallon water heater. I don't remember how many gallons this Polaris holds.
The plumber researched all the hot water heater/boiler options and recommended this solution. He felt a real boiler was overkill. We also decided that 2-3 regular water heaters in tandem was unnecessary. 2600 SF under subfloor, 500 SF in concrete slab in heated kennel.
What I don't like about the Polaris is it's very noisy; it almost sounds like a jet off in the distance. One of the reasons I wanted radiant heat was I hate the sound of forced air. Now I have a different but equally loud sound. I have it installed in a mudroom off my kitchen; it would be more tolerable if it were in a garage, but my garage is not attached. I'll be investigating building something to enclose this behemoth and muffle the noise.