Replies

1. 
   David_Fennell | Mar 05, 1999 04:05am | #1

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   Hi. I'm a recent first time home-buyer and new to re-modeling type projects. I'm changing around my living room and have one particular radiator that is going to pose a problem. It's an old style hot water radiator, about 8' long. Unfortunately, the way the living room is set up, this radiator sits right where I would like to place my couch. (So it faces the fireplace.) Although I don't plan on pressing the couch directly against the baseboard, I would like to have the couch much closer to the wall than the current radiator will allow.

   My question is: How evil is it to replace one radiator on a zone with a baseboard type radiator. Thinking about the theory or it... It seams to me that I must match the internal flow resistances of the old and new radiators? Am I right or way off base? I haven't traced the pipes in the basement...so I don't know how the radiators are piped yet. If all radiators on that zone are piped in parallel, then I would imagine that matching the internal flow resistances would be quite important. (Otherwise, all of the flow just goes to that one radiator that has the lowest resistance.) If radiators are piped in series, the resistance problem goes away... but then I wonder how houses can get all radiators to be even close to the same temperature. (I feal bad for the guy that gets the bedroom with the last radiator on the circuit.)

   Any advice about how to proceed would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anybody knows of any pitt-falls that I may fall prey to.. by all means, please give me a "heads up" if you can. (I expect that the actuall swapping of the radiators will be a nothing issue using fittings from a local building supply warehouse. Am I crazy?)

   One more thing... baseboard radiators, as a general rule, are uglier than sin. Say one day I decide to put my couch elsewhere and the radiator is exposed for all to see. Does anybody know of a more attractive baseboard radiator? I saw one in a magazine add, which was specifically marketed to bathrooms. (which makes me think that it may be made out of white plastic, and therfor can't be painted well). Can anyone confirm wether small, attractive, paintable baseboard radiators exist?

   OK.. I'm ending this letter now. Really. Sorry it's so long.

   Thanks, everybody!

1. 
   Jeff_P | Mar 06, 1999 05:19am | #2

   *The problem isn't really flow but output and temperature flucuations. First off copper baseboard, and even cast iron, puts out about 500 to 550 btu's per foot. A rad as big as you're discribing could put out 10,000 or 15,000 btu's. For you to keep warm do you have this kind of wall space to give up? Other thing is that a rad is a high mass, high water vol. unit. Once the cast iron and water heat up, it will continue to radiate even after the thermostat shuts off. That's what makes rads so comfortable. Copper baseboard is low mass, low water vol. Once the stat shuts off it stops heating. The room will vary wildly in temp. The rule in the hydronics industry is never mix copper base and cast iron on the same zone.There are many different kinds of heat out there. There are very nice, modern European flat plate rads like Runtal. These are compatible with cast iron and are very sleek. They come horizontal, verticle, custom colors. If you could maybe put the liv room on its own zone (thermostat) there are better baseboards. Design Architectural Heating in Lewiston Maine make a nice cast alum baseboard that can be painted or comes in many colors. The sky's the limit depending on what you are willing to do.

2. 
   David_Fennell | Mar 06, 1999 05:19am | #3

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