# Radiant heating using domestic water heater



## Drumma Plumma (Jun 5, 2012)

This is a job I did recently. I'm sure you all will find mistakes I made or ways to do it better. I did this with the help of the supply house where I buy all my Propress fittings and most of my hydronic stuff.

I did not install the radiant tubing, that was done by others. It provides supplemental heat to a single room on the back of the house. It was a 3 season room that got turned into a family room/den. They guy who installed it originally connected the pex directly to the domestic (feed from heater right off the top and connected the return with the pump pumping back at the heater into the cold. They used an iron body pump, a Taco zone valve , a spring check on the cold inlet and a swing check on the heating loop. It heated the room well enough for the first year, but this past heating season it was not very effective. When I removed the iron pump and flanges they were almost completely plugged with rust and debris. They tied into old galvy at the heater with a few pieces of copper screwed directly into the galvy. That was pretty well crapped up too. Oh and the best part of it was that without any expansion tank, the relief valve had been dripping intermittently for the better part of 2 years and the water ended up in the carpeted finished part of the basement. 

I installed a Legend stainless heat exchanger with a domestic loop and bronze pump and a new iron pump on the heating loop. Legend combination dual check/PRV with atmospheric vent, air scoop, expansion tanks on both heating loop and domestic. I got to use a couple new Webstone brand valves: a set of Propress flanges and a propress combination shut off/drain valve. I put the new heater in a drain pan too with a 9V leak sensor in it.

I only had plastic band iron to strap the heat exchanger to the board. Going back with some steel band. Bronze pump isn't connected in the pic. I did not cut the pex, just reused the adapters they had before. The iron pump is mounted kinda funky too. It was tough making everything fit. There is an exterior door on the left (next to the sanitary stack and a gas line), and a closet on the right. 

Here's the pictures. I await your critique. I like hydronic work more than plumbing. Always want to learn more


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

You did what you gotta do.. same here..I ratherd do hydronic heating than plumbing.. did the same kind of job.. this was a mess done by a forced air company connecting to ploy tubings to cast iron boiler..









Before...









After..


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

rjbphd said:


> You did what you gotta do.. same here..I ratherd do hydronic heating than plumbing.. did the same kind of job.. this was a mess done by a forced air company connecting to ploy tubings to cast iron boiler..
> 
> View attachment 50898
> 
> ...


Did that trash the cast iron boiler or did you catch it in time?


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Redwood said:


> Did that trash the cast iron boiler or did you catch it in time?


Caught the oversized cast iron boiler in time.. plumber next door came over to help this widow with pipe leak in basement. He cluldnt believe why the compression connection on pipe blew apart and pumping out "dark mud".. put it back together and told her to call a 100% hydronic heating guy... so I came, what a fuking mess.. combo system, orginal part of home have copper tubing in ceilings... 2nd floor , copper baseboards, rear addition, ploy tubing and NO mixing valves.. just by pass piping with trottling valve.. hours of flushing the craps out of each zones.. boiler only 5 years old.... she can't believe the improvement on orginal part of home... will be going back to add another zone.. old fashion cast iron radaitor in breezeway and have it set up as a large air scoop for the system. The hydronic way.. you will never find this in codebook..


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