[TheForge] Re: WAAAAAAAAY OT (while we're talking about buildingsand heat)

[Jerry Frost]

I haven't seen or perhaps I should say "noticed" hydronic overhead radiant 
if that's what you're talking about. Gas burning overhead radiant is common 
around here, especially in shops with vehicle doors.

The really good thing about radiant is it doesn't heat the air, it heats 
objects which in turn heat the air. This means even with the bay door open 
and -20f (or whatever temp) air pouring in, the shop is warm. There is of 
course a limit to how long it will stay warm with the door open but it'll 
stay comfortable for quite a while.

Here's something to think about when you pour your slab. A 300' roll of 3/4" 
PEX cost me $150 at Home Depot, the regular building supplies wanted $300+ a 
roll. Even at $300 a roll I would've put it in regardless that I don't have 
a boiler to make it work. Why? Because it's so much easier to put it in 
before the concrete sets than after.

It isn't impossible to install infloor radiant afterwards but it's a hassle. 
You have to lay the tubing out in it's pattern and pour thinset over it 
unless you want to saw a groove for it in the concrete. Neither of these 
appeal to me. Thinset is just fine for a dwelling or low impact floor but I 
don't think it'd hold up real well in a shop.

PEX tubing has a really solid track record going back 30+ years. But 
memories of the all too true horror stories from the 40-50's metal heat 
loops give it a bad rap. It's like hydrogen, it's way safer than many fuels 
and more efficient and so much cheaper than helium for lighter than air 
craft but the memory of the Hindenburg lives on.

Frosty
-------------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/


From: "Steve Smith" <sos at alum.mit.edu>


> Radiant heat in the floor sounds very comfortable for a house where you 
> want the heat on most of the time in winter. Being an amateur, the heat in 
> my shop runs on a pretty low duty cycle, once a week or so. This makes me 
> think that radiant floor heat would be expensive since it would 
> effectively run all the time due to the long time constant of the floor.
>
> Another type of radiant heat I've heard praises of is overhead radiant. 
> This would leave you with a cold floor, but have a relatively fast heat 
> up/down time. Anyone use overhead radiant?
>
> Steve
>
> schade at acegroup.cc wrote:
>