need tips on installing heat cheap.


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Old 01-20-07, 11:58 AM
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need tips on installing heat cheap.

Hi there!
I would like to install 4 radiators apx size is 3 feet by 30 inch height. These are the older cast iron free standing rads.
The problem is that i dont want to break into my existing system. I do have oil and gas available/. My existing system is a oil gravity feed burner and very old. It still works but i am not knowledgable to mess with it.
I am building a addition out back and am low on funds. I was thinking of some kind of hotwater tank with a circulater and one thermostat.
are there any plans or instructions for these kinds of systems around?
any ideas would be great thx. / . .
 
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Old 01-20-07, 04:41 PM
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If you are low on funds, electric baseboard is the absolute least expensive thing to install. You will get into more cost and more ocmplication with a hydronic system of any kind.

Ken
 
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Old 01-20-07, 07:50 PM
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thxman ya i have that in my basement 4 six foot units hydroponic.They were about 250 apiece. We dont use them all that much. they do work pretty good though considering the walls are not insulated.
In the new addition i was conserned about fire and the electric bills. I would need them for two bedrooms with kids.
I need to make up my mind by monday lol. I got some prices on plumbing/baseboards for about 6 and 7 thousand. Electric heat i could do for about 2500.oo. i do have a 200 amp service. I pretty much need that 4 grand to finish the job.
So basicly if i went with electric baseboards i would be installing 9 units in a new basement and first floor addition..I am not sure how much that will push up my electric bill and to finish up this post, fire from cloths and papers in the kids room is a consern... Ill be lookin at the paperhanging painting section for a bit. I just found these boards looking around at heating. I have 30 years experience and am pretty good at what i do. nice talkin@ya Ken&all
 
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Old 01-20-07, 09:20 PM
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$1,000

for adults twin control electric mattress pad - $70 -- less used
infrared temp gun - $60 -- less used or on sale/clearance
2 cheap variable watt electric space heaters with safety cords -- $30 each
box 100watt industrial (lower lumen) lightbulbs $10

there's $200 gone... comforters and warm slippers for the family $200 or 300

so far, the only part of this not needed in the long run are those lightbulbs.

the balance goes into insulation

now plunk yourself down on an online heatloss program and calculate
heatloss figures - use BIG infiltration numbers

get an idea of what it costs per square foot for insulation

once you know how many square feet you can cover then play with the heatloss program to see wher it'll do the most good - an inch of R5 covererd/drywalled XPS would make the most difference initially - cover what areas you can afford to cover strategically.

Then you start insulating.

In the meantime, enjoy the electric mattress pad - it costs well less than a nickel a night for both sides combined and you'll feel so warm you won't want to get out of bed in the morning. Use that temp gun to see how low you can go. If you need light in certain areas of the house to keep them from freezing use the 100 watts lightbulbs. The fact that they light is just a bonus because they are actually local super small heaters with built in bright visible sensors so that you can see if they burn out and replace them. Use your temp gun often and see how little you can use those 2 electric heaters to keep small occupied areas of your home a bit warmer - the rest you just have to keep a good margin above freezing. Most climates require very little heat to get into the low 50s. You can verify that with the heatloss software.

The math is follows for figuring out your heating cost at this point. It's very simple. It costs you 1 cent per hour for every light bulb that you need to keep the house at some minimum value. That's $7 a month for each 100w light if on all the time which they probably will unless you want to turn them off in the afternoon when the sun might give you some significant solar gain.

One of the settings on most electric heaters is around 1000 watts. This is 10 cents an hour if that's the going electric rate. If it is .14 instead of .10 like I'm assuming then add 40% to the cost. Every hour's a dime for the heaters and every hour for the light is a penny. A bit over 700 hours in a month.

If you switch that heater down to 500watts, it's a nickel an hour. Cranking it up to 1500w is an extra nickel and hour.

For heat that lightbulb is 300 btus and the heater is 3,000 btus. Any electric BTU will cost the same. If you low on coin, then I'd keep the house low on heat and get working on insulating where you will get your biggest bang for your buck.
 
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Old 01-21-07, 01:42 PM
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WOW good stuff thx! ya on the inside wall i was going to use craftface batting in the 2x6 frame with half inch rigid foam boards then drywall.
one room that was questionable in my mind was a 7x14 room with one window on the 7 foot wall. The ceiling goes on a 4 pitch from 8foot at the window wall to about 12 feet high at the other end of the room. At this point i have room for one 6 foot electric unit on the window wall which would have to heat the room. that heat would have to travel across 14 feet and ofcource up.. One plumber that was in that room mentioned that i could heat ithat room with a fart lol.
 
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Old 01-21-07, 07:15 PM
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Well do your heatloss calculation and you'll know just how many BTUs your plumber will have to expel. I wouldn't go adding electric baseboards unless you have seriously cheap rates.
 
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Old 01-23-07, 02:14 AM
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Talking Gravity feed oil burner? Can we see?

I've never seen those old ones. Got any pic's? I've seen new ones in decorative oil stoves. Who, I love your reply! I have a customer that I put a radiant system in for. They called me up a couple days after moving in, and said it was getting too hot in the main room (in February/upstate NY). I ended up finding that the heat wasn't even running! The 40-50 recessed lights with 90 watt bulbs, refrigerator, range, dishwasher, and really good insulation was causing the temp in the room to hit 75+ degree's! Where are you located? Electric rates varies. It is rediculously high here in western MA. Insulation will give you your best return on your money.
 
 

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