On Feb 14, 9:22 pm, "Bob Pietrangelo" wrote:
We have a 1200 sq ft full basement that we're heating via radiant
heat.
There are 4 runs of Pex. We're very happy with it but I'm worried
that
there is something wrong with the system. When the basement calls for
heat the pump turns on and I can see the temperature gauge go up to
around 100-110 degrees. There's no gauge on the return but feeling
the
Pex it's obvious that the water coming back is pretty cool. The
problem: It takes at least an hour, sometimes 2, for the basement to
warm up enough that the thermostat stops calling for heat.

I just built a 26' x 26' workshop with radiant heat using PEX tubing
etc. I have 6 runs of Pex tubing and it has worked out to be
absolutely super! First of all, don't get tied in a knot about
nightime setbacks etc., simply set your thermostat for a low but
reasonable temperature and forget it. I don't touch my thermostat at
all and my heater (gas fired water heater) fires up every 3 - 4 hours
for about 5 - 10 minutes and it keep as the shop at a toasty 70
degerees F all the time. Costs are extremely low and I think it's the
neatest solution to heating any area - I only wish that I could easily
retro-fit my house for the same type of heating!!
BTW I have the thermostat on my water heater set to it's lowest
setting and I have a reducer valve that controls the flow of water
thru the pex tubing - I have that reducer valve set to reduce the flow
by about 10%. The combination of the thermostat setting and the
reducer valve setting seem to work out just right. I'm in Ontario
Canada and this past week it's been -15 Cesius most of the week!
Doug