I'm a newby to ho****er heating and just purchased a home with an older
boiler and radiators throughout the house. We're planning some renos
and are hoping to remove at least the radiator in the kitchen (possibly
the entire main floor) to make way for more cabinets. Is it possible to
use radiant floor heating in the kitchen while leaving the remainder of
the rads in the rest of the house? The basement is completely open, so
I'm guessing that it would be rather straight forward to install the
plastic tubing etc.

Andy

wrote:
On 12 Oct 2006 09:04:49 -0700, "Andy"
wrote:

I'm a newby to ho****er heating and just purchased a home with an older
boiler and radiators throughout the house. We're planning some renos
and are hoping to remove at least the radiator in the kitchen (possibly
the entire main floor) to make way for more cabinets. Is it possible to
use radiant floor heating in the kitchen while leaving the remainder of
the rads in the rest of the house? The basement is completely open, so
I'm guessing that it would be rather straight forward to install the
plastic tubing etc.

Andy

I have hot water heating, with radiators, in my house, and it is the
nicest, friendliest kind of heat. Not drying, like forced air
systems.

When I remodeled the kitchen 15 years ago, I took out one of the two
radiators that were there. The one I removed was on an inside wall,
under the old-fashioned hanging-on-the-wall sink. (I put in modern
cabinets, with had no possibility of keeping the radiator.)

The other kitchen radiator was in the breakfast nook, on an outside
wall. Being on an outside wall, it probably has more to do with
keeping the kitchen warm. Haven't noticed any problem by taking out
the one radiator.

Anyway, my advice is to not take out ALL the radiators in any one
room. If you have any kind of winter, you will probably notice that
the room isn't as warm as the rest of the house.

However, if you keep doors open in the house, that room might be OK
without that radiator. It's hard to say -- given that you haven't
said how large the kitchen is, and what the size of the radiator is.

As to putting in radiant heat in the floor? You should get a
professional's opinion on that -- there is no guaranteed that your
hot water system will handle the radiant equipment properly. It
might, or it might not. And, you may not want to do the whole floor,
just a part. Those questions could be answered better by a heating
professional.

Alan

==

It's not that I think stupidity should be punishable by death.
I just think we should take the warning labels off of everything
and let the problem take care of itself.

Thanks Alan
The kitchen is quite small, approximately 9x 12' and we'll be opening
up some walls to make the entire main floor one big open space. So I'm
thinking that we may be fine without the rad in the kitchen. There are
4 other rads on the main floor.
Andy

--------------------------------------------------------

"Andy" wrote in message
ups.com...
The kitchen is quite small, approximately 9x 12' and we'll be opening
up some walls to make the entire main floor one big open space. So I'm
thinking that we may be fine without the rad in the kitchen. There are
4 other rads on the main floor.
Andy
--------------------------------------------------------

What you can do is install a toe kick heater that is hidden under the new
kitchen cabinets. It is basically a horizontal laying radiator with an
electric squirrel cage fan behind it that is turned on by a thermostat. When
hot water flows through the unit, the fan automatically turns on. Some of
the better units have a very quiet fan so you can barely tell they are on.

-al sung
Rapid Realm Technology, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA

Thanks Alan
That looks like the perfect solution! I'll look into it.
Andy
Alan Sung wrote:
"Andy" wrote in message
ups.com...
The kitchen is quite small, approximately 9x 12' and we'll be opening
up some walls to make the entire main floor one big open space. So I'm
thinking that we may be fine without the rad in the kitchen. There are
4 other rads on the main floor.
Andy
--------------------------------------------------------

What you can do is install a toe kick heater that is hidden under the new
kitchen cabinets. It is basically a horizontal laying radiator with an
electric squirrel cage fan behind it that is turned on by a thermostat. When
hot water flows through the unit, the fan automatically turns on. Some of
the better units have a very quiet fan so you can barely tell they are on.

-al sung
Rapid Realm Technology, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA

(Alan Sung) wrote in
:

What you can do is install a toe kick heater that is hidden under
the new kitchen cabinets. It is basically a horizontal laying
radiator with an electric squirrel cage fan behind it that is
turned on by a thermostat. When hot water flows through the unit,
the fan automatically turns on. Some of the better units have a
very quiet fan so you can barely tell they are on.

Careful! I have a similar electric heater under the cabinet in my
bathroom and it's hot enough to fry my toes when I'm standing in
front of it.

But, maybe a hot-water powered unit wouldn't get so hot, and I guess
you're not so likely to be barefoot in the kitchen.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

Yeah, the radiant with air assist won't be like electrc baseboard.
Radiant is great because it doesn't dry out the air. If you decide to
take the big radiator out altogether you will have a plumbing challenge
to work with - where will the intake and outlet pipes go ? They have to
be connected.

Andy wrote:
I'm a newby to ho****er heating and just purchased a home with an older
boiler and radiators throughout the house. We're planning some renos
and are hoping to remove at least the radiator in the kitchen (possibly
the entire main floor) to make way for more cabinets. Is it possible to
use radiant floor heating in the kitchen while leaving the remainder of
the rads in the rest of the house? The basement is completely open, so
I'm guessing that it would be rather straight forward to install the
plastic tubing etc.

Andy

It should be possible but I would consult a pro -- getting it to work
and balance might be tricky.

My other piece of advice is, try living with the radiators for at least
one winter before you go ripping them out -- you might come to like
them. You put your cold wet boots and gloves and such on them, and
next time you put them on they are all dry and toasty.

-- H

"Bert Hyman" wrote in message
...
Careful! I have a similar electric heater under the cabinet in my
bathroom and it's hot enough to fry my toes when I'm standing in
front of it.

But, maybe a hot-water powered unit wouldn't get so hot, and I guess
you're not so likely to be barefoot in the kitchen.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

Water temperature of a FHW system should be in the 130-140 degree range and
with the air blowing across it, it won't fry your toes and it is very
comfortable. Do you have steam radiators (the big cast iron ones) or do you
have a FHW/boiler setup?

-al sung
Rapid Realm Technology, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA

Heathcliff wrote:
Andy wrote:
I'm a newby to ho****er heating and just purchased a home with an older
boiler and radiators throughout the house. We're planning some renos
and are hoping to remove at least the radiator in the kitchen (possibly
the entire main floor) to make way for more cabinets. Is it possible to
use radiant floor heating in the kitchen while leaving the remainder of
the rads in the rest of the house? The basement is completely open, so
I'm guessing that it would be rather straight forward to install the
plastic tubing etc.

Andy

It should be possible but I would consult a pro -- getting it to work
and balance might be tricky.

My other piece of advice is, try living with the radiators for at least
one winter before you go ripping them out -- you might come to like
them. You put your cold wet boots and gloves and such on them, and
next time you put them on they are all dry and toasty.

-- H

Yes from what I've found out, it's not the easiest thing to do. However
I do think that the hydronic toe kick heater will be the best solution.
I have nothing against the rads, just that the one in the kitchen is
right in the centre of a prime cabinet wall. I'm only planning on
removing that one. Any one I speak with says that they much prefer hot
water heating over forced air.
A