Help! Hot water baseboard radiators

[MasterPlumbersKeymaster]

Hi,
I’m working with Slant/Fin baseboard radiators and I
have a few questions I was hoping you knowledgeable folks could
answer. I have a large room that I am dividing in 1/2 for two
smaller rooms. The baseboard runs the length of the wall where I
need to attach a dividing wall to. There are 2 options:

#1 Drop the plumbing under the floor on one side of the wall
and back up on the other.
#2 Run the plumbing through the wall (a contractor said this is
what he recommends as being cost-effective).

Can I just run the bare pipe thru the wall, or do I need to
do something special ?

Another question – if I run the return for the baseboard
inside the baseboard – Slant/Fin says run the return pipe ABOVE
the radiator pipe with fins. How do I get the return back
below the pipe with fins ??? Sounds funky.

Thanks in advance,
Pete
[email protected]

[Harold KestenholzParticipant]

The special thing you need to do when passing pipe through structure is to leave a clearance so the tubing does not touch. Tubing expands when heated; tubing will make a noise as it slides along the wood or other material. A 3/4-inch tube, actually about 7/8-inch in outside diameter depending upon the schedule or wall thickness, could pass comfortably through a 1-1/4-inch hole.

You can pass the tubing directly through a larger hole in the wall to the other room. To prevent rubbing the side, secure the tubing under the cover nearby the hole with a stand-off clamp to prevent the tubing from moving toward the circumference of the hole in the future. This will also make the baseboard expand from the clamp toward the riser holes in the floor at the other end of the baseboard, so make sure there is clearance toward the outside of the riser tubing to prevent noise, binding, and working of the fitting solder joints as the tubing expands.

While you have the front cover of the baseboard off, pay close attention to the plastic fin carriers that separate the fin tube from their supports.They help the fin tube slide over the carrier without contaCt of fin on carrier. Make sure they are centered on the supports and in contact with the fins and the supports. this will help prevent pinging noises from the fins. This sound does not occur if you uses cast-iron baseboard; but cast-iron baseboard and copper fin-tube does not work wll together on one series loop.

It is best to follow the manufacturer’s directions to run the return tubing when you must return the tubing on the same floor as the baseboard, as the cover is made to permit the return to pass above the fin-tube. You can run the return tubing below the floor when you can pass through to the floor below and not have exposed tubing in occupied areas.

For tubing layouts you can go to http://www.hydronic.net

[SylvanLMPParticipant]

Harold point of information.

. ” 3/4-inch tube, actually about 7/8-inch in outside diameter depending upon the schedule or wall thickness, could pass comfortably through a 1-1/4-inch hole”

The “Schedule” of type K, L or M tubing all have the same outer diameter BUT the internal area varies as M has the thinnest wall thickness then type L then K

Now for something even more interesting re copper heating applications

A lot of tubing failures can be directly attributed to poor system designs like excessive velocity with too high a temperature.

2-3 FPS @180 degrees Max

A lot of helpers not knowing why these systems fail constantly blame it on thin wall tubing and these apprentices being silly in the mind install a heavier wall tubing thus compounding the problem even more with creating even more restrictions go figure.

[Author]

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