I am researching on if it is possible to build a hydronic underfloor heating system from common materials. I was thinking about purchasing a medium size water heater, water pump, and about 1000 feet of tubing, maybe pvc, or even your higher end common garden hoses as they dont have much insulation to contain the heat in the hose. and it isnt like the lines will be under any serious pressure. I am on a 4′ crawlspace now, and I am getting ready to install insulation. Any recommendations? the commercial stuff is way over priced if you have researched you can pick up a water heater for under 150 and a commercial smaller boiler will run 2000. also the pex hosing runs about 10 dollars a foot, your most expensive hose isnt 30 dollars for 50 feet. Any help is appreciated.. Thanks
I was wondering if this sounds like it would work well. I am trying not to dump 10k into a radiant system. And I have never seen one in person or the components used. But looking online at a few sites I have seen where water heaters were used, and I am not sure if they work properly for this application, also the hose, or tubing. The pex tubing that is suppose to be used looks alot like a garden hose. I was also thinking about running PVC as it is cheap too. I would think the hose would be better as I can run it between the joists in a snake pattern because it is so flexible. I am not wanting to waste 1000 either if it isnt going to work correctly. I was hoping to get some answers from people that have experience with this stuff. Will the PVC or a garden hose distribute heat well? or is there another inexpensive hose/tube that would work better other than the PEX? Will the water heater work for a heat source on a 1000 feet of tubing? and what size is recommended? How large a pump? TIA
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes you can do it yourself – but you need to think it through. Sounds like a "dry" installation is the way to go for what you plan. In a dry installation the piping is hung beneath the floor. (A wet installation has the piping embedded in concrete, which is why you need to go with high end stuff, as failure means jackhammer time).
Rather than try to tell you how to do it other than to say the piping should be at least 1/2" OD, see the web site below for more info and links. It’s a trade group site.
Water heater will work fine for the heat source. Would recommend using a good pipe . Use the PEX tubing you can find it fairly cheap at a home depot or similiar place.
This is a dumb idea. if you’re going to do it, you should do it according to building codes. not saying a water heater wont work, for something like a bathroom floor. but put the right tubing in. and i think theres also some kind of metal "heat spreader/reflector" that directs the heat to the floor more evenly. this is your home? why would you want to do some half assed hack job on your own house?