Swapping Out Baseboard for CI Radiators

My spousal unit has complained about the ugly baseboard radiators in the living room and dining room. I told her that I would pull them out and replace them with some cast iron radiators. Her reply was "Good!!! Then when I get cold I can stand next to them or sit on em." I suggested a blanket for a cushion and she said "Maybe."

Anway I got started this morning and started by pulling 28 feet of baseboard from the living room and hallway. I have a cast iron radiator that was free and it fits perfectly under the front room window. I am taking out 28 feet which thumbnail calculation comes to about 9200 BTU's and replacing it with a radiator that will be about 9,100 BTU's. That 100 BTU's will be made up with the radiator I will put in the dining room.

I'll will be taking out baseboard in there that is about 6,600 BTU's and putting in a radiator that is about 7,600 BTU's per hour. So by pulling out about 56 feet of ugly baseboard heaters and replacing it two really GOOD looking radiators I will gaining about 1,500 BTU's per hour but what makes it all golden is Momma will be happy!!!

Now back to the basement and start running the copper to the radiator in the living room. The dining room will be on it's own thermostat instead of the series loop that the living room and dining room were on before. We will be able to control each room on it's own thermostat. I like that aspect.

Nice move Rev.

I've lived with base board and with radiators. The base board always seemed to have greater room temp swings because they shed the heat too quickly.

And you'll be gaining a bit more floor space that gives you more leeway with furniture placement. I never liked that furniture had to be away from the base boards, or they don't work as well - such as a couch or book case on an outside wall.

Paul

Great project.

I am not sure what make/model baseboard you are removing, but most of the residential stuff is rated at roughly 500 btus per foot.

They are old slant fins. I run my heating water at around 145-150 which is where I get the BTU rating. With the Vig 2310 also running in the winter, the oil boiler basically provides DHW until I get the flu. When I go down the last thing I do is bump it to 160 and go to bed and eat lots of chicken soup.

It seems as if you will need more CI radiator than 9,100 BTUH. About 1/2 more square feet of CI radiator surface area are required for equivalence to the baseboards.

Put thermostatic radiator valve's in to control the rads.....then with even half decent TRV heads you get no temp swing

I am using the hwh piping from the oil boiler. It already has three powered zone valves controlled by thermostats. I fire up the bucket a day on coal, open the valves to the boiler and disconnect the oil burner. During the shoulder months the bucket a day heats the water in the boiler and existing circulation pump runs when the thermostat calls for heat which it rarely does because I get great natural circulation. I got virtually no natural circulation with the baseboards but will get GOOD circulation with the radiator. I know the bucket a day will do the heat, as well as all the DHW, because we have already done it this way for 3 years. I'm just tearing out ugly baseboard and putting in some good looking radiators. If it's not enough, I'll put in another radiator. Simple......I have access to LOTS of free radiators for the taking. Legally of course.....

We are not going to need those extra BTU's that you guys say I'm losing because we are moving everything down to the first floor. My bride of 44 years has liver cancer and does not qualify for a transplant. We are on the medical system merry-go-round. The second transplant unit has turned her down so now we apply to the third and keep going until someone says yes. It won't be too much longer before she will be too weak to use the steps to get to the bedroom and bath which are on the second floor. We are going to close the three bedrooms upstairs off and just heat the upstairs bathroom to about 60 for a second bath.

The first part of the house make over is tearing out the baseboards and putting in CI rads like she wants. She absolutely hates baseboard radiators. Next is build a full bath downstairs. Then we convert the living room into our bedroom and the dining room to the living room. I have already moved a small round dining table into the kitchen and turned it into an eat in kitchen. I have about two months to get this done before heating season is knocking on our door. Momma likes to stay warm.

We are only going to be heating about 500 sq ft total this winter so the two cast iron radiators should work very well. We already have a CI radiator in the kitchen and that will give us three downstairs. That one heats the kitchen and the laundry room. The entire upstairs, 3 bedrooms and the bath, have been heated by one cast iron radiator in the bathroom. This house was built in 1895 and has no heat upstairs. It depends on natural circulation and does a fine job. They knew what they were doing when they built this house.

Our primary heat is, and has been, the vig 2310 burning pea coal and it sits in the dining room which will become our living room. And before anybody says it, if it gets too hot we'll open a window. We sit smack in the middle of the southern anthrancite coal region and have access to 4 coal yards within 10 minutes of our house.

I have about a cord and a half of free wood that is already cut, split and stacked. We will start on the BAD, supplement with the wood in the 2310 if needed, switch to pea coal when it gets cold. If I get sick I'll go down and reconnect the oil burner, turn the aquastat to 185 and go to bed and burn some dino juice. Our tank was filled this week so all I need to do now is top off our one ton bin and we will be ready.

I intend to burn enough coal and wood this winter to impact "climate change" in NE Pa.

Larry, have you considered putting a radiator in the basement? Nothing makes old bones feel better than warm floors, especially if you are sick and not using the coal stove.

Nice. Love the one under the window. I wish you and your wife the best.
Matt

Rob R. wrote:Larry, have you considered putting a radiator in the basement? Nothing makes old bones feel better than warm floors, especially if you are sick and not using the coal stove.

Not even considered. The dino juice burner can heat all it can. I can crank the thermo to 80 and everything will get plenty warm.