Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - enough baseboard????

ok-I have a 1900 sqft colonial in CT, 2x6 construction, finished basement, house is hot water baseboard. Above the finished basement side is a 12x18 kitchen with 9' of baaseboard on the interior 12' wall, only has 1 30x36 sink window. Room next to it is a 12x10 dining room, 9' baseboard on 1 exterior wall with a 4x6 double window above it. Rooms are separated by a floor/ceiling wall with a 4' walkway opening. I plan to take the divider wall down and make my new kitchen a full 12x28! For my new cabinet layout I need to remove the 9' heat section in the old kitchen for cabinets...that leaves me with one 9' section under those double windows. The slant/fin heat loss calculations say I only need 9.7' of baseboard, am I missing something? Also can I bridge the heat pipes with a temporary auto heater hose once I take the baseboard out until I figure this out? HELP!!

Unless that area is on its own heating zone, you can't calculate the heatloss and install accordingly. If the first floor is all on one zone, and the person who calculated the original job put double the amount needed in every room, you will need to stay with that ratio. If you re-calculate and install just whats needed, your zone will be out of proportion. Match the total amount that was there and just find a new place for it, or use a kickspace heater. The small one replaces 8 feet of standard baseboard.

As for the heater hose, I say don't do it. There is nothing on the copper pipe to stop the hose from sliding off, even with 2 clamps. I suppose the hose might handle it but you should find a better way of connecting it. Like soldering on a female adapter and using a brass male barb adapter. 15 psi doesn't seem high but it can reach 30 psi before anything else protects the overpressure.
Be careful.

Ken

Kfield--yes...the first floor is all one zone. I did some homework on the toe kick heaters and there is a Myson unit Whispa 50 thet says its the equivalent of 6Ft of baseboard...should that do the job for me or do I need to go bigger to the WH II5000 unit that is the equivalent to approx 10ft of baseboard? Also what are "monoflow" tees and can I put them in ahead of time?

I think the smaller unit would be adequate. I think Slant fin baseboard is rated at 570 btus/ft at 180 degree water and 'normal' flow rate. That comes to 5130 btus for the piece you took out. Check the specs on the Myson unit to see if the output is close to the 5000. I'm guessing it is based on the model number. You can install the monoflo tee anytime but it could impede the flow of water if the branch is not connected to anything. Summer is coming so if you plan to finish this before winter there is no need to worry. Just be careful to put the tee in the proper direction and use a regular tee on the other side and leave at least 18" inches of straight pipe in between the 2 tees. You should also install a balancing fitting or full port ball valve in the line so you can regulate the water flow in the heater if necessary.

Ken

The WH50 unit says its rated at 2750 BTU/hr or 6 ft of baseboard.
The larger WHII 5000 unit is rated at 5310 BTU/hr or 11ft of baseboard so it appears I should go with the 5000 unit? Also the ball valve to adjust flow.....I plan to buy there flexible hose kit so the ball valve needs to be AFTER the monoflo tee feeding the input flex hose correct???? By the way....you have been a GREAT help and insight...I appreciate it!!

The larger unit closely matches your requirement so use that one. The ball valve does indeed go on the 1/2" line leading to the unit. I wasnt aware they had a flex line kit but that should make life easier. Another suggestion you may consider is to modify the floor of the cabinet so that it has a removable panel directly above the heater. I do that on all installations and on the one out of 10 that you need to get at to clean or replace a thermostat ot motor, it is a big help. It is much easier to cut into the cabinet before you install it or the heater.

Good luck and have a fun time remodeling.

Ken

Well, the cabinets went in and I finished installing the myson II 5000 kickspace heater under my oven cabinet. I plumb as recommended and it works GREAT! Thanks for the great advice!!!