Right & wrong: Examining common design pitfalls, and how to optimize piping strategies.

The Glitch:

The installation in figure 1 uses a propane-fired cast-iron boiler to provide heat to four zones of plateless staple-up underfloor heating, and one zone of slab heating.

Can you spot several issues that are likely to cause problems with the design shown in Figure 1? Can you propose a different design that eliminates these issues?

Are you an ace troubleshooter?

Within the pages of this magazine, PM’s Hydronics Editor John Siegenthaler, P.E., will pose a question to you, our readers, to review a system’s schematic layout and discover its faults, flaws and defects. Discover archived “The Glitch & The Fix” exercises at its radiant-focused website, www.radiantandhydronics.com. Good luck!