Hydronic Towel warmer install question

bigbluedude · 02-10-2010, 09:05 PM

Greetings All,
I have a System 2000 with no extra zones available and want to put a towel warmer in my bathroom. I have done all the maintenance etc. on the system myself like flushing the entire system, new circulators, new auto vents, new heat exchangers, yearly cleanings etc. I feel very comfortable with cutting into the existing hot water lines etc. The towel warmer would go on the zone which is a hydroair heat exchanger for forced hot air to 1/2 the heating area in my home. (plans for this summer)
My question is how to install the lines, in parallel or serial connection with the existing hydroair heat exchanger? In parallel I may need to regulate the towel warmer which would then regulate the hydroair. In serial, I am not sure the towel warmer would see enough hot water to heat towels. The Bathroom currently has no heat but stays warm enough from being over the furnace room.
Thanks in advance.
Pete

**beenthere** · 02-11-2010, 12:56 AM

So your going to over heat 1/2 your house just to warm up your towels?

Towel warmer can't be in series with hydro coils.

bigbluedude · 02-11-2010, 01:10 PM

I have my parallel and serial mixed up in my original post. I guess my question is can this be done without installing a new Zone just for the towel warmer? $$$ I purposefully did not put heat in the bathroom in anticipation of using the towel warmer to heat the room. If the warmer is installed in parallel will any hot water make it to the towel warmer or will it naturally bypass and go directly to the hydro air coils?

**beenthere** · 02-11-2010, 04:30 PM

Water will take the path of least resistance. So some will go through towel warmer, and some through hydro coil. Hydro coil is probably more restrictive. So you may not get enough water through coil to heat house right.

If your system is using zone valves. You can add a zone valve for towel warmer. And twin it to the hydro coils zone valve.

bigbluedude · 02-13-2010, 07:50 AM

Thanks beenthere, I was going to let the towel warmer just piggy back of the thermostat in the house so when the house calls for heat the water would just run through the towel warmer. The bathroom is 7 X 9 so I not sure what heat output the towel warmer has, but is there anything like a bathroom that is too warm

? Good point on the coils being more restrictive and maybe not getting enough flow. The hydroaire is 3/4 inch pipe, maybe I could use 1/2 on the towel warmer to make more restrictive? Or just a ball valve that I could manually tweak once or twice on the coldest winter day on the towel warmer . Yes, I have zone valves on the system, but not sure what you mean by Twinning. When the house zone opens the towel warmer zone would open at the same time no choice on that in this setup. Is what your saying to make a completely independent loop for the towel warmer?

**beenthere** · 02-13-2010, 08:02 AM

Yes. You could either put a zone valve in for the bathroom that it only opens, but doesn't turn on the circ or boiler. It needs the main zone to be calling for the boiler and circ to run. Known as a slave zone. Draw back is that you would have to turn up the heat of the main area for the towel warmer to work.

Or, make it its own zone. So that it can work anytime you want to use it. Without having to heat the whole house(best way to do it).

And yes, you can have a bathroom that is TOO hot.

If you just tap off the line to the hydro coil. You would need to pipe it up as a mono flow.
You could do that on the return pipe from the hydro coil. But, you still need to heat the main area, in order for the towel warmer to work.

Since you have to open the system up no matter which way you do it. The zone valve makes the most sense. You could use either a thermostat to control it, or a timer if you use a zone valve.