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Heating & Air Conditioning

Quieter alternative to hot water baseboard heat?

15 years ago

I know, HWBB is supposed to be the next best heat besides radiant floors... But I can't stand the fact that Snap, Crackle, and Pop have taken up residence in my convectors. It's so noisy it wakes me up at night. That, plus the fact that air is getting into the lines and I have to call the service tech to bleed all 3 zones on a bi-monthly basis... I need a better alternative. So far, all I can come up with on 2 hours sleep are the following:

1) Replace all the convectors with either quieter convectors, or radiant baseboards / radiant panels (mucho dinero);

2) Add hydro coils to the central air ducts (I have one air handler per level, but only one return per level, so not sure how well that will work for heat, although it works fine for A/C)(probably also mucho dinero);

3) Turn heat off at night and use electric blankies (cheap);

4) Move (last resort, way too much dinero).

Sorry to rant, but it's really getting annoying. Seriously though, any suggestions for a quieter and more restful experience?

Thanks!

~UncleD

Comments (4)

kframe19
15 years ago
You have to have your system bled every two months?

By a tech?

1. Learn how to bleed it yourself.

2. Have the tech spend your money figuring out WHY and WHERE air is leaking into your system, not just refilling it.

To my way of thinking, the only form of heat that is better is in floor radiant.

As for the noise that it's making, you could try to figure out exactly where the pipes are binding and slipping, which is likely the cause of the noises.

Or, you could try a white noise machine or something similar.
uncledave_ct
Original Author
15 years ago
I have attempted to silence the pipes where they rub within the walls, through floors, etc and had some success. However, the loudest noises are the convectors themselves; as the pipes expand the fins are ticking, pinging and clanking quite loudly. I grew up with HWBB heat, and have only owned homes with HWBB heat, and I have to say these are the loudest buggers I've ever heard. I would love to have radiant floor heat, maybe someday I can make that a reality. Thanks K!
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You are lucky to have nice hydronic heat in your home, congratulations. A heating contractor might better be able to help you pick out new heaters, but that is not a sure thing if you talk with a very experienced plumber in an area with lots of hydronic heat around. You might be able to re-use some of what you have if you can find replacement end caps since you might need two more. It depends on the design of the heaters. If you can, it might save you a lot of money if you want to match the other 7' length. With an open basement It should be relatively straight-forward meaning not too expensive, but I can not really say how much. I am not sure why you want to move it. The TV should work in front of the baseboard with no trouble. You might drive yourself nuts if you want to move your heaters to accommodate your furniture in every room ;-) What fuel fires your boiler? Who is going to be servicing your heating system?
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Raising water temps is one way to get more heat out of less baseboard. 160-190 comes to mind. Hot water heat is the most comfortable form of heat ever invented and you will soon love it. The boiler probably maintains a certain low limit temperature, usually 160 degrees. Some have cold start boilers, but let's stick with the most common. When the tstat calls for heat, the burner and circulator will start. The burner will run until the boiler water reaches it's high limit of, usually 180 degrees. At high limit, the circulator will continue to run until the boiler temperature goes below 180 degrees and the burner will restart shortly thereafter. This is called "running off the high limit". If the boiler water never reaches high limit, the burner will run continuously until the thermostat is satisfied. If you have a domestic hot water coil in the boiler and the boiler water temperature goes below the low limit because the burner can't keep up, the circulator will stop, the burner will continue to run until the boiler water get above the low limit, whereupon the circulator will restart. This keeps enough hot water in the boiler for the coil. This is called "running off the low limit". Your boiler may cycle without a call for heat, just to keep the water temp above the low limit for the domestic coil. A good explanation of how an aquastat controls a boiler, google Honeywell L8124A, or L8148A for cold start boilers, or L7224A/L7248A.
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I can;t argue with the fact that replacing an old boiler with a more efficient one can cuts costs considerably. If natural gas is available, there is nothing else to consider. If not, then relative fuel costs of electricity, propane and fuel, as well as climate conditions (for heat pumps) need to be considered. When faced with high fuel prices in an old home, the biggest bang for the buck can be in improvements in the home envelope and that , as Jim pointed out, should be done first if possible. If you get heat loss low enough, fuel cost can fade as an isssue. Jim, you have a condensing boiler? Can you be specific? Did you have trouble with new, lower temperature, flue location? How are your return water temps running? Do you have a lot of heating zones? What type of heat emitters are you using? If your improvements caused short-cycling, you might consider a buffer tank. I recently saw an interesting commentary on two-pip vs. four -pipe plumbing for buffer tanks. If set up right, they can make larger improvements in condensing boiler efficiency than if set up without condensing in mind.
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zl700
15 years ago
If you can lower the water temp and still have enough heat that will help, and better yet, install an outdoor reset so it is automatic.

Also with continued air problems and excessive noise once all binding areas and metal to metal contact on the glides have been addressed, most likely you are over-pumping your system with too large of a circulator. too big of a pump is a common cause of the rapid expansion producing the additional noise beyond normal.

1-3 GPM per loop is plenty for most BB systems. Smaller pump(s), lower speed(s), circuit setters or balancing valves to slow down flow should do the trick.
agatto2
15 years ago
Hi -- Definitely use a reset posted by zl700, it should help tons with heat differential. If air is getting into your system it is coming in with fresh water, it would indicate that there is a leak somewhere. That should be investigated.

If you do not have one an air separator with a bleeder should be installed. B and G wrote a useful FREE guide to help you understand your boiler better. There is a link on my website at www.furnacebook.com ,, like i said there guide is free and super useful to understanding a hwbb system .

Here is a link that might be useful: The Ultimate Furnace Installation Guide

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