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hey all

am at the stage in build of installing rads ive used 22mm pipe in my heating ring do i "T" off with 15mm pipe as i have done or do i use an elbow one end of rad and another the other end so the only way is through rad .my concern with "t" ing off is will the water flow round rad or take straight route,never had experiance with this before and hav plumbed rest of boat no probs ,all help appreciated

vince

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Radiators should be plumbed "in parallel" with each other not "in series" with each other. Main ring should be 22mm (assuming it's pumped water) T'd off to the individual radiators with 15mm.

 

Getting the correct flow through each radiator is what the "balancing valve" on each rad is all about.

 

Chris

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am at the stage in build of installing rads ive used 22mm pipe in my heating ring do i "T" off with 15mm pipe as i have done or do i use an elbow one end of rad and another the other end so the only way is through rad .my concern with "t" ing off is will the water flow round rad or take straight route,never had experiance with this before and hav plumbed rest of boat no probs ,all help appreciated

It depends on how the system is connected!

If it is dedicated central heating or back boiler etc., where the temperature is likely to get very hot or there is no control on the amount of heat delivered, then the radiators should be connected in parallel with system of TRV's or similar. The same would apply if there is a hybrid system with a number of possible sources. In any event you must ensure there is a system bypass in place in case all the radiators shut down.

Where the source is not likely to get too hot such as loop from the engine or the calorifier, the radiators could be connected in series without valves, however this does not give any control to the heat provided by each radiator.

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Radiators should be plumbed "in parallel" with each other not "in series" with each other. Main ring should be 22mm (assuming it's pumped water) T'd off to the individual radiators with 15mm.

 

Getting the correct flow through each radiator is what the "balancing valve" on each rad is all about.

 

Chris

ok chris it seems im halfway there then not a prob with me t ing off as i have done not trying to sound thick but in series and parralel not sure how i would do it any different to what ive done ,the way it is at the mo is from calorifier at the back under bed movin forward to towel rail rad in bathroom then up left hand sid round front and back down other to next rad in lounge then will go onto next in bedroom at back then after that onto eberspacher n back out again this end of it is not set in stone yet as im not yet at that stage the way ive done it so far sounds like its in series i suppose becacuse one leads on from another

vince

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It depends on how the system is connected!

If it is dedicated central heating or back boiler etc., where the temperature is likely to get very hot or there is no control on the amount of heat delivered, then the radiators should be connected in parallel with system of TRV's or similar. The same would apply if there is a hybrid system with a number of possible sources. In any event you must ensure there is a system bypass in place in case all the radiators shut down.

Where the source is not likely to get too hot such as loop from the engine or the calorifier, the radiators could be connected in series without valves, however this does not give any control to the heat provided by each radiator.

rite then robin am a little confused now my plan is to run heatin from eberspacher in engine bay through one of the coil in cal so it heats that also then out through system n back to source incorporating a smaller ring so i can shut of rad system to heat cal quicker or summer use ,does that make sense to you this is alll a learning curve for me didnt know first thing when started whats been done so far works perfectly thou ,shower ,wash basin ,kitchen sink ,flushin bog etc with current heatin of water from engine loop funny thing happened when i first tested it thou was non return valve on cal wasnt up to much so on first flush of toilet i had hot water to flush with that sorted now thou

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This has probably moved on, but to answer a previous question with a pretty picture:

 

plumbing.jpg

 

Top system is in parallel (and considered the correct way to do things) and bottom one is in series. In the bottom arrangement, if you shut off one radiator you shut down the whole system and no doubt f**k your pump in the process.

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ok chris it seems im halfway there then not a prob with me t ing off as i have done not trying to sound thick but in series and parralel not sure how i would do it any different to what ive done ,the way it is at the mo is from calorifier at the back under bed movin forward to towel rail rad in bathroom then up left hand sid round front and back down other to next rad in lounge then will go onto next in bedroom at back then after that onto eberspacher n back out again this end of it is not set in stone yet as im not yet at that stage the way ive done it so far sounds like its in series i suppose becacuse one leads on from another

vince

 

"In series" means that the water HAS TO flow through one radiator and THEN through the next one etc because that is the only path. ie: the output of one rad connects to the input of the next.

 

"In parallel" means that there are 2 pipes (a FLOW and a RETURN) pipe which travel around the boat together. One side of each radiator is connected to the FLOW pipe and the other side of each radiator is connected to the RETURN pipe. This way, by using a TRV or mechanical valve, the water can flow through the radiator to heat it or bypass the radiator if the temperature of that rad is at the temp set by the TRV and the TRV closes. ie: ALL the inputs of the rads are connected to the FLOW pipe and ALL the outlets to the RETURN pipe.

 

The big problem with a series circuit is that switching off one rad switches off ALL rads and that the rad nearest the boiler will be the hottest and the one further away the coolest. With parallel systems, all the rads receive the same temperature water. Series plumbing is not a recommended way of plumbing in a heating system unless you are using gravity feed and big 28mm pipes. Houses do not use this system anymore.

 

With any system, either series or parallel there MUST be a bypass pipe which allows the hot water to continue to flow if the rads are turned off.

 

In a parallel system this is usually arranged by having a heated towel rail in the bathroom which has no TRV and which must NOT be turned off.

 

Chris

Edited by chris w
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mite not be to bad because on the on e side i only have towel rail which doesnt have valves and only the lounge rad is in place on the other at the mo and i will be able to run another pipe up right hand side to it ,i think im gonna ask a freind to look at it unless i can work it out myself i must be thick as it aint sinkin in yet

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rite thanks for advice n pretty pics vincewell methinks ive got abit of a dilemma now as ive only run one 22mm pipe t ing off for rads and as it passes along where i wanted them

Our workshop is piped that way.

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Vince

 

Please don't convince yourself to go the series radiator route. You will regret it later and adding a second pipe then will be a right royal pain in the arse.

 

Chris

yeah your rite chris im still at stage on the one side where it wont be too hard to run another pipe, with towel rail on one side and the hardest to run another pipe too would that be ok to leave as is ,just spoke to mate on phone n hes gonna have a look on sunday ,glad i decided to ask for advice now rather than later

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rite then robin am a little confused now my plan is to run heatin from eberspacher in engine bay through one of the coil in cal so it heats that also then out through system n back to source incorporating a smaller ring so i can shut of rad system to heat cal quicker or summer use ,does that make sense to you this is alll a learning curve for me didnt know first thing when started whats been done so far works perfectly thou ,shower ,wash basin ,kitchen sink ,flushin bog etc with current heatin of water from engine loop funny thing happened when i first tested it thou was non return valve on cal wasnt up to much so on first flush of toilet i had hot water to flush with that sorted now thou

I think the other responses have got some very good pictures etc.!

The use of parallel connections means that (depending on the flow resistance of a particular connection) each radiator or coil gets the hottest water from the hot side and flows to the return side, in theory making it very efficient. It also means that (i.e. in summer) you can turn the radiators off and still get hot water. You could use the calorifier as the system bypass if it doesn't have a therostatic control valve (which in your case it probably should), however it is better to put the bypass at the furthest point, so the hot flow goes the farthest last.

There should be a non return valve on the hot water feed to the calorifier to prevent the heated water expanding back into the cold system, any pressure then released through the valve on the calorifier. There may have been some solder (copper) or swarf (plastic) got into yours?

It is also a good idea to have a separate feed (through a non return valve) to the toilet, to ensure that the water supply cannot be contaminated.

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