joshmeseattle
Member
Photos here: Hydronic heater photos
I'm doing a remodel project in my 2005 townhome in the Pacific Northwest and adding some cabinets along a wall that currently has an in-wall hydronic heater. I'm hoping to remove the heater (there's a second one in this room which is sufficient to provide heat), but I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing this. I might need to call a professional, but hoping this forum can give me the advice I need to DIY this.
The Turbonics in-wall heater receives hot water from the domestic water heater via a PEX tube. That runs over some copper tubing with fins and a ran blows over that to warm the air. It's attached to a 120V thermostat (King Electric HWPT120). The thermostat controls the fan in the wall heater as well as a pump that moves water to all of the heaters in the house. Note that the thermostat in this room controls two separate in-wall heaters which have separate PEX supply/return lines.
In the first image below you can see the heater on the wall after I removed the cover.
Second image shows the garage setup. Water flows from the domestic water heater (off to the right) to the series of PEX tubes that go to each hydronic heater. Then there's an equal number of return PEX tubes which bring back the cooled water which is deposited back into the water heater. You can see I actually turned off the valves for the water to/from the heater I want to remove. Also in the photo you can see the pump which moves water through this closed loop, and there's also a spigot along the bottom pipe on the return to the water heater.
So here's what I think needs to be done:
Other than the potential issue noted above, does my list seem correct and complete? What potential pitfalls do you foresee that I'm missing?
Thanks in advance!
I'm doing a remodel project in my 2005 townhome in the Pacific Northwest and adding some cabinets along a wall that currently has an in-wall hydronic heater. I'm hoping to remove the heater (there's a second one in this room which is sufficient to provide heat), but I'm not exactly sure how to go about doing this. I might need to call a professional, but hoping this forum can give me the advice I need to DIY this.
The Turbonics in-wall heater receives hot water from the domestic water heater via a PEX tube. That runs over some copper tubing with fins and a ran blows over that to warm the air. It's attached to a 120V thermostat (King Electric HWPT120). The thermostat controls the fan in the wall heater as well as a pump that moves water to all of the heaters in the house. Note that the thermostat in this room controls two separate in-wall heaters which have separate PEX supply/return lines.
In the first image below you can see the heater on the wall after I removed the cover.
Second image shows the garage setup. Water flows from the domestic water heater (off to the right) to the series of PEX tubes that go to each hydronic heater. Then there's an equal number of return PEX tubes which bring back the cooled water which is deposited back into the water heater. You can see I actually turned off the valves for the water to/from the heater I want to remove. Also in the photo you can see the pump which moves water through this closed loop, and there's also a spigot along the bottom pipe on the return to the water heater.
So here's what I think needs to be done:
- Turn off circuit breakers for the heating system.
- Turn off the valves connecting the closed loop of hydronic heater water in the garage from the water heater.
- Open the spigot and drain all water from the hydronic loop.
- Remove the PEX tubes in the garage that go to/from the heater in question, and cap those off somehow (not exactly sure how - help appreciated!)
- Go upstairs and disconnect the PEX tubes from the in-wall unit, disconnect the electrical, and remove the heater from the wall.
- Put some wire nuts on the exposed electrical wires ( see potential issue below!)
- Patch the drywall.
- Re-open the valves connecting the hydronic pipes to the water heater so water refills the system and all the other heaters function as normal. ( is it that simple, or will I need to somehow purge the air from the tubes, aka bleed it?)
- Turn circuit breakers back on.
Other than the potential issue noted above, does my list seem correct and complete? What potential pitfalls do you foresee that I'm missing?
Thanks in advance!