Comb for underfloor heating

During winter frosts, the presence of a heated floor in the apartment not only creates special comfort, but also maintains health, protecting against hypothermia.

At first glance, it might seem that there is nothing complicated in installing such floors. After all, pipes are simply installed here through which hot water will be pumped. In fact, there are some very difficult moments.

First of all, we note that in this situation the apartment will have two different types of heating:

1. The usual.
2. Heating, located in the thickness of the floor.

In the first case, the water that passes through the batteries can be very hot. To let this water through the heating pipes in the floor - this means that you can burn your legs. It needs water that has a different temperature. Hot water should pass through the batteries, and slightly heated through the warm floor. This circumstance suggests that it is simply impossible to supply the same water.

The underfloor heating consists of several circuits; if water is supplied simultaneously to everything, a problem may arise. Since these pipes have different lengths, the shorter water circuit will heat up more than the longer one. This is due to the fact that the heat loss of a longer pipe will be higher. Thus, in this case, part of the floor will be heated more, and part - weaker.

But that is not all. In a longer circuit, the hydraulic resistance will be higher. And this, in turn, will lead to the fact that the largest part coolant will go through shorter pipes. This will further increase the difference in the heating temperature of the various sections.

In order to avoid all this, and there is a comb.

How it works?

In short, such a comb is a switchgear for water, which enters the apartment for heating. In fact, this is a rather complicated device.

We list its components:

1. Two collectorsmade of brass, equipped with adapters for incoming and outgoing pipes.
2. On incoming pipes flow meters supplied.
3. On outgoing pipes Thermal valves are installed (as soon as the water cools to a certain temperature, they open and the water drains).
4. Remote Sensor Crane temperature.
5. Air vent.
6. Special check valve, which prevents the coolant from flowing in the opposite direction.
7. Drain cock.
8. Crane to the return line.
9. Circulation pump.

The service life of this device is more than two decades. There are various comb options for underfloor heating. You can connect a different number of thermal circuits to them. Usually, we are talking about the number of 2 to 16 pipes.

This device allows you to adjust the amount of water and the degree of heating of the coolant that enters the underfloor heating. Also, it is possible to adapt to different weather. Indeed, in the cold, a high degree of warming is needed, and in other weather, a slight degree of it may be necessary.

This system allows you to use the same coolant for apartment heating and underfloor heating. In this case, you can avoid uneven heating of the floor of the apartment.

Benefits

When using the comb floor heating, you can get a number of advantages:

1. Energy saving compared to the normal use of a radiator. Its value can be from thirty to fifty percent.
2. High security during operation. There are no fire hazardous open heating elements.
3. Great durability. The service life may be two decades or more.
4. High comfort heating of the apartment and the lack of areas with uneven heating.
5. Aesthetics of the design used. The system takes up little space and is usually mounted in a special small cabinet.
6. Hygiene Keeping the floor warm makes wet cleaning easier and eliminates the damaging effects of excessive moisture. This, in turn, makes the formation of fungi or mold impossible.
7. Safety against burns. In the absence of such an adjustment system during heating, hot water can be used. When touching pipes, not only children, but also adults can get burns. The comb for a warm floor allows you to qualitatively control the temperature of the coolant, avoiding its excessive heating.

Main varieties

This device has a rather complex structure.

Despite the variety of options available, they can be divided into two main types:

1. Collector on three-way valves.
2. Collector on two-way valves.

What are we talking about? The coolant can actually come from two sources. This is hot water coming from outside, or one that has already passed the heating circuits, mixes with the fresh water that has just arrived and already in this form enters the heating circuits.

In the second option, the waste water for the second time does not enter the heating system.

Each of these options has its own characteristics. In the first case, such mixing of water leads to a decrease in the temperature of the coolant. After all, when heating the floor, hot water is not needed.

Such an approach leads both to the saving of energy used and to its more rational use. However, along with the positive aspects, these valves have serious drawbacks during operation. First of all, adjusting the flow and flow rate of water here is very difficult.

There is always a slight risk that the control valve will open as a result of a technical malfunction and a hot ninety degrees coolant will rush into the system heating. This may cause pipe rupture.

Another problem is that when using three-way valves, the flow through the manifold increases sharply, which leads to increased costs of thermal energy.

How to choose?

One of the important purchase options is the price. Devices can be quite simple, but can include additional nodes (for example, control sensors, flow controllers or drain valves). In addition, in some cases it makes sense to buy an additional heating device.

In different trim levels, additional sensors may be provided. In certain situations, it may make sense to install multiple collector devices. Such a situation may arise if several heating circuits are laid in the apartment.

For a small room, a relatively simple and cheap comb may be suitable. For a large one with several heating circuits, it is necessary to use a collector with more expensive and high-quality equipment, while having higher reliability.

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Installation Features and Cost

First of all, you need to choose a place to mount the collector. It is best to install this equipment so that it is located at a minimum distance from the regulated heating circuits.

In height, the installation should be higher than the heating pipes. Otherwise, it will be difficult to bleed air that may be in the pipes. To place the equipment you need to mount a special cabinet.

It can be open or closed. In the first case, it is almost a metal frame, in the second it is a plastic or wooden cabinet. It is most convenient to equip a niche in the wall for this purpose.

Install the collector vertically. Outgoing pipes are first connected to it in series, then incoming pipes. Installation and connection are quite complicated. To do this, it is advisable to use the services of a professional.

An important part is the adjustment of the valves. When selling, the device is accompanied by a scheme for their adjustment, which is made in the form of a special table.

To carry out this operation, you need to remove the cap from each valve (naturally, this must be done before the water is connected to the collector). Then, tighten it fully with a special hex wrench. After that, in accordance with the table, open the valve at the desired speed.

The adjustment made will allow the comb to work reliably and balanced over time.

Here are the approximate prices for various configurations:

1. For double circuit comb the price will be 15,170 rudders. A circulation pump and an automation kit for adjusting the movement of the coolant are attached here.
2. Giacomini comb two circuits will cost 17,472 rubles.
3. Four-circuit combequipped with flow meters will cost 16,650 rubles.
4. 4-circuit floor heating manifold ROSSWEINER systems are sold at a price of 13660 rubles.

It is recommended to buy products that belong to a well-known and reliable brand manufacturer. This allows you to replace or supplement parts with one hundred percent compatibility.

If the apartment has several heating systems for underfloor heating, then several combs may be needed.