I think you should be able to get it to work some way or other. Just a question of what materials and components work together well in you environment. Easy concept, but it could bite you in a number of ways, so it might be well to "design for failure".
Ie. put it together in such a way that various parts can be replaced w/as low a cost as possible - looking particularly at the costs of pulling parts of the boat apart to get in and do the core job. Eg. don't lay the "floor" under the settee or cabinets - cuz you might have to pull it up; don't run the tube in ways that make it impossible to replace w/out removing the refrigerator; run the tube in ways that you can isolate one zone if there's a leak in another (if possible). You mention 35%+ humidity. I'm not certain, but that sounds higher than the standard assumed for a home environment and thus the materials may not give the same performance as in a land-based installation. I'm thinking especially of the "engineered" floor. A heating pro should be able to calculate the BTU's (although you're going to have to dicker w/him becuz his outlines just don't include boats!) you need and also the BTU load that a particular length and diameter of tubing would put on the furnace. Then you want to ask whether the furnace can keep up with it and also whether it cares about the return temperature of fluid. W/out good insulation _under_ the tubing you're going to heat the bilge as much as the cabin. You need to lay out the tubing in a way that heats surfaces that "face" you and are not covered or shadowed by furniture or gear. Walls and overhead are fair game in this layout. Again, insulate the side that doesn't need heat. As I understand it, radiant heat's primary impact is when it heats the occupants. It sometimes raises the temperature of surrounding objects and structure but that is a side affect and not how you realize the benefits. Radiant is all about how it _feels_, not what the air temperature actually is. In order to feel it, the radiant heat must fall directly on you. One way you might integrate the radiant w/the hydronic while allowing different temperatures is by using a small tank (10gal? - ask the heating guys) with a temperature controlled valve and/or pump which circulates hot water from the heater into the tank only when needed to keep the tank at good radiant temperature. A separate pump circulates the contents of the tank through the tubing. Although it sounds weird, if the tank is the right size and has 4 connections this will act like two separate systems even thought they have a common fluid. There may also be a way to use a "tempering" valve to achieve this - ask the heating guy. I mention the above because I think you may need way different temperatures in the two systems. But I see no reason at all why you can't make this work; stuff like this has been done. Just arrange it so it fails gracefully because you're kinda doing a prototype here and you'd like to keep as much of it operating as possible when some little thing goes phzzt. I think the part that will be hardest to fix or change would be the furnace. So get a handle on the BTU requirements and also on the manner in which the furnace operates most efficiently. Eg. runs at least 10 minutes at a time, fluid temperature drops at least or not more than xzy degrees, fluid flows at least 1/2 feet/sec but not more than 2 feet/sec, needs (or not) pressure spike protection from valves opening and shutting - stuff like that; then design the plumbing and controls so the furnace is happy, the radiant tubing is happy and the radiators are happy. Oh, and install it so you can get the air out of the system somehow w/out a big hassle - cuz you'll likely be doing it a few times before everything is pea! chy. And make a way to drain it quickly and easily and save the fluid, cuz ditto. Sounds like fun!. <g> If you want to try for some _real_ expert opinion, go to www.heatinghelp.com. Could be your idea would catch some interest there. Rufus > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Noel Russell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] Radiant Heat for the boat > Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:29:51 EST > > > > We are looking at either engineered wood or laminate... They say it > works... Also, we are at 35-40% humidity so far in the boat with > the dehumidifier running 24/7 too. not done researching, but not a > lot of floor either really. > > Noel > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Don White <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Fri, 21 December 2007 11:15:52 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] Radiant Heat for the boat > > This has an exteme drying/shrinking effect on a wood floor. The > wood will pick up moisture in he summer. Usually better over a > different surface in a house. > > Noel Russell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > N.Y. RUSSELL > Office Coffee Service > "Java Powered Service" > > 1. involves a liquid > > We already have the coolant circulating in the boat. Just another > way to use the heat generated by the furnace. > > 2. takes a while to heat up an area, not a quick response > > I intend on using this with the blowers in the hydronic system. > They should be able to supplement themselves. > > at least I hope so > > Noel > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wed, 19 December 2007 13:39:31 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Liveaboard] Radiant Heat for the boat > > Problem with radiant heat is !. involves a liquid 2. takes a while > to heat up an area, not a quick response > See you on the Waterway > Capt. Sterling > MV SterlingLadyIII > Key Largo, Fl. > > > See AOL's top rated recipes and easy ways to stay in shape for winter. > _______________________________________________ > Liveaboard mailing list > [email protected] > To adjust your membership settings over the web > http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard > To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ > > To search the archives > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > The Mailman Users Guide can be found here > http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html > > Never miss a thing. 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