I have radiant infloor heat in my garage and set it up using a hot water tank. It has been working quite well for the past ten years. I do want to upgrade to a proper boiler at some point since it is a more energy efficient method. I have a plan to add a bit more shop space on in a few years and will look at that upgrade then.
The hot water tank is cheaper to buy, but holds a lot more volume. If you choose to run antifreeze rather than plain water, that adds some cost back in. I don't recall the size of pump off hand, but its not overly large. I have three loops of piping in the floor fed off a manifold from a single pump. The thermostat cycles the pump on and off to modulate the temperature. i keep the tank set at a medium temperature setting. I also have a small expansion tank and an air bleed valve on the system, so it is a fully closed system.
One thing to look at with the piping that was laid in the floor is what type did they use. The proper stuff has an oxygen barrier to prevent corrosion in the system due to O2 transfer through the piping. I used OxyPEX, which is like regular PEX with the addition of the O2 barrier on the outside. it is red in colour.
The second question is, how long is the run(s) of tubing they laid. It is important to not use too long of runs as there will be excessive flow reduction due to friction loss and thus excessive heat loss in the run. Usually 200 -250 feet is the maximum length. This is why I have three loops and the manifold setup.
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I retired and got a fixed income but it's broke.
Ed
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