Has anyone tried ThermaSkirt radiators for central heating?

[MikeV]

I've got 5.6m of Myson finrads (350W/metre) + 3 radiators on a 55ft boat. While you feel the heat from the radiators you never seem to feel any warmth from the Finrads although they are probably contributing to the heating in the salon. As others have said, Finrads alone would not cut it.

 

I've also used Thermaskirt at home on a project two years ago. In this particular case I had some large windows with low sills and I did not want to clutter the walls up with radiators. I ran Thermaskirt around about half the room including under the windows and across the threshold of the patio doors. With 16 metres of Thermaskirt rated at 142W/metre my calculations showed that it could only contribute about half the heat required for the coldest conditions (-10degC) and therefore there are also two radiators on other walls where it was possible to accommodate them without affecting positioning of furniture.

 

I think you could use Thermaskirt as a supplement to radiators on a boat. If you had areas where you haven't got the under gunwale space for a radiator you could run them along under cupboards kickboard style.

Edited January 6, 2016 by MikeV

[OldGoat]

I've got 5.6m of Myson finrads (350W/metre) + 3 radiators on a 55ft boat. While you feel the heat from the radiators you never seem to feel any warmth from the Finrads although they are probably contributing to the heating in the salon. As others have said, Finrads alone would not cut it.

 

I've also used Thermaskirt at home on a project two years ago. In this particular case I had some large windows with low sills and I did not want to clutter the walls up with radiators. I ran Thermaskirt around about half the room including under the windows and across the threshold of the patio doors. With 16 metres of Thermaskirt rated at 142W/metre my calculations showed that it could only contribute about half the heat required for the coldest conditions (-10degC) and therefore there are also two radiators on other walls where it was possible to accommodate them without affecting positioning of furniture.

 

I think you could use Thermaskirt as a supplement to radiators on a boat. If you had areas where you haven't got the under gunwale space for a radiator you could run them along under cupboards kickboard style.

 

Nice to have some corroboration and interesting to see the difference between the Finrads and Thermaskirt. The former are as the name implies 22mm copper pipe with lots of aluminium fins to dissipate the heat overall most of the length of the unit. The downside may be the depth of the assembly. In the Thermaskirt picture (looks like) the pipe is bonded to the front face, which accounts for the poorer heat dissipation roughly 1/3rd of the Finrad unit. I suspect the bottom could get quite hot - not much fun if in contact with bare ankles...

 

A mixed radiator / skirting heating system - assuming (not unreasonably) 15mm to 22mm adaptors for the skirting units and back again to 15mm for the radiators is slightly fiddly but has implications for the flow of coolant throughout.

 

As with everything KISS (rudely KISYSB) is well worth considering.

Better it is to have something that is elegant. Convolutions end up being a pain in the fundament as there are inevitably other snags that only appear while or after you have completed the project.

 

I commend you to the works of W,Heath Robinson or Roland Emmett - the latter is reputed to have live in a village nearby.

[David Mack]

In the Thermaskirt picture (looks like) the pipe is bonded to the front face, which accounts for the poorer heat dissipation roughly 1/3rd of the Finrad unit. I suspect the bottom could get quite hot - not much fun if in contact with bare ankles...

 

My understanding is that the Thermaskirt is a single aluminium extrusion which includes both the front face skirting and two pipes, so water in the pipes is intimate contact with the skirting surface that radiates heat. There are separate push fit pipe connections at the end to join sections together or connect to pipework. The whole surface will get to (almost) the same temperature as the circulating water, as with finrads.