Connecting Hot Water Baseboards - Newbie to Pex

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Chefwong

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I'm familiar with hard pipe (copper, steel, brass).

For applications where I want to install a hot water baseboard relatively flush to the wall (runtal, burnham, etc) - let's say there is 3/4 pipe thread on the back and I'm using 3/4" black steel as my feeds.


How hard or complicated or even tools invested if I was to run 3/4 male to each end and use PEX as the coupler/connector between the 2. I'm thinking I could make the pex hose (assuming some flexibility), install on baseboard, mount baseboard flush to wall and then on the backside of that wall, connect those ends to black steel.

Any preferred brands of Pex tools to look at. Don't mind paying for quality tools....
 

hj

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I am not sure what you mean by 3/4" thread on the back, and "backside of the wall", because all the Burnham BaseRay I installed, (many years ago), had the 3/4" female threads on the ends so the pipes could turn down through the floor.
 

Chefwong

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I have not looked at the cut sheet for it. It was just a generalization...

I may be wrong but I do recall looking at the Runtal cut sheets eons ago and it had provisions on wherever you speced it - at time to order.
That order was a spec to size and not a OTC.
It could be piped however you liked. Bottom, Top, 1 side / 1bottom, 1 side, 1 top, etc.

I meant 3/4 female threads on the baseboard on the *back of it*, where the baseboard would be mounted flush to the wall.
 
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hj

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Functionally, I can visualize all kinds of connection problems if the inlets are any where except out the ends. Going down, the unions would be below the floor, unless you raised the baseboard, and out the rear, the would either be inside the wall or in the room behind it.
 

Chefwong

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Correct. The feed would be in the wall. The side where the BB would be would be tiled. I am thinking I would do the connection from the other side and then install a access panel.

The + about doing it on the back is (pipework/unions) are not exposed, and by using pex that is approved / that will work with a hot water closed loop system, the pex is flexible enough so that the feed does not have to be 90 degrees parallel to where the holes on baseboard is.
 
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