Fine/Line 30 5 ft. Hydronic Baseboard Heating Enclosure Only in Nu-White

A:  I am extremely sorry but I am not sure what you are asking. To me a boiler grate would be a perforated platform inside a solid fuel boiler where a fuel such as coal or wood would sit while burning. That would have nothing to do with this product that would be used outside the boiler. Boilers don’t have distribution grates because they don’t; have duct work. Duct work is used with furnaces where the air is heated. Boilers heat water and use pipes to distribute the heat. So a system that uses heating grates for distribution would not use this product either. You are welcome to give me a call if you would like to talk about this further. Chris 978 651 3301

A:  No you do not have to remove the plumbing at all. There’s tons of videos on YT. You have find the nail or screw holding the radiator bracket. Usually this can be found on each stud. You can pop out the louvers & see . Then you need a hammer/small cats paw

A:  The entire process is completed without having to remove any plumbing. Just be careful and take your time!

A:  I installed the enclosure without removing any plumbing although it can be difficult to remove the back of the old enclosure depending on how it was fastened

A:  Did not have to remove the old plumbing! Was able to remove the old covers and ut the new ones on.

A:  Great question. The purpose of enclosure only is NOT to replace existing covers that have become damaged or disfigured. Although people attempt this off label use all the time. Enclosure only is intended to act as a pipe chase during a retrofit installation. For example if you have a 10' foot wall but the heat loss only calls for 5' feet of element, the plumber may run 5' of baseboard with element, followed by 5' of enclosure only. To the observer the wall is covered by 10' of baseboard. So there is visual continuity. But in actuality only half of the 10' foot wall contains element. The second five feet hides the pipe that carries boiler water to the next room. As to your question. As a plumber I always drain the water and remove the element when I change enclosure. And for good measure I change the element as well. Typically it is also banged up. By changing the element while I am at it, the system ends up being more quiet as bent fins make noise when heated. And I am sure the element will fit correctly in the enclosure. However I recognize that many people are inexperienced when it comes to draining a system and soldering. Thus they want to avoid it. The fact is sometimes it is possible although not easy and other times it is virtually impossible. It all depends on how the original baseboard was installed. For example I had a job recently where wainscoting had been installed directly on top of the enclosure years before. There was no way to correctly install the new enclosure with the element in place.

A:  You may be able to install it yourself. Here are the steps I took to avoid piping revisions. 1. Remove the old covers. You will have to cut apart the brackets to facilitate getting them around the hot water piping. 2. You may have to enlarge the holes through the subfloor for the piping on the front side to allow removal. I also replaced the flooring. The new flooring was fitted close to the pipe penetrations. 3. I cut the new support brackets apart to allow them to pass behind the piping, then reattached these brackets with a small connecting plate and sheet metal screws. The alternative is to have a Plumber drain your hot water system, sweat off the fittings, install the new cover backplate, sweat the fittings back on, refill the hot water system, and check for leaks. Both methods will take some time. If you are not replacing your existing flooring, I recommend having a Plumber do the alternative method.

A:  The purpose of enclosure only is not to replace rusted or damaged enclosure; meaning to rewrap existing element. It is made to act as a pipe chase in retrofits and create visual continuity in certain installations. Say you have a 10' wall but the heating need only requires 5' of element. You can run 5' of complete and 5' of enclosure. Thus the entire 10' wall will be covered but only half will get warm. This is why the average plumber buys 90% complete, meaning enclosure with element and only 10% enclosure only. However The Home Depot sells 50% complete and 50% enclosure only. So people are certainly using enclosure only to replace there existing enclosures. In the 30 years we have been providing Slant Fin to the Home Depot, I have talked to a lot of customers attempting this. Sometimes they are able to do it without to much trouble and in other installations its virtually impossible without removing the element. It all depends on how the original baseboard was installed and how the piping was done. For example if there is wainscoting or tile installed on top of the baseboard it can make removing the back plate impossible. Another factor is the brand of baseboard that is currently installed. Replacing Slant Fin 30 series with Slant Fin 30 series means that things should line up. But if you are using Slant Fin 30 series enclosure to replace one of the many other brands that have been available over the years, things may not line up. This can result in damage to the element fins. And the element may not then expand and contract smoothly. This will result in noise when the hot water is circulating. I understand people don't like to solder or get in over there heads. So the fact that I do makes me bias. But If the enclosure is so deteriorated that I was going to replace it, I would go to the trouble of replacing the element as well. Or if the element was in good shape and I would use one of the new products intended as a retrofit option. Such as "Neat Heat" or Slant Fins "Reviatalline" Both products are available on Home Depots website

A:  When I was an apprentice plumber we would use tin snips on the enclosure and a tubing cutter on the element. However today most plumbers use a chop saw with the correct blade. Using tin snips is not physically difficult but it takes some finesse and experience. Make sure you get a pair for cutting straight. Believe it or not some tin snips cut to the right, some to the left and some straight I found this out the hard way. Practice on the end before you do you critical cut. Wear protective equipment as the cut metal is very sharp.

A:  Use a metal cutting blade on a grinder or reciprocating saw. The end cover will hid any damage in the area of the cut.