UFH manifold in a pantry?

[Shivie]

Hi
We are building a kitchen diner extension and have opted for underfloor heating. There is also a small hall whereby space is at a premium for shoes coats etc so I didn't want to use valuable floor space with a big manifold in the hall.

So as I am having a pantry in a corner of the kitchen i thought I would have the manifold in there as there is space in there for it. i was at work on the installation day so I marked on the wall for the manifold to go in there so the heating engineer went ahead and placed it there (knowing it was a pantry) Having never seen a manifold I assumed it's like my condensing boiler which doesn't give off heat.
The builder turned up and burst out laughing when he saw the manifold was in the pantry. I felt totally stupid.
My questions are do manifolds get hot?
Can I box it in to prevent my pantry becoming more like an airing cupboard. Surely the heating engineer could have advised against if it was going to give off a lot of heat?
Thanks for any advice/knowledge

 

[Dan Robinson]

Surely the heating engineer could have advised

He could have, but you told him to put it there so perhaps he thought that you knew a collection of hot pipes would give off heat.

Yes it can be boxed in. Make sure that the box is easily removed for access and servicing.

 

[Shivie]

Thanks, I now realise I shouldn't have marked the wall (even with a question mark against it)
I hope it doesn't get too hot because if it can be moved before they screed then I might consider moving it or changing kitchen plan.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Depends how much you want to spend on relaying all the pipes.

 

[Notch7]

He could have, but you told him to put it there so perhaps he thought that you knew a collection of hot pipes would give off heat.

Yes it can be boxed in. Make sure that the box is easily removed for access and servicing.

People often keep food in a cupboard next to a cooker.

If you keep it in the pantry, I would suggest boxing it in with a vent to the outside so any warmth escapes.

 

[bernardgreen]

it in with a vent to the outside

Outside the pantry but inside the house so the heat goes to help heat the house.

When I was young pantries were cold places to keep food fresh longer.

 

[Lower]

is the pantry vented to outside or totally internal?

Not only will the manifold be giving off heat, but are the underfloor heating pipes running under the pantry floor and into the manifold? If so, you are also going to be heating the pantry with the underfloor heating as well as the manifold.

The manifold could be boxed in with an insulated box which would help avoid heat leakage from the manifold. But the pipes have to get to the manifold too so you may want to consider where they run.

We have a totally internal pantry in our kitchen and have underfloor heating, but we deliberately didn't put underfloor heating pipes under the pantry floor.

As a secondary piece of advice, if you are planning to run cold water pipes through the heated floor, make sure you insulate them before the screed goes down. Otherwise you will always get a slug of hot water from your cold tap if you've not used it for a bit when the floors slab is warm.