Towel radiators-any plumbers in?

[Dave_ST220]

The builders want silly money for towel radiators(£360 each IIRC), i can do this myself but as the house will be all new i think i better get a pro in, would a plumber be happy fitting these only(not supply)? I'm gona see if the builders will leave the radiators off the wall(not much point fiting them as they will come straight off). Could they cap the pipes off or loop though?

[Plotloss]

Electric seems better, as they work on cold days in the summer too, when the heating is off.

[Dave_ST220]

hmm, not considered that tbh, was planning on them with thermostatic valves that is all?? Electric would mean me having to have 13 amp spurs put in so would probably cost more than getting then to fit ones to the heating system.

[-C-]

I'd go for dual core, then you have the benefit of normal via your C/H and then electric in the summer when its all off

And yes, plumber should be fine with just fitting.

[Dave_ST220]

Dual core?!! I need to do some research into these things, i'm not bothered about hot towels, Mrs is(and she likes look of them).

[Ganglandboss]

Dave_ST220 said:

Dual core?!!

It is an electric element that screws into your towel rail.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/86558/Plumbing/Towel...

The other way around it is to plumb the radiator into the primary side of your hot water cylinder so the towel rail is on whenever the hot water is turned on. Obviously this only works with a storage system with a primary coil and not with an instantaneous water heater (i.e. combi / multi-point) or electric immersion heater.

[Hobo]

I suspect the cost of the actual towel rail is around £70, so £360 does indeed seem excessive, as they take maybe an hour tops to install.

Are they going on a stud wall ? If so, make sure the builder has put a piece of wood inbetween the boards for fixing to as otherwise the towel rail won't be secured solidly.

[Dave_ST220]

hmm, stud wall i would guess so,maybe that is why the silly price? As you say they can be had for not much at all, seeing as they would also save on fitting the standard radiator & i'd have 4 of them i told them where to go when they said they wouldn't budge on price!

[Ferg]

Ganglandboss said:

The other way around it is to plumb the radiator into the primary side of your hot water cylinder so the towel rail is on whenever the hot water is turned on.

Shame on you Dave!! Aside from that being a Building Regs no-no, it means the towel rail will go cold when the cylinder is satisfied. Towel Rails should be on a dedicated zone...you know it makes sense!



PS If the wall's tiled, I wouldn't worry about noggins. Plastic plug in the tile, great fixing!

[mickk]

Ferg said:

Plastic plug in the tile, great fixing!

A well known plumbers bodge

[Ganglandboss]

Ferg said:

Ganglandboss said:

The other way around it is to plumb the radiator into the primary side of your hot water cylinder so the towel rail is on whenever the hot water is turned on.

Shame on you Dave!! Aside from that being a Building Regs no-no, it means the towel rail will go cold when the cylinder is satisfied. Towel Rails should be on a dedicated zone...you know it makes sense!



PS If the wall's tiled, I wouldn't worry about noggins. Plastic plug in the tile, great fixing!

Like the man inthe orthopedic shoes, I stand corrected!

P.S. O?/T You sent me a PM regarding gas testing but I was having trouble with my message settings. Could you try and re-send it please? Ta!

Edited by Ganglandboss on Tuesday 21st April 17:10

[VxDuncan]

Biggest issue with towel rails is unless there was a double rad there to start with then you will almost always have to bring the pipework further out to accomadate the extra depth of the towel rail. Okay in many cases, a pain if it's all boxed in. Enquire sooner rather than later!

[Dave_ST220]

VxDuncan said:

Biggest issue with towel rails is unless there was a double rad there to start with then you will almost always have to bring the pipework further out to accomadate the extra depth of the towel rail. Okay in many cases, a pain if it's all boxed in. Enquire sooner rather than later!

Good thinking, i'm pretty sure all rads are doubles but will check.

[Martin Keene]

VxDuncan said:

Biggest issue with towel rails is unless there was a double rad there to start with then you will almost always have to bring the pipework further out to accomadate the extra depth of the towel rail. Okay in many cases, a pain if it's all boxed in. Enquire sooner rather than later!

And they are an absolute bh to keep clean!

This is the first house we have had with them, never again until I can afford a cleaner.

[Ferg]

Dave_ST220 said:

Good thinking, i'm pretty sure all rads are doubles but will check.

If it's a 'ladder' style rail, you'll be in trouble anyway, I reckon. You need pipe centres of about 70-80mm off the wall and a modern double rad will be unlikely to be that far. Then there's the width....

[Dave_ST220]

hmm, this is sounding more like time to pay their huge fee and avoid trouble!

[Ferg]

Would it be too outrageous to ask them to bring the pipes up say 555mm centres apart and 80mm centre off the wall, cap with a speedfit cap and then leave them??

(Measurements appropriate to one make in particular, but dimensions are out there. )

[VxDuncan]

Ferg said:

Would it be too outrageous to ask them to bring the pipes up say 555mm centres apart and 80mm centre off the wall, cap with a speedfit cap and then leave them??

(Measurements appropriate to one make in particular, but dimensions are out there. )

Exactly! Then it's a simple job to bung on some valves and hang the thing.

[Cotty]

Dave_ST220 said:

The builders want silly money for towel radiators(£360 each IIRC), i can do this myself but as the house will be all new i think i better get a pro in, would a plumber be happy fitting these only(not supply)?

I am not sure if what I consider a towel rail is what you are thinking of. Anyway this is mine fitted by a regular plumber I supplied the rad(pic half way though complete new bathroom)

Hobo said:

I suspect the cost of the actual towel rail is around £70,

I got shafted

[Ferg]

No. That towel rail was more expensive.
But,
That flexi-hose on the toilet ballvalve is shameful.