REPLACE EXISTING 800MM RADIAOTR WITH A TOWEL RADIATOR All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[doverfield]

I want to replace the radiator in my bathroom with a towel radiator but am having trouble finding one to fit using the existing pipework.

The current radiator is 800mm and the gap between pipes is 880mm

I have seen a towel radiator I like which is 750mm so from what I have learnt I know the pipe centre gap on this will be 700mm.

My question is can I use radiator extensions to bridge the gap between the pipes. I want to keep the costs down as much as possible so dont really want to have to do any changes to the existing pipework as this will mean getting a plumber

Cheers

Dawn

[plumbbob]

Generally it is necessary to replace radiator valves when converting to a towel rail because the inlets are vertical rather than horizontal as on a standard radiator. Also, towel rails tend to stand further out from the wall so the existing pipe will not be in line.

Incorrect pipe centres is only one problem you must be prepared to overcome.

[angie818]

Hi, I have very old flat regular radiator is: 600mm x 800mm. The room is 8 m2 x 2.4m high. MY QUESTIONS What size BTU do you recommend for this size room? Am I right in saying that the BTU for Chrome Towel Radiators are much less than for a conventional radiator? Thanks in advance. Stephen

[Dave From Leeds]

Dawn,
I've just done the same job. My old radiator was 700mm wide x 500 mm high. I replaced it with a heated curved towel radiator made by Kudox of size 1100 mm high x 500 mm wide. It came with radiator tails and valves. I centred the rail about the original centre line of the radiator. I then adapted the pipework using compression elbows and two short lengths of 15 mm pipe angled away from the wall to accommodate the rail standing further off the wall as plumbob says.

Stephen,
When I was researching heat outputs for the above, I found that heated chrome radiators do indeed have a lower BTU rating than standard radiators of the same size. I reckon my old radiator was around 2000 BTU whereas the new towel radiator is rated at 1222 BTU. My bathroom is warm in the morning even though the Central Heating has only been on for an hour when we get up. A BTU calculator that I found suggests that your room size would need about 2300 BTU which is probably slightly less than your old radiator. I've checked B & Q website & they have a Kudox flat towel radiator size 1324mm x 600 mm for £139. This has an output of 1764 BTU which might be enough for your room. I think any bigger might be unsightly. Have a look round B & Q website. I simply put Heated Towel Radiator in their search box. It's probably worth looking at Screwfix as well once you've a better idea what you need as they'll probably cost less there.

Hope this helps you both