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Seri
 
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Default towel radiator + timer/thermostat + heating element = right/wrong?

Okay, I have a cold bathroom, a very cold bathroom in fact, 3 exterior
walls and not very good lagging (soon to be changed) makes sure of
that. I've been thinking of fitting a towel radiator in there if for
nothing else then to at least provide me with a teeny warm area to
stand next to when drying off.

The trouble is that unless I rip up far more boards then I really want
to then I can't plumb said towel radiator into the rest of the heating
system, so I had a plan. I thought that if I purchased one of the
Screwfix nice shiny towel radiators (http://tinyurl.com/7c2ux) and also
one of their towel radiator elements (http://tinyurl.com/cnwc4) then I
could use some creative plumbing to fill the whole thing up myself with
water/anti-freeze/corrosion inhibitor.

All of the above I can't see much of a problem with, but I'm concerned
that after some other things are completed in the bathroom it may
actaully become too toasty, so I'm wondering if there's anyway I can
fit a programmable thermostat into the system. I was thinking of
something like this from TLC (http://tinyurl.com/8qgje).

So I suppose the questions are, is this a sensible approach and is this
a legal approach? (all electrics would be zone 3)


Thanks for any responses and feel free to call me stupid if that's what
this is.

Thanks

Seri

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EricP
 
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Default towel radiator + timer/thermostat + heating element = right/wrong?

On 13 Jan 2006 07:43:07 -0800, "Seri" wrote:

Okay, I have a cold bathroom, a very cold bathroom in fact, 3 exterior
walls and not very good lagging (soon to be changed) makes sure of
that. I've been thinking of fitting a towel radiator in there if for
nothing else then to at least provide me with a teeny warm area to
stand next to when drying off.


Have you considered using a radient light source? By that I mean a
bulb that gives out a lot of infra red heat as well as light.

I have not used one for some while but they were ideal for your type
of situation as they provided a cone of heat for immediate pleasure
without useless space heating.
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Christian McArdle
 
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Default towel radiator + timer/thermostat + heating element = right/wrong?

All of the above I can't see much of a problem with, but I'm concerned
that after some other things are completed in the bathroom it may
actaully become too toasty, so I'm wondering if there's anyway I can
fit a programmable thermostat into the system. I was thinking of
something like this from TLC (http://tinyurl.com/8qgje).


OK in principle. You need to check:

1. The contacts of the prog stat are suitable for the load. I believe the
CentaurStat can do 8A resistive, which is fine for a towel rad, but you need
to check. Don't take my word for it.

2. The stat is suitable for the zone in the bathroom in which it is
installed. Zone 3 makes this a lot easier than Zone 2.

3. The circuit should be 30mA RCD protected.

Christian.

P.S. Look at the full range of stats. Choose one with a simple one push
boost function. You often just want to press the button when you go in and
have warm towels by the time you've finished, with it staying on a bit
longer to dry them afterwards. This is especially the case between spring
and autumn, where room heating per se is less important.



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Set Square
 
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Default towel radiator + timer/thermostat + heating element = right/wrong?

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Seri wrote:

Okay, I have a cold bathroom, a very cold bathroom in fact, 3 exterior
walls and not very good lagging (soon to be changed) makes sure of
that. I've been thinking of fitting a towel radiator in there if for
nothing else then to at least provide me with a teeny warm area to
stand next to when drying off.

The trouble is that unless I rip up far more boards then I really want
to then I can't plumb said towel radiator into the rest of the heating
system, so I had a plan. I thought that if I purchased one of the
Screwfix nice shiny towel radiators (http://tinyurl.com/7c2ux) and
also one of their towel radiator elements (http://tinyurl.com/cnwc4)
then I could use some creative plumbing to fill the whole thing up
myself with water/anti-freeze/corrosion inhibitor.

All of the above I can't see much of a problem with, but I'm concerned
that after some other things are completed in the bathroom it may
actaully become too toasty, so I'm wondering if there's anyway I can
fit a programmable thermostat into the system. I was thinking of
something like this from TLC (http://tinyurl.com/8qgje).

So I suppose the questions are, is this a sensible approach and is
this a legal approach? (all electrics would be zone 3)


Thanks for any responses and feel free to call me stupid if that's
what this is.

Thanks

Seri


The heater you quote is 250 watts. That might just about warm the towels -
but it ain't going to do much else!

The switching load is only 1 amp - so any stat designed for central heating
use is ok. I'm not sure about putting the stat in the bathroom - others will
know about that. If you *can't* do that, you could use a stat which supports
a remote temperature sensor - such as a Honeywell CM67 - and put the stat
outside and the sensor inside. [Not that the stat will have anything to do -
'cos with 250 w the bathroom will never get got enough for it to switch
off!]

Someone else has suggested a combined light/heater - which is the way I'd
go. This replaces your normal light fitting and incorporates a 750 watt
circular radiant heater. It runs off the normal lighting circuit. Have a
look at http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TLGHL750.html to see what I
mean.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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Default towel radiator + timer/thermostat + heating element = right/wrong?

Set Square wrote:

Someone else has suggested a combined light/heater - which is the way I'd
go. This replaces your normal light fitting and incorporates a 750 watt
circular radiant heater. It runs off the normal lighting circuit. Have a
look at http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TLGHL750.html to see what I
mean.


trouble is 250w will never warm the room. You'll always be getting out
into a cold room with a little radiant heat. I used to use a 500w
radiant job, and it was never adequate.

Does the OP have a CH radiator in there already? If so its easy to
solve.

If you can cavity fill, the sensible thing is to do this before making
any decisions on heating, as it will often solve such problems. Also
replacing an sg window with dg may solve it.


NT



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Posted to uk.d-i-y
Set Square
 
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Default towel radiator + timer/thermostat + heating element = right/wrong?

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
wrote:

Set Square wrote:

Someone else has suggested a combined light/heater - which is the
way I'd go. This replaces your normal light fitting and incorporates
a 750 watt circular radiant heater. It runs off the normal lighting
circuit. Have a look at
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/TLGHL750.html to see what I
mean.


trouble is 250w will never warm the room. You'll always be getting out
into a cold room with a little radiant heat. I used to use a 500w
radiant job, and it was never adequate.

I assume that you're commenting on the towel rail heater proposed by the OP
which is only 250 watts - rather than on the overhead heater which I
suggested (above) which is 750 watts - and would be detectable unless the
room is very large.


Does the OP have a CH radiator in there already? If so its easy to
solve.

If you can cavity fill, the sensible thing is to do this before making
any decisions on heating, as it will often solve such problems. Also
replacing an sg window with dg may solve it.


Agreed.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.


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