I have a 2 year old towel rail fitted by a plumber. It worked really
well up until this autumn.

Although one of the pipes below the rail gets hot, the rail itself
never does despite the fact that both valves are fully open. I've
tried bleeding it (gets warm for half an hour), I've tried
disconnecting and re-filling it (same thing). Oddly both pipes seem to
be pumping water into the system rather than one pumping and one
draining away.

Short of threatening it with violence or reading it poetry I'm out of
ideas.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

(it seems to work in the summer as well as the winter...so I'm guessing
its not connected directly to the central heating system)

paul wrote:
I have a 2 year old towel rail fitted by a plumber. It worked really
well up until this autumn.


If you hadn't said this I'd have thought the plumber had connected it to the
domestic hot water supply!

I think you'd best have it taken off and flushed through in case there's
something blocking it.

Si

(it seems to work in the summer as well as the winter...so I'm guessing

its not connected directly to the central heating system)

In the summer it would seem to be getting hot due to the immersion
heater in the HW cylinder.

Chris.

On 30 Jan 2006 14:36:09 -0800 someone who may be "paul"
wrote this:-

I have a 2 year old towel rail fitted by a plumber. It worked really
well up until this autumn. [snip]

Any suggestions would be welcome.

How did the plumber connect it up? If you follow the pipes, where do
they go to? Do you find a pump?

(it seems to work in the summer as well as the winter...so I'm guessing
its not connected directly to the central heating system)

You need to tell us what sort of heating and hot water system(s) you
have.

Guessing that you have a hot water cylinder, if you heat water in
the summer using a gas boiler then perhaps the towel rail is
connected to the pipes that take boiler water to the hot water
cylinder. It could also be that the towel rail uses gravity
circulation from the hot water side of the cylinder.

Then people can start trying to help.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

Ok.... Sorry for the lack of detail...no pump, heating is off a
potterton gas boiler, although there is also an electric immersion
heater...

On 31 Jan 2006 08:36:00 -0800 someone who may be "paul"
wrote this:-

no pump,

Sounds unlikely. If you cannot see a separate pump then it is
probably built into the boiler.

heating is off a potterton gas boiler,

How old is it, roughly?

although there is also an electric immersion heater...

So, there is a hot water cylinder. When you follow the pipes from
the towel rail where does each one go? Do they go to the hot water
pipes, or the ones from the boiler?


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54