I want to replace a 63cm X 60cm radiator in the bathroom with a towel
radiator as a straight swap. It's an open vented CH system.



I thought it was just a question of turning off the inlet and outlet valves
on the old radiator, removing it and replacing it with the new towel
radiator.



I've come across instructions on the net which state you need to drain the
system before replacing a radiator in an open vented system. However, there
are also instructions on how to temporarily remove a radiator for decorating
without having to drain the system



I'm puzzled - which is correct?

In message , Wesley
writes
I want to replace a 63cm X 60cm radiator in the bathroom with a towel
radiator as a straight swap. It's an open vented CH system.



I thought it was just a question of turning off the inlet and outlet valves
on the old radiator, removing it and replacing it with the new towel
radiator.



I've come across instructions on the net which state you need to drain the
system before replacing a radiator in an open vented system.
May be desirable once in a while to drain it down, refill and top up
with inhibitor.
However, there
are also instructions on how to temporarily remove a radiator for decorating
without having to drain the system


Done it many times

I'm puzzled - which is correct?


Whichever you want to do.
--
hugh

hugh ] wrote:
In message , Wesley
writes
I want to replace a 63cm X 60cm radiator in the bathroom with a towel
radiator as a straight swap. It's an open vented CH system.



I thought it was just a question of turning off the inlet and outlet valves
on the old radiator, removing it and replacing it with the new towel
radiator.



I've come across instructions on the net which state you need to drain the
system before replacing a radiator in an open vented system.
May be desirable once in a while to drain it down, refill and top up with inhibitor.
However, there
are also instructions on how to temporarily remove a radiator for decorating
without having to drain the system


Done it many times

I'm puzzled - which is correct?


Whichever you want to do.

Just remember, a towel rail covered in towels will put out a lot less heat
than a conventional radiator.

Tim

In article ,
Tim+ writes:

Just remember, a towel rail covered in towels will put out a lot less heat
than a conventional radiator.

Assume pretty much nothing.

A towel rail with no towels on it will still output only a fraction
of the power of a similar sized radiator.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Sat, 1 Sep 2012 22:38:14 +0100, Tim+
wrote:

hugh ] wrote:
In message , Wesley
writes
I want to replace a 63cm X 60cm radiator in the bathroom with a towel
radiator as a straight swap. It's an open vented CH system.



I thought it was just a question of turning off the inlet and outlet valves
on the old radiator, removing it and replacing it with the new towel
radiator.



I've come across instructions on the net which state you need to drain the
system before replacing a radiator in an open vented system.
May be desirable once in a while to drain it down, refill and top up with inhibitor.
However, there
are also instructions on how to temporarily remove a radiator for decorating
without having to drain the system


Done it many times

I'm puzzled - which is correct?


Whichever you want to do.

Just remember, a towel rail covered in towels will put out a lot less heat
than a conventional radiator.

Warm towels do radiate a bit of heat :-) I did the same in my
(admittedly small) bathroom a couple of years or so ago.
I replaced the convector radiator with a physically somewhat bigger
stainless steel towel rail and noticed little difference in the room
temperature at bath/shower time, but the towels are much more
user-friendly.

I'm currently considering a similar replacement in the kitchen (which
realistically needs very little additional heat, especially being
south-facing) - but it's nice to have somewhere to hang that little
towel to dry your hands after rinsing 'em numerous times a day.

--
Frank Erskine

On Sep 1, 9:58*pm, "Wesley" wrote:
I want to replace a 63cm X 60cm radiator in the bathroom with a towel
radiator as a straight swap. *It's an open vented CH system.

I thought it was just a question of turning off the inlet and outlet valves
on the old radiator, removing it and replacing it with the new towel
radiator.

I've come across instructions on the net which state you need to drain the
system before replacing a radiator in an open vented system. *However, there
are also instructions on how to temporarily remove a radiator for decorating
without having to drain the system

I'm puzzled - which is correct?

You will be lucky if the pipes/valve sare in the right position for
your new towel rail, usually the pipework has to be modified.
This means you will have to remove the valves so the system will have
to be drained down.

On 01/09/2012 21:58, Wesley wrote:
I want to replace a 63cm X 60cm radiator in the bathroom with a towel
radiator as a straight swap. It's an open vented CH system.



I thought it was just a question of turning off the inlet and outlet valves
on the old radiator, removing it and replacing it with the new towel
radiator.



I've come across instructions on the net which state you need to drain the
system before replacing a radiator in an open vented system. However, there
are also instructions on how to temporarily remove a radiator for decorating
without having to drain the system



I'm puzzled - which is correct?

That depends... if the valve position lines up, and the threads on the
rad tails are the same, then its an easy swap with no system draining.
(you will still need to drain the rad itself obviously by loosening one
of the connections to it and opening the bleed valve so that it can
drain into a container placed under it)

If for any reason you need to take the valve off the pipe, then it gets
harder... It *is* still possibly to swap valves etc without draining the
whole system but it takes a bit more nerve and you will spill some water
(which may be black and likely to stain carpets etc).


--
Cheers,

John.

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