Radiator/Towel Warmer Leaking Problem

[blurred]

Hi, just looking for a bit of advice on this situation as it's becoming a bit of a pain in the rear-end.

The radiator/towel warmer in my bathroom decides that whenever the hot water/heating is turned off that it wants to leak all over the floor and is now corroded (it was slightly corroded when I moved in about a year ago, but it's taken to doing this in a more serious fashion now). It is similar in design to the one below:

but it is not leaking from the pipes at the bottom, rather from the nuts at the top on either side. When the heating is on the leaking stops and all works fine, but it's taken to leaking when the heating's off, running rusty coloured water down the sides of the towel heater and leaving big puddles on the floor, which is most annoying. If it makes any difference it's a downstairs bathroom in a basement with the boiler being on the floor above.

Can these nuts at the top be sealed/replaced, or is it new radiator time?

Any advice/tips would be most helpful.

Cheers

 

[spacethegas]

the plugs can probably be resealed & refitted.

 

[chr15]

Yes they can be replaced, plumb center or any good plumbing merchants should keep them. It may be just the 'o' rings are damaged and not sealing but only you know how bad it is so the choice is yours.

 

[muffking]

Can I ask if you get enough heat from this rad to warm the room up as I'm thinking of getting one for mine and ditching the standard rad?

 

[blurred]

The heating from it is fine for me, would say that they're enough to heat a room on their own.

Any ideas of what it's best to do with this problem? I'm a bit of a techno-****, really, and could do with a nice quick fix (what sealant to buy, how to go about effecting a repair, whatever). Ta.

 

[spacethegas]

Can I ask if you get enough heat from this rad to warm the room up as I'm thinking of getting one for mine and ditching the standard rad?

depends how big your bathroom is ?
what size your rad is ?
does your bathroom get too hot at present ?
is your domestic hot water cylinder fitted in an airing cupboard in the bathroom & what type it is ?
where the bathroom is situated within the property ?
etc etc etc.

basically the heat requirements for your bathroom.

 

[muffking]

Thanks guys. I know I should have been specific, but I think Blurred has really said what I wanted to hear.
Mine's a tiny 7ft square bathroom, fed from a combi in another room. The existing rad is tiny, so when i fit the new suite this wekend I'm planning to fit a towel rad, which will now be made easier by not having to fit a normal radiator, although I'll probably buy a tall towel rad as it will be on a bare wall.

Blurred: I think you should go with one of the previous answers and renew the sealing nuts & seals as they're there to bleed the rad and couple it to another rad to make it taller. at the end of the day if that's where they leak then you need to change them anyway as long as the threads are ok. It should be an easy swap as you can just turn the rad valves off to drain the rad and then bleed it afterwards, making sure that the system pressure is ok depending on your boiler type.
The problem sounds like it simply caused by a change in water pressure when the boiler is off.

 

[spacethegas]

Any ideas of what it's best to do with this problem? I'm a bit of a techno-****, really, and could do with a nice quick fix (what sealant to buy, how to go about effecting a repair, whatever). Ta.

turn the valves off.
drain a little water from the rail & crack the vent open.
once air is sucked into the vent stop draining.
take the plugs out.
wrap threads in ptfe.
refit. open valves. vent rad. repressurise as necessary.

 

[spacethegas]

muff
sounds like it might be ok.

note.
if the rail gets loaded with towels you may notice the room is not so warm.

 

[muffking]

Thanks for that. We only keep 2 in the bathroom at any one time, so we should be ok.
I'm thinking about under floor heating too though as I'll be laying floor tiles when I've rewooded the floor once the pipework has been laid & checked over.

 

[spacethegas]

underfloor is good & you will appreciate it in a bathroom.