Towel rails on Hot water system

[adam81]

Hi,

I've read a lot of posts and other internet sites on this to try and confirm if this is acceptable or not. But seem to find a lot of conflicting information.

At present I have a open vented system with an immersion heated tank. I have no rads in the house as the boiler is warm air.

My new bathroom is not on the warm air system, so needs something to take the chill off the room, not only heating towels.

I see the white, and stainless finishes allow more heat to escape as opposed to the chrome finishes.

But I've read some people tapping into their hot water supply to heat these. This would make most economical sense in that I pay an electric charge to heat the water already.

I read you can tee off the return pipe to the tank. I don't see that I have this.. I have 2 pipes hot out the top, cold in the bottom. No good as I assume that applies to system where the boiler heats the water.

Is with my system is this in any way acceptable, with DRZ brass whether tee'd off before any tap in the house, or continuing the feed from the tap in the bathroom.

Obviously sticking within the regs is the most important thing.

 

[ianmcd]

No sorry the simple answer is that you cant, you can however get towel rails that have an electric heating element a bit like a small immersion heater that goes into the towel rad but you cant heat it with your domestic hot water

 

[adam81]

That's what I had thought, but when I started looking there was evidence to say it had be done.

If I had a boiler in my system could it be legal?

Back to the FSU as originally planned..

Thanks for your quick response

 

[ianmcd]

Its not to do with it being legal it just wouldnt work, if you had a boiler that heated the hot water tank via an indirect coil then yes you could tap into that but you cant tap into a direct cylinder they are two very different things

 

[adam81]

Easy then.
Thanks

 

[dhutch]

Even if you could get the hot water in the tank to circulate through the towel rail, you wouldnt want you hot water in a towel rail before it got to your tap!

As said, I think you are confusing people tee'ing into the heating loop of a boiler heating a cyclinder with a hot water coil in it, not an electrically heated imersion cylinder.

What you want is a electric towel rail, heater, ir bar, or some ducting to connect upto the blown air system. (or to rip the lot out and get a wet ch system)


Daniel

 

[adam81]

Yeah electric towel rail it is

No way am I ripping it all out!

 

[gcplumbing]

This is not accepted practise because the towel roil will corrode that is the reason. Frsh water and steel causes corrosion thats why heating systems use their own system water. !!

 

[Agile]

Its perfecttly possible in theory but practically will cause problems because these towel rails are made of steel.

If you coulod find ( and afford ) a brass towel rail then you could in theory do it. But they dont really exist because of the cost to make.

But if you water is electrically heated then the ones with an electric element will do the same thing.

Tony

 

[TicklyT]

Bear in mind that towel warmers are usually meant to be just towel warmers. They usually contribute little to space heating, even less once they are draped with an insulating layer of towels.

 

[adam81]

I didn't think it should be possible for all the reasons suggested regarding corrosion but had read posts of poeple doing it.

As far as the heat output from them. This is my primary concern I realise they are meant to dry towels and little else. Mine will not be used to warm the towels but to heat the bathroom. I really don't want to stick an IR bar in there as they look pretty ugly.

If I over spec the watts for floor size and have found these ones http://www.ecopowerheating.co.uk/2011/01/for-the-bathroom/
I'm hoping it will take the chill off the room at least.

My options are limited as I've said.[/url]

 

[Agile]

You will have misunderstood what you have read.

Its quite common to heat the bathroom from the hot water heating circuit of a wet system. That does not use the hot water itself but the system water which heats it.

Its best to fit the towel rail directly from the boiler so that its heated anytime that the boiler is on.

Tony

 

[ALEC1]

surprisingly on towel rails that use the hot water as a heat source you use stainless steel or copper towel rails to avoid corrosion!

On gravity hot water systems from uncontrolled heat sources the loop would be gravity and help prevent over heating...

but those days are long gone...

you can still get stainless steel towel rails for what you want...but the cheapest option is of course the infra red electric heater at high level if you want cheap...

 

[dhutch]

Its best to fit the towel rail directly from the boiler so that its heated anytime that the boiler is on.

The op doesnt have wet CH.

 

[ianmcd]

surprisingly on towel rails that use the hot water as a heat source you use stainless steel or copper towel rails to avoid corrosion!

On gravity hot water systems from uncontrolled heat sources the loop would be gravity and help prevent over heating...

but those days are long gone...

you can still get stainless steel towel rails for what you want...but the cheapest option is of course the infra red electric heater at high level if you want cheap...

Hows that going to work then Alec? the OP has a direct cylinder with an immersion heater he can get a towel rail made out of anything he wants it wont circulate unless he puts a bronze pump in ?