Towel rail question

[Wezza911]

Had a towel fitted as part of a bathroom refit.
Want it primarily for heating rather than for keeping towels warm.
The knobs are very smooth & difficult to turn on/off.
I wanted them replaced with cross-head radiator valves for ease. (see below)
However, plumbing shop guy insists I just leave it on & costs are negligible.
I'm not one for just leaving rads on if not in a room.

Thoughts?

 

[ChrisJP]

If you only put on the towel radiator when you're actually using the bathroom, it'll not get very warm in there at all because you're only in there for a short time. It's not like turning off a radiator in a room you don't plan to use for a longish time.
I agree with the plumbing shop guy - leave it on - the cost will indeed be negligible.

 

[trojanhawrs]

I agree and just in case you weren't aware - you only need to turn one valve off to stop the flow through the radiator.

 

[Daveydub]

Or fit a trv and then easy to turn on/off and to a large extent it will do that itself.
Lag it with towels and it will give out very little heat.

 

[gas112]

Just leave it on it is a negligible extra cost and helps stops condensation etc in the bathroom

 

[Wezza911]

Thanks for your replies guys.
I'll go with the consensus & leave it on.

 

[stem]

Want it primarily for heating rather than for keeping towels warm.

If it has replaced an existing radiator of the same size, then you may have a problem. As a rule of thumb, a 'towel warmer' will emit about one third of the heat emitted by a radiator of the same size. But that assumes it is uncovered. Once covered with fluffy insulating towels the heat output can be reduced to not very much at all, so in cold weather, you could well end up with warm towels and a cold bathroom.

However, if the towel warmer is much larger than an original radiator and a large portion of it is uncovered you may get away with it.