10mm increase to 15mm

[Robotmannick]

Hi all,

My central heating is piped in 15mm with 10mm going to/from each radiator. It's all copper. I'm not a fan of 10mm, but it all works so I have no intention of ripping it out and redoing it. However, for one particular radiator, the visible pipe runs (all in 10mm) come down the wall in the corner of the room (admittedly in trunking), then turn 90 degrees along the skirting to the radiator. It really bugs me that the pipes are not straight and parallel - but given that 10mm pipe comes on a roll and is manually straightened, it's no surprise to me that I've never seen a long straight run of 10mm pipe. This radiator is being replaced, as are the TRV and lockshield.

What's my best way of fixing this?

1) Cut out a section of the ceiling and remove the 10mm, re-doing all the visible pipe in 15mm. There's no access from above so I'll need to chop out a section of ceiling and make good - no big deal and I'm happy to do that. Is it likely to cause a problem that this is the only radiator on the system that is 15mm and all the others are in 10mm?
2) Leave the vertical section in 10mm as it's hidden in trunking anyway, and run the horizontal section in 15mm. I'll then have 15mm in the ceiling, a 10mm drop down, then back up to 15mm for the final section. That doesn't sound like a good idea, but what problems might that cause? It's probably the easiest option for me.
3) Find a way of straightening the horizontal 10mm and leave it all as-is. This is the cheapest option, but probably won't work anyway as the new radiator isn't quite the same size, so I'll need to cut/join/extend the pipes anyway so I may as well redo it properly anyway.

Or is there a better alternative? Are there any other advantages/disadvantages that I'm not thinking of?

Thanks, in advance.

 

[RandomGrinch]

Only a DIY'er, but I've used 2).
Like you, I couldn't stand the aesthetics of an uncoiled 10mm pipe. The conversion hasn't given me any issues and looks far better

 

[JimCrow]

Hi all,

My central heating is piped in 15mm with 10mm going to/from each radiator. It's all copper. I'm not a fan of 10mm, but it all works so I have no intention of ripping it out and redoing it. However, for one particular radiator, the visible pipe runs (all in 10mm) come down the wall in the corner of the room (admittedly in trunking), then turn 90 degrees along the skirting to the radiator. It really bugs me that the pipes are not straight and parallel - but given that 10mm pipe comes on a roll and is manually straightened, it's no surprise to me that I've never seen a long straight run of 10mm pipe. This radiator is being replaced, as are the TRV and lockshield.


3) Find a way of straightening the horizontal 10mm and leave it all as-is. This is the cheapest option, but probably won't work anyway as the new radiator isn't quite the same size, so I'll need to cut/join/extend the pipes anyway so I may as well redo it properly anyway.

Or is there a better alternative? Are there any other advantages/disadvantages that I'm not thinking of?

Thanks, in advance.

pipe-straightener-10mm

 

[oilhead]

Buy more trunking, or remove the skirting board, recess the pipework and replace the skirting.