Building a heated towel rail / radiator

[8927405942]

Hello folks, looking for a bit of help to which there appear to be no answers on Google !

I've just had a new boiler fitted and now we have central heating again, I'm back to finishing the bathroom.

My good lady wants to replace the 1500mm wide rad in the bathroom with a towel heating (& clothes drying) type radiator. But whilst 500 & 600 mm wide are commonplace, 1500mm wide arent.

So I'm looking a building one myself after which I'll get it either enamelled or chrome plated.

Does anyone have any experience on actually building a one-off radiator ? where would I get parts like the air bleed valve, and the part it screws into of a type I could build into a rad.

Any tips / advice / sensible comments more than welcome

 

[TicklyT]

First off, acknowledge you are contemplating building a pressure vessel. If things do go awry with it, they can go very wrong very quickly indeed.

Most rad. valves and bleed valves are available from plumbers merchants and DIY stores. They usually screw into 1/2"BSP tappings in radiators. That's the same thread used on most 15mm compression fittings, and most 1/2" iron pipe fittings - even the ones actually made of brass.

If I was going to build a rad. I would consider silver soldering everything from steel tube and box section. Copper may be easier to work, but, IMO, a little too soft to stand up to the wear and tear in use.

Accurate fits everywhere would be essential, as most silver solders have poor gap filling capabilities compared with other brazing alloys.

Some may advocate welding, but IMO a fillet of weld under chrome plating is a little offensive to the eye.

1500mm long 'rungs' will probably need one or two intermediate supports in addition to the usual box section stiles at either end.

Thoroughly clean, de-scale and polish everything after assembly, and carry out a hydraulic test to about 5 Bar or 75 PSI before getting it chromed. It would be virtually impossible to repair any leaks effectively if you find them afterwards.

And don't forget, that when used as a towel warmer, you will probably need an additional ordinary radiator to heat the room. A towel warmer gives off very little heat when insulated with a layer of towels or washing.

 

[Norcon]

I don't think silver solder would be strong enough. And also how would chrome plating react with the silver solder?
It's also very expensive.

A good welder would leave no fillets of weld after sanding/polishing with the right equipment and you have the same filler as the parent metal and very strong.

It would be easier to connect 2 standard rails in series to give you a wider unit.

 

[dcawkwell]

2 750mm gives 1500.

under 100 each.

Much quicker and cheaper.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Give the wife a 'towel radiator catalogue' and tell her to take her pick.

Job Done!

Andy