changing towel rad to different pipe centre one, need advice

[happyhero]

Hi my wife wants me to change our bathroom rad as it is a bit old and battered looking, it is 500mm wide and the one she has got to replace it is 450mm wide with 405mm pipe centres. The pipes are coming out of the floor and have check valves on them. The bottom of the current rad is about 200mm off the ground.

What would you do about the centers as it will involve 2 "s" bent pipes if we keep central and I'm not sure if i will be skillful enough to make these 2 pipes?

I was thinking to place one pipe so it stays straight and make a bigger bend on the other one.

I normally like to use those pipe sleeves to make the pipe look better but that's obviously not going to work with bent pipes. I didn't really want to see the copper under a chrome rad. I was even wondering if I could use two short flexi hoses, at least that looks closer to the chrome colour and would save me trying to make bends but I don't know if they are ok for central heating temperatures and maybe that would actually look terrible, what do you recommend?

What about chrome covered copper can you use that as if it was ordinary copper, i.e. bend it and use same olives as copper etc?

 

[Gas2Air]

Hi my wife wants me to change our bathroom rad as it is a bit old and battered looking, it is 500mm wide and the one she has got to replace it is 450mm wide with 405mm pipe centres. The pipes are coming out of the floor and have check valves on them. The bottom of the current rad is about 200mm off the ground.

What would you do about the centers as it will involve 2 "s" bent pipes if we keep central and I'm not sure if i will be skillful enough to make these 2 pipes?

I was thinking to place one pipe so it stays straight and make a bigger bend on the other one.

I normally like to use those pipe sleeves to make the pipe look better but that's obviously not going to work with bent pipes. I didn't really want to see the copper under a chrome rad. I was even wondering if I could use two short flexi hoses, at least that looks closer to the chrome colour and would save me trying to make bends but I don't know if they are ok for central heating temperatures and maybe that would actually look terrible, what do you recommend?

What about chrome covered copper can you use that as if it was ordinary copper, i.e. bend it and use same olives as copper etc?

Don't bodge by fitting flexi. Chrome will tend to crumble on bends. Is it floorboard? Best solution and to make wifey happy is to lift a board and pipe to the already hung rail. Failing that 2 45 degree elbows on each end instead of one s bend. Then paint copper.

 

[gigz]

Is it concrete or wooden floor ? If wood +1 with above poster. If its concrete cut pipe low down, elbow along then elbow up to rad (either chrome pipe or rad snaps) then put some box skirting over it.

 

[happyhero]

Cheers guys, its a tiled floor otherwise I would have the floor up to arrange the pipes to come straight up.

 

[Dean744PiN5]

Depending on position of rad and joists and your fishing skills you might be able to fish a couple of pipes up from the landing or an adjacent room.
Have done this a few times for customers.

 

[Blagard]

Deleted - wrong solution!

 

[Blagard]

Use chrome compression elbows and chrome pipe would be the easiest.

You cannot bend chromed pipe and keep it looking good - The chrome does not "stretch".

If you use angle valves on the towel rail you would only need one chrome elbow each side - but it will be tight! If not enough space then one straight pipe and one angled might do it.

If you had the pipes bent to an S you could then have them chromed afterwards and fit with compression fittings when you get them back.

Alternatively as one poster has mentioned use 45 bends to form the S and paint it all afterwards. - You can get some good "chrome" paint that looks the part.

For clarity what are the centres of the old radiator and is it the same distance off the wall? or is the new one adjustable for that.

Chromed M/F elbows would convert the new radiator to horizontal tapings that might work out for you with angled valves fitted
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hea...+Elbow+Chrome+Plated+12+MF/d230/sd2672/p37507

Finally get the wife to take it back and get one with the right centres! - But don't blame me!