Luke warm then cold new towel radiator

[Fitheangel]

Hi,

We recently had a towel radiator installed and the day it was installed it was piping hot until about 3 hours later. Since then it is Luke warm when the hot water first goes on (it is attached to the hot water rather than the central heating. If the hot water is on but the heating is off, the old radiator would still be piping hot) but then cools off about 30mins to an hour later. The bottom left valve leaks when it's in any position other than fully open, and when bleeding the radiator only water comes out no air.

All the other radiators are fine.

Can anyone help? We're loathed to get another plumber to look at it as the plumber who supplied it has just said to keep the valves open to solve the leaking and to bleed the radiator. Which we've done.

Thanks

 

[dcawkwell]

the radiator has been plumbed into the.pipes heating the hot water tank therefore as soon as the tank is hot that is your lot. modern tank can heat from stone cold in about 30 minutes so it aint gonna work.

 

[TCCHeating]

Having the bathroom rad fed off the hot water circuit may have been a good idea 30-40 years ago, when gas was cheap and the hot water was constantly on. Nowadays it doesnt work ! You should think about either re piping the towel rail to the central heating, or having an electric element and timer fitted.

 

[Fitheangel]

Thanks for your replies. I'm not sure that's the issue as our old radiator was fine and stayed piping hot the whole time the hot water was on. Does anyone have any other suggestions other than changing our system? Cheers

 

[gigz]

If its piped up off the old rad pipes and that worked ok it could be the towel rail hasn't been piped up right (some towel rails have to have the flow to the correct side, they are not bi-directional) or maybe the valves are the wrong ones. Get whoever supplied and fitted them to sort it for you. I'm loathed to call anyone i've never met but his answer to leave a valve open to stop a leak is a disgrace. Its not fit for purpose, get him back.

 

[dcawkwell]

Thanks for your replies. I'm not sure that's the issue as our old radiator was fine and stayed piping hot the whole time the hot water was on. Does anyone have any other suggestions other than changing our system? Cheers

Depends on the system.
But only way it will work with a modern system is if the radiator is piped
into the central heating circuit not the hot water circuit.
If the bits are leaking give the plumber a roasting and tell him to get back
and fix it. It shouldn't leak.
he should have also left you a radiator that actually works.