Secure way of fixing radiator to Thermalight block

[ICanDoItWell]

I want to fix a 120cm double panel steel radiator to a thermalight shield block wall and require a secure method of doing that. I want it very secure so it will not need redoing. The wall needs re-plastering because the thermalight blocks are new.

I thought about using four threaded anchors bonded into the thermalight but cannot find a M6 threaded stud, M8 being the smallest that I can find. I do have some locfix S25 to use up from fitting a satellite dish which needs to be used up soon because it is past it's use by date already but it seems okay ATM.

I would therefore appreciate some suggestions on the best way of doing this.

 

[noseall]

Drill the screw holes in opposing directions.

Apply adhesive to the back of the bracket before tightening the screws.

 

[Deluks]

Get some 6" coach bolts and cut the heads off, they might not be fully threaded so re-tap them. Or just butcher them with a hacksaw to 'rough them up' if they are only going into resin.

 

[ICanDoItWell]

Drill the screw holes in opposing directions.

Apply adhesive to the back of the bracket before tightening the screws.

Thanks for the suggestion.

The thermal blocks and the radiator will be at the end of the kitchen under a window and the sink etc is on the opposite end/wall.

I am considering tiling all around up to level with the kitchen cupboards to keep it all looking continuous. A long kitchen so a lot of tiles but I think it should look nice without it being part tiled as it is now.

I wanted a solution that I could tile onto without any untidiness of tiling around brackets etc and therefore I wanted the brackets on top of the tiles. That is why some form of threaded stud appealed to me but I don't know of anything which is small enough to go through the radiator bracket. M6 is about as big as it could be. Measuring the radiator bracket hole, it is just under 7mm on the narrower part at the top, larger below to slot into.

I did think about putting a couple of nuts locked together onto a chemical stud and then bonding it into the thermalight with the lockfix S25. Similar to what I used for my satellite dish with a steadying key to prevent it turning around in the hole. But it's finding something similar which is M6 sized.

Plus screwing into thermalight blocks is not easy to do because it does not hold anything.

Get some 6" coach bolts and cut the heads off, they might not be fully threaded so re-tap them. Or just butcher them with a hacksaw to 'rough them up' if they are only going into resin.

Thanks for your suggestion. What worries me is whether tightening a nut onto something fixed into resin will hold. Or whether it will break free and spin around making getting the bracket off in future very difficult and time consuming. I would rather spend a bit longer and prevent such a problem.

I have an idea The radiator bracket hole is just under 7mm so maybe I could file it out a bit bigger to open it out to 8mm to fit an M8 threaded stud

Then I could pick up 4 M8 stainless steel chemical studs. Plaster around it allowing for tiling and it should work well.

However they only seem to sell them in packs of 10 £11.21@toolstation and similar everywhere else. The Zinc can be purchased in packs of 4 on eBay.

M8 IS larger than I would like. I do have some M6 stainless steel threaded bars that were not used after another job. Question is could I do something with those? What do you rate my chances of filing a flat onto the end of a bar to steady it while tightening a nut up? Maybe heat it with a blow torch and quench it in water to harden it. Would I get it anywhere near hot enough to harden it sufficiently? 1800C?

I do prefer the idea of using a chemical anchor system with an anchor/stud but I don't want it breaking free of the resin.

Any thoughts on any of this or alternative suggestions are welcome?

 

[Deluks]

You are overthinking it, the rad will be pulling downwards, the nuts can be hand tight and just nipped up a turn with a spanner. M8 or m6, whatever you have to hand, drill the bracket if necessary, clamp it down first though.

 

[ICanDoItWell]

Thanks for the input, I do tend to over analyse things so do need grounding on occasion.

Your correct, thinking about it, the nuts are only to hold the bracket in place and do not need to be firmly tightened.

I will use the M6 threaded bars that I have and cut them to the size needed. Some M6 nuts locked onto them which should help prevent any turning and bonded into the thermalite should do it. A much better size without any bracket filing.

Sorted