Towel radiators - any good?

[Lupa Monkey]

Could I call on the experts to offer some advice please?

At the moment I have 2 normal (boring) white radiators in my bathroom and want to change them for the more stylish towel, ladder style ones.

What I want to know is whether they are as efficient as the white ones. Do they actually warm the room or just the towels ?

Also do they work the same. Can I just ask the plumber to hook them up to the existing pipework, or does it involve something more complicated?

If it's relevant, I have a combi boiler.

Thank you

 

[Agile]

They work the same but the output is usually very low and diminishes to almost nothing if you cover them in towels to insulate them!

Tony

 

[Lupa Monkey]

Thanks for the swift reply Tony. I don't intend keeping towels on them as I thought that would be the case!

One more question, can I assume the more 'rungs' the ladder radiator has the better the output?

 

[Garfeild]

Basically the bigger the better.

 

[Basecoat]

They work the same but the output is usually very low and diminishes to almost nothing if you cover them in towels to insulate them!

Tony

As always Tony you are spot on again. My stainless unit although big enough but heat output isn't that good.

 

[NickStone]

Two things worth mentioning:

1. Chrome ladder rails are less efficient than the white ladder ones. I have a chrome one (Acova) and it's good, but my bathroom is relatively small.

2. You can get dual fuel ladder rails. They work off the wet central heating system in winter, but have an electric element inside. So, in the summer when your wet central heating system is off, you can still air your towels. Useful, too, for chilly nights.

 

[wonderb0y]

the only good thing about them is they look good.

their crap at owt else, rot easily and usually come with a load of ion filings inside to start you off

 

[namsag]

They are also very good at giving you a nasty burn on your ar#e after getting out of bath and bending over to dry yourself. My ar#e looked liked it had ben sponsored by Adidas for a fortnight afterwards 3 stripes right across cheeks. OUCH.

 

[jmn]

Hi. Can I just clarify please.

If a crome towel rail has at least the same Btu rating as the old radiator, AND you don't cover it with towels, AND you keep your backside away from it - would that work ok?

If you still think they're a c**p idea what would you suggest to have instead in a refitted bathroom, that looks modern and is effective?

Thanks

 

[Softus]

If a crome towel rail has at least the same Btu rating as the old radiator, AND you don't cover it with towels, AND you keep your backside away from it - would that work ok?

Yes.

If you still think they're a c**p idea what would you suggest to have instead in a refitted bathroom, that looks modern and is effective?

They're not a cr*p idea - tons of people have them and they look splendid.

You should have what you in want in your bathroom, not what people here tell you to have.

Bear in mind that a towel warmer is unlikely to be the same dimensions as the rad you're superceding, so some pipe jiggery-pokery will be needed, and if your plumber can't get under the floor, then it has the potential to look unsightly. Hence you should decide on the towel rail before, say, tiling the floor.

 

[jmn]

Thanks Softus. Very helpful.

 

[ChrisR]

The tall ones are good for making you feel warm - they radiate at you if you're anywhere near them.
A couple of times I've put a very small double convector radiator in a bathroom to supplement. Some of them are just neat white boxes and don't look too bad, but they add a lot of heat.

 

[JohnD]

you might also consider painting one of your plain radiators to match the walls in Satinwood - it will then be less visually intrusive and continue giving good heat. If you use your towel rail for towels, you may want to enlarge the rad used to heat the room.

 

[gas4you]

If sized correctly you should have no problems with heat, although as we don't know how big your bathroom is you could end up with 2 600 x 1800 curved white ladder towel rails to get the heat output.

As ChrisR says, have you thought of a new towel rail and change one rad for a more powerful one to get a good all round compromise?

 

[Lupa Monkey]

We are actually knocking two rooms into one so there will be two radiators. Luckily there are only floorboards, so access to adjust piping etc. will be simple enough. Just hate the look of the white ones which are all flakey and rusty. they've got to go!

It might be a case of design over function I'm afraid and I'll go for the chrome instead of the white (typical that the white ones are more effective ) I'll just avoid the temptation of putting towels over them.

Thanks for all the advice, especially on avoiding getting too close when bending over !!