Understanding Towel rail valves

[Guacamole]

Hello,

I need some help understanding the valves. I've just got a towel rail installed, never had one before and I don't know what the valves at the bottom exactly do, Unfortunately I wasn't in the house when the rail was installed so I couldn't ask and my landlady doesn't know either.

-The left one seems to get hotter first .
-The valves have no markings whatsoever so I don't know how many turns need to be turned to open them . I put a sticker as a guidance so I can count the turns, normally I just do 1 turn and a half.. but the valve can be turned more turns. How far should I go with the turns? what difference does it make?
- The right one, don't know what it does but I normally turn it the same as the left one.. 1 and a half turns.
- Am I supposed to leave one of them always turned on and when I want the rail off switch the other one off.
- I read about balancing the valves but no idea what that means


photo attached

thank you

 

[denso13]

normally I just do 1 turn and a half.

If it heats up ok at that then that's fine, more or less doesn't matter as long as it heats up.

Am I supposed to leave one of them always turned on and when I want the rail off switch the other one off.

Just turn one off it you don't want it to heat.

I read about balancing the valves but no idea what that means

If all your rads heat up ok don't worry about it.

 

[Guacamole]

If it heats up ok at that then that's fine, more or less doesn't matter as long as it heats up.

Just turn one off it you don't want it to heat.

If all your rads heat up ok don't worry about it.

but why the need of two valves then if with one I can just turn on and off?

The only thing I was told was I shouldn't have the valves opened too much because it will affect the other radiators un my flat and flats above ( communal heating and hot water). But I don;t know how many turns on the valves is too much

 

[denso13]

but why the need of two valves then if with one I can just turn on and off?

So you can isolate the radiator, e.g. for removal. One valve will turn it on/off, heating wise.

The only thing I was told was I shouldn't have the valves opened too much because it will affect the other radiators un my flat

Try it. if it doesn't affect the other rads then don't worry about it.

 

[ChrisJP]

One of the valves should have an obvious knob on it (the one that gets hot first) and is used to turn the towel rail on and off (if that's what you want to do, though its normal to just leave these rails on)
The other valve shouldn't have an obvious knob on it and is called a lockshield valve. Its purposes are 2-fold: one is to isolate the towel rail completely for maintenance, the other is to adjust the flow through the towel rail so that it doesn't rob other radiators in the system from an adequate flow of water - called "balancing".
The plumber who installed the towel rail should have adjusted this valve to its required setting and it then shouldn't have been touched again.
If you've also turned this valve you may have upset the balancing of the system. If so, as an immediate remedial action, adjust the valve so it's half open. Do this by opening it completely, then count the number of turns to close it completely, then open it with half that number of turns.

 

[Mister Banks]

One of the valves should have an obvious knob on it (the one that gets hot first) and is used to turn the towel rail on and off (if that's what you want to do, though its normal to just leave these rails on)
The other valve shouldn't have an obvious knob on it and is called a lockshield valve. Its purposes are 2-fold: one is to isolate the towel rail completely for maintenance, the other is to adjust the flow through the towel rail so that it doesn't rob other radiators in the system from an adequate flow of water - called "balancing".
The plumber who installed the towel rail should have adjusted this valve to its required setting and it then shouldn't have been touched again.
If you've also turned this valve you may have upset the balancing of the system. If so, as an immediate remedial action, adjust the valve so it's half open. Do this by opening it completely, then count the number of turns to close it completely, then open it with half that number of turns.

Towel rails don’t normally have lockshield valves IME, both valves are the same which I admit can cause some confusion.

 

[Guacamole]

One of the valves should have an obvious knob on it (the one that gets hot first) and is used to turn the towel rail on and off (if that's what you want to do, though its normal to just leave these rails on)
The other valve shouldn't have an obvious knob on it and is called a lockshield valve. Its purposes are 2-fold: one is to isolate the towel rail completely for maintenance, the other is to adjust the flow through the towel rail so that it doesn't rob other radiators in the system from an adequate flow of water - called "balancing".
The plumber who installed the towel rail should have adjusted this valve to its required setting and it then shouldn't have been touched again.
If you've also turned this valve you may have upset the balancing of the system. If so, as an immediate remedial action, adjust the valve so it's half open. Do this by opening it completely, then count the number of turns to close it completely, then open it with half that number of turns.

both valves are identical, without any marking or anything, this is why is confusing, I don't know which ones does what.

spoke which one needs to be adjusted, the left or right? the left one seems to get hot first

 

[Mister Banks]

both valves are identical, without any marking or anything, this is why is confusing, I don't know which ones does what.

spoke which one needs to be adjusted, the left or right? the left one seems to get hot first

I read somewhere that with towel rails you should open both valves by the same amount, so that’s what I do and it seems to work ok.

 

[denso13]

spoke which one needs to be adjusted, the left or right?

It honestly doesn't matter. If everything is working fine leave it alone. If you want to turn it off you can turn off the one which gets gets hot first, but either will do.

 

[ChrisJP]

If both valves are identical then I guess that was an error in installation (or maybe the plumber didn't have a lockshield valve so just installed what he had to hand.
It doesn't matter though - the valve that gets hot first should be the one with the knob and is the one you should use to turn the towel rail on and off. With this valve opened fully, the valve at the other end should be set to half way open, as I explained. If the towel rail then doesn't get hot enough, open the valve a bit more in stages until it gets to the heat you want. Then leave it alone!

 

[Guacamole]

If both valves are identical then I guess that was an error in installation (or maybe the plumber didn't have a lockshield valve so just installed what he had to hand.
It doesn't matter though - the valve that gets hot first should be the one with the knob and is the one you should use to turn the towel rail on and off. With this valve opened fully, the valve at the other end should be set to half way open, as I explained. If the towel rail then doesn't get hot enough, open the valve a bit more in stages until it gets to the heat you want. Then leave it alone!

thank you , I'll try that

 

[Mister Banks]

If both valves are identical then I guess that was an error in installation (or maybe the plumber didn't have a lockshield valve so just installed what he had to hand.
It doesn't matter though - the valve that gets hot first should be the one with the knob and is the one you should use to turn the towel rail on and off. With this valve opened fully, the valve at the other end should be set to half way open, as I explained. If the towel rail then doesn't get hot enough, open the valve a bit more in stages until it gets to the heat you want. Then leave it alone!

Surely every plumber, that I am aware of, that has installed a towel rail cant have made a mistake. I can count 12 towel rail installations (5 different plumbers) and every one has the same valves at both ends of the rail.

 

[denso13]

and every one has the same valves at both ends of the rail.

Yes, perfectly normal.

 

[Justin Passing]

It's important they're not both full open. Thats a common finding where someone complains their farthest room radiators are slow to heat - or don't at all. You find they've opened the bathroom valves fully. Tenants don't understand..... Open valves mean you have a short circuit across the flow and return of the circulating pump, with just a piece of pipe (the towel rail) in between. So all the water pees round the towel rail, boiler stays hot, and turns off. Furthest rooms never get any flow.

Water flow is determined mostly by the valve which is least open. One can be full open, it makes no difference which. Typically the bathroom is plumbed near the CH pump - above the kitchen, by an airing cupboard or the boiler, or similar. So it needs the most resistance to flow, ie least-open valve, of the whole system. So close one valve completely, and open it about just barely, try 1/8th of a turn and leave it 15 minutes. That's all it'll need. The water temperature is SUPPOSED to be cooler when it leaves the towel rail by 10 or 20 degrees C, (same amount as all the radiators) so it needs very little flow.

 

[Guacamole]

It's important they're not both full open. Thats a common finding where someone complains their farthest room radiators are slow to heat - or don't at all. You find they've opened the bathroom valves fully. Tenants don't understand..... Open valves mean you have a short circuit across the flow and return of the circulating pump, with just a piece of pipe (the towel rail) in between. So all the water pees round the towel rail, boiler stays hot, and turns off. Furthest rooms never get any flow.

Water flow is determined mostly by the valve which is least open. One can be full open, it makes no difference which. Typically the bathroom is plumbed near the CH pump - above the kitchen, by an airing cupboard or the boiler, or similar. So it needs the most resistance to flow, ie least-open valve, of the whole system. So close one valve completely, and open it about just barely, try 1/8th of a turn and leave it 15 minutes. That's all it'll need. The water temperature is SUPPOSED to be cooler when it leaves the towel rail by 10 or 20 degrees C, (same amount as all the radiators) so it needs very little flow.

the boiler room is just behind my towel rail, so it gets hot very quick.
I think opening only 1/8 doesn't do anything, I only hear a noise of water coming through when I open the left valve at lease one full turn .