Bathroom Towel Radiator Plumbing

[rrocker]

hi, i saw this at a friends place - the towel radiator in their bathroom would get heated when any hot water was used in the bathroom/kitchen ,without central heating being switched on !

is that easy enough to do ? we are planning a new bathroom and would ideally like to get the same done.

tks

 

[greemyamochop]

When the hot water was used, or the hot water was being heated??

 

[mysteryman]

You can fairly easily if your central heating is fully pumped with a cylinder thermostat and a mid-position valve or a pair of 2 port valves, known as Y Plan and S Plan respectively.

Just get your man to branch the towel rail connection off after the pump but before the valve. Your system will then not need a bypass.

 

[greemyamochop]

You would still need a bypass if it was s plan though??

 

[45yearsagasman]

You would still need a bypass if it was s plan though??

If it was branched after the pump and before any zone valve then why would you need a bypass? No mention of a trv on the towel rail so wouldn't it be ok even on S plan?

 

[greemyamochop]

Incase it did have a trv or was turned off at any point which is not impossible

I wouldnt do it that way, would always fit an auto bypass its not worth the risk and pretty sure most boiler manufacturers would insist on it

 

[mysteryman]

Yes, obviously you would put lockshields on the towel rail.

 

[Schmill]

I also am looking to move my bathroom radiator, (now towel rail) off of the central heating circuit, and onto an unswitched circuit, but have a couple of questions after reading this thread

What is a 'bypass' is it literally a pipe that bypasses the entire system?
Guessing this is incase both valves fail 'shut' and yet also manage to turn the pump / boiler on?
What 'convinces' the water not to flow along the bypass in normal use rather than via the rest of the system?

Just get your man to branch the towel rail connection off after the pump but before the valve.

So I understand that the towel rail feed comes AFTER the pump, but before any valves, but where does the towel rail return connect to? Is it left attached to the central heating return pipework, or do I need to attach it to somewhere else?

Thanks.

 

[mysteryman]

It should be OK left where it is.

 

[Schmill]

Thanks MM, any pointers on the other questions?

Namely;

1) What is a 'bypass' is it literally a pipe that bypasses the entire system?

2) Guessing this is incase both valves fail 'shut' and yet also manage to turn the pump / boiler on?

3) What 'convinces' the water not to flow along the bypass in normal use rather than via the rest of the system?

Also, as the feed into the towel rail is vertical, do I need to use a valve with a drain-off tap built in, (so that in future if I need to empty the radiator I can drain it)? On a 'normal' radiator I just put a tray underneath and undo the compression nut on the joint, but these connections are normally horizontal (so work with a tray under them), but the towel rail pipes will be vertical.

Thanks