Swapping a radiator for a towel rail

[scottpetrie]

Hi
Im doing up my bathroom & going to be swapping out my central heating radiator for a towel rail. I know to take the radiator off its just a case of isolating the valves & disconnecting pipes, but how do I cut the pipes & fit new valves? Do I need to drain the whole system? My current radiator TRV is at the top, but want to cut the pipe to skirting board level & put on a new valve to match the radiator. The other pipe is okay as its already at skirting board level.
Thanks

 

[stem]

If you need to modify the pipes below the radiator valves, then yes you will need to drain the system, or part of it. If the bathroom is upstairs for example, there is no need to drain the downstairs radiators.

Just a word of caution before you proceed though, just be aware that a towel warmer will only emit about one third of the heat that a single radiator of the same size does. And that's when it's uncovered. It will reduce down further to almost nothing when it is covered with fluffy insulating towels. Tower warmers are not designed to heat the room, but just to dry and warm towels. So, unless your bathroom is super warm now without the radiator being on, I would leave the existing radiator in place and install the towel warmer separately elsewhere, otherwise you may find that you have a cold bathroom.

 

[scottpetrie]

I live in a bungalow so how would I go about removing the TRV to shorten the pipe?

 

[stem]

Once the water has drained below the level of the pipes in question, then the nut that connects the TRV to the pipe is undone and the TRV can be removed.

 

[scottpetrie]

So how do I drain it

 

[stem]

You can find the answer to that in the Wiki FAQ's here.

 

[ianmcd]

remember that a towel rail is exactly that, it heats towels, when you replace a radiator with a towel rail your bathroom will be cold , towel rails do not heat bathrooms

 

[stem]

I advised that already, but I guess that the bathroom must be warm enough without the radiator being on, as the OP seems still be planning to replace the radiator with a towel rail.

unless your bathroom is super warm now without the radiator being on, I would leave the existing radiator in place and install the towel warmer separately elsewhere, otherwise you may find that you have a cold bathroom.