heating solution for small bathroom(s) and airing cupboard

Hi Fats.
Why not use towel rads plumbed into central heating and have electric elements in them for the summer,just a thought mate.

 

It is best to make two zones out of the CH. One for the existing system and one for the rads that will be used in summer for warming.

 

but is't that putting more moving parts on your system Walt? just asking as you like to have four max,

 

Mr Plumb you are getting it. We do need as few parts as possible. There are far fewer parts on your horse and cart than in a white van.

 

Hi Fats.
The elements for the rads are quite cheap to run and a lot easier than having to zone it separately for a summer circuit.

 

GOODLUCK!!!! Fats

 

You need a zone valve off the flow from the boiler to the rad in bathroom before any valves on the flow pipe. The return from the rad is the last return pipe teed into the Boiler return pipe before the boiler. You can activate the bathroom rad by a push-in wall mounted timer switch. One push say set to 8 mins - you will get to know the time the boiler heats all the rad. In summer the rad will heat up and the boiler only runs for 8 mins - enough to heat up the rad. In summer it is to warm or dry towels not heat the bathroom. The residual heat in the rad is enough to do that.

Say you are to get a bath. Push the timer then the bathroom rad heats up and warms the towels. After a bath hang up the towel and push in again to dry the towels. You can wire the bathroom rad zone valve into the CH clock so when the CH is switched on in winter so is the bathroom rad. When CH is switched off by the clock then the push-in switch only brings in the bathroom radiator and only for enough time to heat it, saving money.

 

Hi Fats.

These tubular Dimplex's - I know they are low wattage, but what happens if a towel falls over it in that airing cupboard? Could they overheat? Scorch? Tho' I guess you could make a guard to cover it?

For the wee downstairs loo, I think I would chose that 150W Kudox over the Dimplex tubular heater any time. The Kudox will look miles better (it will actually add to the room), will keep your hand towel dry (important) and is only £40-odd more.

For your larger bathroom, I would say it depends on what underfloor system you go for - leccy or wet. (Underfloor is great, by the way - my next hooise will have it... ).

So, if going wet underfloor, then absolutely fit a 'wet' towel rail too, but one with leccy back-up element for summer/mild use. Simple solution and best of both worlds.

If instead you are thinking leccy underfloor, then I guess I would still consider a 'dual' towel rail, but only if getting the 'wet' system to it was easy to run. Otherwise, leccy all the way.

(My airing cupboard just has a zig-zag of bare copper pipe along one side as part of the CH loop - plenty heat to keep it all cosy. But only when the CH is on, of course... So, if the CH pipes very close to your airing cupboard, you could just take a loop up into your airing cupboard. Not a loop across the flow and return pipes, 'cos that would need valves and sh*, but just a short extension of an existing flow pipe to the nearest rad. Ie - if there's a CH pipe under there, just cut it and divert both ends into the cupboard and add a neat loop of pipe before it returns.)

In any event, I wouldn't bother trying to add a separate 'zone' for chust summer rads/towel rails. I can't see many boilers being too happy about being fired up to provide only 300-odd watts of heating. And the cost and complexity of running these extra pipes, zone valves, timer/thermostat controls - man, that's chust crazy. Crazy, I tell ye...