Should a chrome towel rail rust in under three years?

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by Jason200, Nov 14, 2010.

  1. Jason200

    Jason200 New Member

    Hi all,

    I’m looking for a little advice regarding a Vaillant chrome towel radiator which I purchased from Screwfix just under three years ago. This chrome towel radiator which was fitted approximately 2 ½ years ago now has substantial rust build up on the underside of the bars.

    Screwfix have advised that my warranty was only one year. Do I have good cause to go back to the manufacturer Vaillant, with the problem?

    I realise that this isn’t really a technical plumbing issue, but would appreciate any plumber’s thoughts on this.

    Thanks, Jason
     
  2. palavaman

    palavaman Well-Known Member

    depends on what elements the towel rail was exposed to?
    if your bathrrom is not well ventillated, then the constant moisture means TR is constantly exposed to moisture and hence likely to corrode????

    as mentioned by Screwfix, your warranty is for a year. Nothing stops you having a pop at the manufacturers, but i doubt they'll say sorry and replace it:(
     
  3. G Brown

    G Brown New Member

    If it has been exposed to a lot of damp and is scratched then yes it will rust. Most of the towel rails sold by Screwfix are cheapish too. YGWYPF.
     
  4. 1tap

    1tap New Member

    Do you have the receipt?

    You're entitled to expect it to last for a 'reasonable' amount of time. 2 1/2 years isn't reasonable for a towel rail IMHO. I think case law has set 7 years as reasonable for electronic items. I'd expect much longer from a towel rail.

    It has failed because the plating is defective. Chrome plating is porous and should have 3 layers (nickel, copper, chrome, ISTR) for anything used in a damp environment. Bodgers will skip the first one or two layers. Every chrome plated bathroom fitting I've seen in recent years has rusted.
     
  5. 1tap

    1tap New Member

    " If it has been exposed to a lot of damp...."

    M'lud, it is a towel rail. It is meant to be exposed to damp. If it won't tolerate damp, it is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold.

    Rusting around scratch damage? Down to owner.

    All-over corrosion? Defective chrome plating.
     
  6. Stuart Jnr

    Stuart Jnr New Member

    1 tap is quite right, however one thing you are not taking into consideration is the cost of the item.
    It has to be fit for purpose but the life of the item also has to refelct the cost of the item

    If i was Valiant the first question i'd ask was is the room well ventilated. Id bet £100 that the small print says has to be fitted in a well ventilated room.
     
  7. Jason200

    Jason200 New Member

    Thanks for your replies.

    I feel the same with 1tap; it’s a towel rail so surely it should be designed to cope with damp towels?

    The bathroom is ventilated.

    The rusting itself is not on scratch damage, it’s on almost every bar; but only on the underside of the bars. The towel radiator has been installed above the end of the bath so my guess is that as the steam rises from the bath it hits the underside of the bars and has therefore rusted them.

    Was it wrong to site a towel radiator above the bath?

    The chrome taps on the bath and towel radiator are subjected to the same amount of steam but have not rusted.
     
  8. imran_

    imran_ New Member

    "Fit for purpose" and "of satisfactory quality" mainly apply at the time of sale. There is NO case law that determines how long an item should last, and outside a mfrs warranty you have almost zero recall.

    If your DVD player breaks after 1 year 1 day, then tough - as long as on average that model of DVD player lasted a suitable amount of time and there was no inherent defect in the product.

    For the towel rail, it would be difficult to prove that the surface wasn't damaged in some way, thus letting moisture in.... The problem is if a mfr admits any liability then they would be liable for the full costs of replacing it. In any case under the sale of goods act your contract rests with the seller and not the supplier.
     
  9. Captain Leaky

    Captain Leaky New Member

    It should last at least 10 years but there are some awful cheap jobs around. As has been said YGWYPF. Never buy cheap towel rails.
     
  10. tomplum

    tomplum Active Member

    you can pay dear for a towel rail and still get rust after a short while, we're living in a throw away age, and thats good for us plumbers,
     
  11. Stuart Jnr

    Stuart Jnr New Member

    seller and not the supplier.

    Depending on the cost of the rad, 12 months in a small claims would be deemed as too short of a length of time. Especialy if it can be proven that the length of the warranty was not pointed out at the time of sale.
    Most cases like this go in favour of the consumer.

    My dads BMW engine failed 6 months outside of warranty, he got a new engine because it was deemed unfit that a car of high such cost should have such significant engine failure in such a short space of time. This didnt go through the small claims court but he contacted the Area Sales Manager of BMW!
     
  12. imran_

    imran_ New Member

    Some people are unlucky, and many mfrs take this into account. However components typically have a bell-curve of failure, and some must last less or more time than the average.
     
  13. 1tap

    1tap New Member

    "Fit for purpose" and "of satisfactory quality"
    mainly apply at the time of sale. There is NO case
    law that determines how long an item should last, and
    outside a mfrs warranty you have almost zero recall.


    If your DVD player breaks after 1 year 1 day, then
    tough - as long as on average that model of DVD
    player lasted a suitable amount of time and there was
    no inherent defect in the product."


    Not so, Imran.

    http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf

    See the part about durability on, I think, page 7.

    It had an inherent defect that wasn't apparent at the time of purchase. 2.5 years is not a reasonable lifespan for a towel rail. If he had the receipt, he could have a case.
     
  14. 1tap

    1tap New Member

    I thought wrong.

    "See the part about durability on, I think, page" 11.
     
  15. imran

    imran New Member

    Just to close this thread I'll reiterate again - if your DVD player dies after 1 year and a day the law says nothing - unless you can prove there was an inherent fault with it at the time of sale.  The law definitely DOES NOT say that your DVD player will last for 7 years (and is probably not even designed to).  The EU 2 year/ UK 6 year time limits are statutory time limits you have to claim redress if the goods do not conform to Sale of Goods - NOT a warranty time limit.

    In short, if you wanted to pay for a costly metal analysis of the towel rail and can prove it was inherently faulty at the time of sale then you may have a case.....  Or you could buy a new towel rail :)

    It would be nice to live in a world where the supplier/manufacturer repaired everything that was less than 6 years old....  Except that plumbers would also be under the same requirements ;-)
     
  16. keith howgate

    keith howgate New Member

    Hi, just read in the forum, that jason200 had a problem with rusting chrome radiators from screwfix. He had them 2 1/2 years before the problem appeared, I also bought three about 2 1/2 years ago from screwfix and all three are rusting under the bars. In all the rooms that they are in there are windows and there are also extrator fans as you would expect under the building regs. I presume the radiators are of poor quality but this is not the impression you get from their cataloge, it states that they are chrome plated to RAL 9016, it must be good! but not good enough for the purpose they are used for, even the picture in the cataloge has a towel on it, I hope it is not wet. Not happy from north Devon
     
  17. G Brown

    G Brown New Member

    ..as I said back in 2010....YGWYPF.
     
  18. diymostthings

    diymostthings Well-Known Member

    If its any consolation, I fitted a towel rail from B and Q and it sprung a pin-hole leak on first pressurisation. they changed it of course but no extra for all the time hassle and expense of draining down and travelling to the store etc.

    diymostthings
     
  19. clive holland

    clive holland New Member

    Screwfix Quality....[​IMG]
     

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