Towel warmers serve as a comfortable and warm towel rack and create a cozy atmosphere in the bathroom. In addition, their task is to create a comfortable temperature and dry the air to eliminate constant humidity. The experts of the Leroy Merlin School of Renovation will tell you how to choose the best heated towel rail, what to look for when buying, and what is important to know for successful installation.
What are heated towel rails
In the home goods store, you will be offered two types of heated towel rails - electric and running. The first type is a wall-mounted autonomous heater powered from the mains. The installation of the device is limited to choosing a suitable place and creating several holes for the dowels in the wall. The second type is a simple pipe structure that needs to be connected to a hot water supply system.
A brief acquaintance with the "home energy" will help to make a choice between an electric and a running towel rail.
An electric heated towel rail is irreplaceable where there is only electricity.
Most comfortable country houses and city apartments have heating and hot water supply. In apartment buildings, this is a centralized option, while in individual cottages and townhouses, the system is powered by its own boiler room. However, in either case, you have a choice between an electric and a flow-through device.
In a country house with heating from a stove or with the help of electric convectors, there is no choice - you will have to install an electric heated towel rail. There are also "mixed" cases. For example, if an electric boiler heats water in a cottage, it is worth installing an independent electric heated towel rail. It uses the same type of energy, and it makes no sense to complicate the hot water supply system by embedding a flow-through device into it.
Why is a flow-through heated towel rail more complicated than an electric one
Electric heated towel rails can have heating elements or heating cables. In the first case, oil, antifreeze or water is more often used as a heat carrier. There are also models with a so-called dry heating element - liquids are not used there. Towel warmers with a cable have a different device. In them, a heating cable is laid along the entire length of the pipes, the cores of which are made of a material that is a high-resistance conductor. Unlike models with a liquid heat carrier, they cool faster, since they do not have accumulated heat, but they have a longer service life.
As for the running towel rail, water circulates inside there, and you have to build it into the hot water supply system. You heard right, it was in the hot water supply system, and not in the heating system. The fact is that a heated towel rail is not a heating radiator. If the heated towel rail were connected to the heating system, like a radiator, it would stop working in the spring, when the heating is turned off in apartments and houses. The heated towel rail connected to the hot water supply system continues to operate in the summer.
A running towel rail is really handy for drying towels. It also acts as a compensator for thermal expansion of pipes. Without a compensator, pipes in multi-storey buildings can crack and burst.
What to look for when choosing
When choosing an electric heated towel rail pay attention to power … So you will understand whether the vending model will be able to warm up the bathroom of your area or it is better to choose a more powerful device. Based on the calculation of 140 W / sq. m. It makes no sense to choose a heater with a higher power than is necessary for your room. You will only waste energy.
If you choose a device with a liquid heating element, pay attention to the coolant. Antifreeze has a high thermal conductivity, therefore it heats up quickly, but cools down just as quickly. Water has a high specific heat capacity. This means that it heats up slowly and cools down for a long time. The water can be heated to a temperature of 85 ° C. The oil has low thermal conductivity, it gives off heat longer even after turning off the heating element, and heats up faster than water, but slower than antifreeze. The oil can be heated up to 70 ° C.
Heating time. Heated towel rails with a heat carrier heat up from 15 to 60 minutes. This can be convenient, for example, if there is a large family in the house. Everyone will have enough time for water treatments and drying towels. Cable models take 15 minutes to warm up.
Temperature regulation. Cable models usually do not have this option. The thing is that the power of the cable usually does not exceed 100 W, so the thermostat is simply not needed. For powerful devices, temperature control is necessary because they can reach very high temperatures. With the help of the adjustment, you can set a comfortable temperature and not be afraid of getting burned.
Connection method. There are only two of them: with hidden wiring and with open wiring. For a hidden one, you will have to gouge walls, lay wires and connect to a power source.
The option is aesthetic and more preferable, given that the bathroom is a wet room. However, it is more laborious, requires the involvement of professionals, compliance with all security measures. An outlet is sufficient for exposed wiring. It must have a degree of moisture protection of at least IP 44 and be located near the heated towel rail.
When choosing a flowing heated towel rail, specify the material from which it is made. A stainless steel heated towel rail can be called optimal in terms of price-quality ratio. It is not afraid of corrosion and has good heat dissipation. Steel is more susceptible to corrosion, copper and brass have excellent resistance to corrosion and sludge formation, but at a higher price.
Regardless of the material, evaluate the quality of the welded joints. It is important that the seams at the joints are neat and even. In the most expensive models, the parts are connected by resistance welding, however, high-quality argon-arc welding guarantees tightness and strength of the connection. It is necessary to pay attention to the appearance of the thread, as well as the rolling at the end of the pipe in front of the thread at the joints. The tightness of the connection through the gasket depends on the quality of the thread and the processing of the edge. If the edges of the thread are sharp, they can cut through the thread.
Check connection diameter. If it does not match the diameter of the supply pipe, you will either have to select another model, or use adapters of the required diameters.
Check the maximum pressure for which the heated towel rail is designed. Considering that in our conditions the pressure in the pipes is a variable value, it is better that the upper limit indicated by the manufacturer is 15 atmospheres.
For any type of device, there must be a guarantee from the manufacturer and the telephone of the service department in the passport of the product. Conscientious manufacturers will replace the product in the event of a factory defect. It will be useful to have the possibility of extended return to the store if there is no representative office of the manufacturer or its service center in your city.
What you need to know about replacing a heated towel rail
If you have planned to replace the running towel rail, you need to study how the old one was connected to the line. There are two types of connection. The first option - the device is connected to two pipes located at the top and bottom. The second option is to connect to two pipes located at the same level.
If the old device is connected to the pipes from above and below, in its place you can connect a heated towel rail of type "M" and "P" with the same location of the inlet and outlet. These conventional names are used by plumbers and sales consultants to distinguish between different forms with the same connection. A heated towel rail marked with the letter "P" is a pipe with one bend in the middle and fittings for connecting from the top and bottom. The letter "M" denotes a pipe with multiple bends. There are also "ladders" with side connection.
If your old heated towel rail is connected to two pipes located at the bottom, it is of the “ladder” type. In its place, you can put only a device of the same type, towel warmers "M" and "P" will not work. "Ladders" have more design options - for example, a shelf for storing towels, different distances between the bars for drying large and small towels at the same time, etc.
What you need to know about installation
Even if you entrust the installation to the master, it is still better to know some of the details in order to enjoy the comfort to the fullest. Heated towel rails type "M" and "P" are easier to install. Such a device is actually a branch of a hot water supply pipe. Water flows freely through the bends and returns to the main line. For installation, it is sufficient to provide a tight connection with the pipes.
To connect a ladder-type heated towel rail, it is necessary to install shut-off valves and a bypass with a narrowing. If the system already has a branch for installing a heated towel rail with a conventional bypass without narrowing, the "ladder" will not work. The water will start moving through the bypass and will not go into the heated towel rail. Therefore, when choosing a ladder-type heated towel rail, you must either make sure that there is a constricting bypass in the system, or install it. A narrowing bypass is a jumper from a pipe of a smaller diameter in comparison with a hot water supply riser.
When installing a stainless steel flow-through heated towel rail, electrochemical corrosion can occur. It is caused by the difference in electrical potentials between the metals from which the heated towel rail and the pipe to which it is connected are made. The risk is especially high if this bond contains areas of polymer materials (polypropylene, metal-plastic). The result of electrochemical corrosion is the appearance of fistulas. This usually occurs at the most vulnerable points: welded and threaded joints. In the future, leaks form in these places.
By the way, if your heated towel rails rust too quickly, perhaps the source of the problem is not in the pipes, but in the ground wire, which is connected to the riser from the washing machine in the next apartment. In any case, the issue is removed by competent grounding, it is better if it is an additional potential equalization system (APCS). It will solve the problem of "stray currents" and protect people from electric shocks that can occur in pipes as a result of the actions of irresponsible electricians or cunning neighbors who are prone to theft of electricity.