I noticed in Screwfix they have normal radiator towel rails used in a
CH system. But they have electric immersion insertion heaters which
go in the bottom rad valve tapping to use in summer as well.

I have a few questions.

Do these towel rail immersion heaters have a tee piece for the rad
valves?

If I want the towel rail to be electric only and not connect to the
CH, I assume I fill the towel rail with water. What happens if the
towel rail immersion thermostat fails? Will the water boil and the
rail blow up?

On 9 Oct, 10:16, Bay Man <bayc...@easy.com> wrote:

> If I want the towel rail to be electric only and not connect to the
> CH, I assume I fill the towel rail with water. What happens if the
> towel rail immersion thermostat fails? Will the water boil and the
> rail blow up?

I expect the thermo fuse mentioned in the manual will blow before that
happens.....

Jim K

Bay Man <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I noticed in Screwfix they have normal radiator towel rails used in a
> CH system. But they have electric immersion insertion heaters which
> go in the bottom rad valve tapping to use in summer as well.

I've gone off Screwfix recently, my monthly bill with them would be
something like £300/mth until July, but I havent spent anything with
them since. Their prices have gone up, range has gone down, and they
have messed me around with their internet ordering.
Toolstation are good at the moment, and for larger plumbing supplies
these are good:
<http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/150w-dual-fuel-heating-2848-16455>

> Do these towel rail immersion heaters have a tee piece for the rad
> valves?

Yes.

> If I want the towel rail to be electric only and not connect to the
> CH, I assume I fill the towel rail with water. What happens if the
> towel rail immersion thermostat fails? Will the water boil and the
> rail blow up?

I wouldnt recommend that. The water will expand when hot, and it has
nowhere to go, so is not a good idea IMO.
There are radiators that do what you want -
<http://www.greenedhouse.net/dry_elec...towel_rails.ht
ml>
I fitted one recently, and the customer was really happy with it.

Alan.
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Jim K wrote:
> On 9 Oct, 10:16, Bay Man<bayc...@easy.com> wrote:
>
>> If I want the towel rail to be electric only and not connect to the
>> CH, I assume I fill the towel rail with water. What happens if the
>> towel rail immersion thermostat fails? Will the water boil and the
>> rail blow up?
>
> I expect the thermo fuse mentioned in the manual will blow before that
> happens.....
>
> Jim K
Why not buy an electric only towel rail in the first place??

Bob

On Oct 9, 10:32*am, a...@darkroom.+.com (A.Lee) wrote:
> Bay Man <bayc...@easy.com> wrote:
> > I noticed in Screwfix they have normal radiator towel rails used in a
> > CH system. *But they have electric immersion insertion heaters which
> > go in the bottom rad valve tapping to use in summer as well.
>
> I've gone off Screwfix recently, my monthly bill with them would be
> something like £300/mth until July, but I havent spent anything with
> them since. Their prices have gone up, range has gone down, and they
> have messed me around with their internet ordering.
> Toolstation are good at the moment, and for larger plumbing supplies
> these are good:
> <http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/150w-dual-fuel-heating-2848-16455>
>
> > Do these towel rail immersion heaters have a tee piece for the rad
> > valves?
>
> Yes.
>
> > If I want the towel rail to be electric only and not connect to the
> > CH, *I assume I fill the towel rail with water. *What happens if the
> > towel rail immersion thermostat fails? Will the water boil and the
> > rail blow up?
>
> I wouldnt recommend that. The water will expand when hot, and it has
> nowhere to go, so is not a good idea IMO.
> There are radiators that do what you want -
> <http://www.greenedhouse.net/dry_elec...towel_rails.ht
> ml>
> I fitted one recently, and the customer was really happy with it.
>
> Alan.
> --
> To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

Thanks. What sort of timer do you fit to these towel rails? A cheap
one

With an electric-only towel rail (or certain radiators for that
matter) you fill a) with a suitable oil or b) with a 75:25 water-
glycol mixture with a 10% air gap at the top. Pure water is out re
freeze & corrosion (most towel rails are steel).

With the water mixture, when the heater is first used you bleed off
the air as it is warmed up. Alternatively, and much better from a
safety perspective, fit a 3-bar safety valve which are about £8 on
Ebay or £10 delivered online. Alternatively oil is perhaps the safest
option (used in enough portable radiators) although I believe the EU
wants / has restricted it.

A towel rail element does have a thermal cutout: if you oversize the
element on some you can hear one clicking on & off (an internal safety
thermostat), I suspect there may also be a non-resettable thermal
fuse.

No idea what oil is used, I suspect a mineral oil... although could be
a new market for Mobil 1 :-)

js.b1 wrote:

> No idea what oil is used, I suspect a mineral oil... although could be
> a new market for Mobil 1 :-)

Nah, yah hafta be green and environmentally friendly, dude!

http://www.midel.com/

Traditionally, tho' oil-filled radiators use transformer oil with lots
of PCBs and other bad stuff...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer_oil

On Oct 9, 9:36*pm, Dave Osborne <DaveyO...@SPAMymail.com> wrote:
> Traditionally, tho' oil-filled radiators use transformer oil with lots
> of PCBs and other bad stuff...
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer_oil

Very bad stuff.

From the trickling sound in cheap portable radiators, it sounds like
mineral oil, and they seem to rust/leak a clear oil after a few years
so it might well be mineral oil.

Oil is pretty messy to clean up if it leaks, but so is anti-freeze (if
it soaks into a wooden floor you can forget painting it pretty much
for eternity because it will also stop it rotting too!).

js.b1 <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> With an electric-only towel rail (or certain radiators for that
> matter) you fill a) with a suitable oil or b) with a 75:25 water-
> glycol mixture with a 10% air gap at the top. Pure water is out re
> freeze & corrosion (most towel rails are steel).

The new ones now are dry, with a thin element wire running through them,
so they heat up evenly.
Alan.
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Bay Man <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> > There are radiators that do what you want -
> > <http://www.greenedhouse.net/dry_elec...towel_rails.ht
> > ml>
> > I fitted one recently, and the customer was really happy with it.

> Thanks. What sort of timer do you fit to these towel rails? A cheap
> one

Whetever is suitable for its surroundings.
You generally cannot have a 13a plug in the bathroom, so the cheap
plug-in timers are out, so maybe a cheap central heating timer outside
the room?

Alan.
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