Towel radiators - Electric vs plumbed

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
Posts
17,281
Location
Bristol
We've actually already bought a plumbed towel radiator but it was on sale and was only £50. I'm now wondering whether we should have an electric one, purely for the reason of having it on when the heating isn't; in the summer or on a separate schedule to come on in the early hours etc.

However they seem rarer. Places like Victoria Plumb don't stock any electric ones. Is there a con I'm not seeing?

Edit: Just been searching about and come across electrical element kits, like this: http://www.diy.com/departments/kudox-electrical-element-kit/199016_BQ.prd or this: https://victoriaplum.com/product/400w-duel-fuel-element-kit-htree400. They any good? Best of both worlds then? I guess it could be wired up to a plug with a simple 3rd party timer.
 
Last edited:

Deleted member 66701

D

Deleted member 66701

Do your room rads not have thermostatic valves?

I have Hive, so I can boost the heating for an hour during the summer and only the bathroom a rad/towel rail gets hot as the other rad stats are off (or more to the point, the valves are closed as the room temp is higher than the set point).

Plus, gas is cheaper than electrickery.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Soldato
OP
Joined
27 Dec 2005
Posts
17,281
Location
Bristol
Yeah they do, but we would want the towel radiator to come on every day in the morning and I can't be doing with turning every radiator on or off manually depending on the next day's weather forecast, especially in the Spring/Autumn!
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2003
Posts
23,628
I found that during summer the towels dry out quite quickly without heating on. The extractor fan keeps the amount of moisture low and aids the drying.

Ours is an 1800x600 with about 5400BTU output. Takes both towels and still heats the bathroom.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2003
Posts
23,628
The chromed radiators can go rusty - what happens is that the radiator (cold) acts as a condenser for shower moisture. The result is that the underside of the bars can go rusty. Having an electric heater module is good to prevent that.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
27 Dec 2005
Posts
17,281
Location
Bristol
We have a few of the Kudox ones from Wickes http://www.wickes.co.uk/Kudox-Electric-Towel-Radiator-500-x-1100mm-Flat-Chrome/p/137755 . They are great value for what you get. Couple them to a timed fused spur like a Timeguard FST24 and you're in business.

That's pretty much the exact radiator that we have waiting to fit, but not electric.

Thanks for naming the timed fuse spur as well :). Does one exist that can control two devices in one, ie a radiator element and underfloor heating?
 

Deleted member 66701

D

Deleted member 66701

Yeah they do, but we would want the towel radiator to come on every day in the morning and I can't be doing with turning every radiator on or off manually depending on the next day's weather forecast, especially in the Spring/Autumn!

You shouldn't have to "turn the rads on and off" if the trv's are set correctly.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2003
Posts
23,628
You shouldn't have to "turn the rads on and off" if the trv's are set correctly.

Yup.. we now have TRVs on the upstairs radiators, however our living room is still driven by the main thermostat. I remember reading somewhere that you're not supposed to have a TRV in the room with the thermostat otherwise the heating can possibly never get the thermostat to the desired temperature if the TRV is set low.

TRVs are goo - in the cold mornings the upstairs gets heated nicely.. including the towel rail. The rail has enough oomph to really blast the towels, so having the extractor fan removes the hot air, the towels dry quickly.
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Mar 2005
Posts
16,815
Location
Here and There...
We have a towel radiator that is only on the central heating loop, when we re-do our bathroom we will be getting a dual option so it can be electrically heated in summer no more damp towels for me!
 
Associate
Joined
6 Feb 2008
Posts
1,750
These dual options sound great. That electric element that Kimi linked to is a bit pricey at £91 though when the radiators themselves can be had for as low as £50. Is there a cheaper option/a radiator that already comes with both parts for less?
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Feb 2009
Posts
3,605
When we fitted a heat pump for a guy around the corner, he had one of those heater elements that wasn't working. We finished our install early so had time to replace it for him, im sure it was closer to £70 than that one i linked earlier. Im pretty sure screwfix do one that isnt as sexy for £30
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
27 Dec 2005
Posts
17,281
Location
Bristol
Yeah I linked to two cheaper ones earlier, obviously don't know if they're any good though. Both do a range of wattages for roughly the same price.

Edit: Just been searching about and come across electrical element kits, like this: http://www.diy.com/departments/kudox-electrical-element-kit/199016_BQ.prd or this: https://victoriaplum.com/product/400w-duel-fuel-element-kit-htree400. They any good? Best of both worlds then? I guess it could be wired up to a plug with a simple 3rd party timer.
 
Back
Top Bottom