Choose a heated towel rail: water, electric

According to an old tradition that has remained with us since Soviet times, houses of old buildings do not have heating in the bathroom. This is far from pleasing in winter, it is not very comfortable in a damp and cool room. Well, at least with the advent of hot water supply, heated towel rails began to be installed. At the same time, with the performance of the main task, drying towels and linen, they heat the room. If you do not yet have any heating in the bathroom, then you should choose a heated towel rail. 

Views and which is better

There are three types of heated towel rails:

• Water. They are connected to a heating or hot water supply system. The more popular option is to connect to the hot water supply – the break in work is only a few weeks (for repair and preparation of the system). In the case of connecting to heating, the procedure itself is more complicated (permit is required) and the “dead” season lasts the entire summer period.
• Electric towel warmers. These are self-contained devices that require only electricity to operate. The disadvantage of these devices is the increase in power consumption.
• Combined. These are dryers that can operate both from hot water and from electricity, that is, they will work all year round without interruption. The disadvantage is the high price.

Which heated towel rail is better water or electric? If you have a well-functioning hot water system, choosing a device is simple – a water one is definitely required. With him, except for the hassle with connecting, no problem. Even pay for the use of heat is not required.

If there is only a heating system, you will already have to decide which option is better electric or water. When making a choice, you need to build on the condition and layout of your heating system. If the bathroom or very close to it has a riser or the ability to connect, then it may be worth installing a water towel dryer.

It is worth considering a couple more points: you will need permission from the housing office or an organization replacing it, and they do not always issue such permissions. So before making a decision, visit this institution and ask if they will give you permission. You can write an application right away. The second point is the quality of your heating. If its power is not enough and it is cold in the apartment, then hanging another heating device can only worsen the situation.

So, the choice falls on an electric heated towel rail if there is no hot water supply or you cannot connect to the heating. Another reason is that you don’t want to mess with the connection.

Choosing a water heated towel rail

Choosing the right heated towel rail is a whole science, and especially water. Here, the main thing is the shape, size and even the location of the bends, but there are also technical characteristics that must also be taken into account.

TECH SPECS

The working pressure in the DHW system must be in the range from 0,3 atm to 6 atm. The pressure in the central heating system is highly dependent on the area, but is rarely higher than 10–12 atm (in high-rise buildings). In accordance with these parameters, select water dryers.

Before choosing a heated towel rail, pay attention to such an indicator as the maximum temperature. For hot water, this figure is rarely higher than 60 ° C; for heating, few give out 80 ° C. From this point of view, all stainless steel dryers are suitable, they have a maximum temperature of about 105–110 °C. Nevertheless, emergencies happen when water is supplied heated to hundreds of degrees or even higher, so this supply will not hurt.

Decide on the form

Water towel dryers come in many forms. They can be conditionally divided into several groups:

• P or U shaped. The simplest in form and having a low cost. The disadvantages include their small “useful” area, as well as not a very large amount of heat that they can emit. You can’t hang a lot of things on them. But such a towel dryer in the bathroom, with the right selection of sizes, can “stand” in place of the old similar form without alteration.
• Snake, serpentine or M-shaped. A slightly more complex shape, more usable area and generated heat. They are also not very difficult to connect and have a low price.
  

• Ladder. Towel dryer, consisting of a number of horizontal bars, united at the edges by vertical collectors. The crossbars can be straight or in the form of a snake. Such a device usually has two connection methods – side and bottom. A more complex form involves a well-chosen scheme, otherwise it will not work. In addition, due to the large material consumption, the cost of such dryers is several times higher than that of coils.
• Non-standard complex forms. There are unusual towel dryers that are more like a designer decoration than a plumbing fixture. Their prices are not low, besides, most are delivered “on order”. There are often problems with their connection, so you need to choose the right scheme and consult a specialist.

Choosing a bathroom dryer in shape is both simple and difficult. It is necessary to consider how and where you can install your favorite design. At the same time, do not forget that you will have to connect to the riser, which means pulling pipes along the walls to it. Moreover, most likely, the gasket will be hidden, that is, it will be hidden in the wall, which means that it will be necessary to ditch them or put up a false wall.

We select sizes

When choosing a heated towel rail in size, one must proceed from the available free space for installation. Most questions are usually caused by the selection of the size of the “ladders”. They are very high. It is necessary to take into account the convenience of using this device. Its top can be located at the height of the wrist of your outstretched hand or slightly lower, which is approximately 1900-2000 mm. Where at the same time the bottom edge will end is determined by you.

With snakes and U-shaped heated towel rails a little easier. Their upper edge is usually placed somewhere at the height of human growth. So, all the crossbars are in the accessibility zone and do not really interfere.

And also it is worth considering that the dimensions of the heated towel rail are also reflected in the location of the inlets for connection. The wider or longer the device, the greater the distance between the nozzles, which means that you can’t do without altering the bends.

Materials

The most common material from which water heated towel rails are made is stainless steel. But this metal can be different. Ideally, the AISI 304 brand and its analogues are used (in the table). Dryers made of stainless steel last a long time, as they do not corrode, and plaque does not settle on their walls.

Towel dryer made of stainless steel can be with a matte surface or with a mirror finish (the surface of the pipes is polished), there are also painted in enamels of different colors. The most common color among colored ones is white, but on request you can choose from a fairly wide palette. Specific colors vary by manufacturer.

There are budget heated towel rails on the market made of black steel, usually galvanized. Their service life is very small, a few years. Their surface can be chrome-plated or painted. In conditions of high humidity in the bathroom, both coatings are very short-lived.

There are also copper heated towel rails. Along with the fact that they have good thermal conductivity, are not heavy and look aesthetically pleasing, but they have a problem. It is impossible to connect them to a heating or water supply system if there is no pipe protection from contact with water.

So, the best choice of heated towel rail in terms of material is stainless steel. She really doesn’t have an alternative.

Practical tips for choosing

Theory is good, but operation usually shows all the pros and cons of products. Towel warmers are no exception. There are many nuances, which is still better to choose.

Which models are better

Let’s start with the choice of models of heated towel rails. As you know, there are ladders and simple M and U shaped. These radiators are made from a single piece of pipe. It is simply bent into the required shape, and if the pipe was used with high quality, it will serve for a long time.

Ladders and other complex models are welded. Their service life is determined by the quality of the weld, and in most cases, the leak begins precisely in the seams. No matter how bitter it is to admit, but mostly Russian-made heated towel rails “flow”. German or any other European countries do not suffer from this disease. It’s all about welding. Yes, all stainless steel is welded by TIG welding in an inert gas environment. Only in Europe they cook with supercharging, because of which the seam turns out to be boiled from both sides. Domestic producers, in order to save on expensive gas, brew without pressurization. As a result, the seam is welded only from the outside and, with the slightest error in execution, it flows.

No one says that it flows 100%, but it often flows. That is, when buying a domestic “ladder”, you run a substantial risk of getting a leak in about a year. The good news is that the warranty period is usually much longer – about 3-5 years, but the warranty is only valid if it was installed by a company that has the right to work with engineering networks and you have a dryer acceptance certificate signed by a representative of the REU. At the same time, by the way, no one can guarantee that the next heated towel rail of the same company will not leak.

So it turns out that, approaching the choice of a water heated towel rail from the practical, and not from the aesthetic side, it is best to take a simple coil if you really don’t like the U-shaped ones.

What to look for when buying

Having decided on the form, you will need to choose the heated towel rail of which particular company you want. It’s not easy here. As they said, German and European factories have proven themselves excellently. But they have a significant disadvantage – a very high price. Because basically you have to choose from Russian manufacturers. There are more than enough of them today and the lineup is largely repeated. So how to choose? You need to look at the following parameters:

• Check geometry. There should be no distortion in the cross section of the pipe. It should be perfectly round, only in places of bending deformation is allowed. If the shape of the heated towel rail is symmetrical, there should also be no deviations in its geometry.
• Find the seal, this is the place where the name of the company and the steel grade from which the device is made are affixed. All self-respecting manufacturers label their products.

• Examine the carving. It should be cut evenly, grooves of the same depth and without notches.
• In places of welding, the seams must be smooth, without sharp edges and notches.
• Look inside the pipe. If a seam is visible there (a darker, even stripe), this heated towel rail is made from a seam pipe. With a high quality pipe, this is not a problem, but no one can guarantee this quality, and our manufacturers often buy Chinese rolled metal. As everyone knows about their quality. So it is better to look for a seamless pipe dryer.
• For a product that you like according to all criteria, check for a certificate of conformity. Without it, it is better not to take the device.
• Another mandatory document is a technical passport indicating the manufacturer, warranty cards, etc. The seller must correctly fill out this passport, put stamps where required.
  

If all these criteria agree, you can buy the model you like. Next, it’s up to the installation.

Choice of electric towel warmers

Choosing a heated towel rail powered by electricity is easier. It only needs power to work, and it’s more or less okay. Especially if there is a stabilizer. Therefore, when choosing an electric dryer, you can approach the choice of model only from an aesthetic point of view and acquire the form that seems most attractive.

Choice: material, color, size

The case of this device is usually made of stainless steel, filled with a coolant. The heating element is a heating element, its power consumption is small – several hundred watts. Since the volume of water in them is small and it must be heated to a maximum of 60 ° C.

Models with a thermostat are more convenient to use. They can change the temperature from 30 to 60 degrees. It is set on the scale by turning the knob, supported in automatic mode. The choice of model in this case is practically unlimited. Even welds are not a hindrance, the pressure here is stable and if the seam is made with high quality, it will never leak.

It is also worth mentioning the possible color solutions. Most electric towel warmers come unpainted by default. Some manufacturers paint the most popular models. It can be ordinary white enamel, sometimes colored. Colors can be available – bronze, gold, platinum, all this can be with patina, etc. In general, you can find non-standard color options. Not bad among Russian manufacturers are Dvin and Argo, Terminus, Sunerzha, Trugor.

The choice of sizes is wide. Choose the one that best fits into the design of the bathroom or bathroom.

Features of connection and installation

An electric heated towel rail is connected to a regular outlet, but since the installation site is a bathroom with high humidity, the voltage must be supplied through an RCD that breaks the phase and zero, an automatic machine is also needed, it is possible for one contact. The choice of their electrical parameters depends on what other devices will be connected to this line. It is not worth pulling a separate line to the heater due to its low power.

The heated towel rail is mounted in any place. Usually, the protection class allows it to be placed even over a bathtub (II), but this is hardly worth doing. Inconvenient, and things will get wet. An electric dryer is usually best installed on any free wall. Often so that you can reach out of the bath, shower. If the bathroom is combined, you have to choose. You can put it even close to the bidet or toilet with a hygienic shower. By the way, mounting brackets are usually included, so you don’t have to invent anything.

Manufacturers

All companies that produce water heated towel rails also produce electric ones. A heating element is installed in the same housing, a coolant is poured in, the ends are sealed. So finding an electric bathroom dryer is not difficult at all.