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Wet Bathroom Towel Rail Fault.

Zoomup

Good day all,

   A customer reported that her towel rail did not heat up when using the electric heating element of her towel rail. It heats up via the gas boiler though. Upon investigation I found that the electric element was open circuit. But, to replace the element the towel rail needs to be drained down. That's a plumbers job, I am not going to do that. Also, there are no isolation valves for the tower rail.  Modern designs can be a pain. The towel rail is quite new and has had little use. I don't think that the element has been used dry. I wonder if the installer has dropped the towel rail onto the electrical connection located bottom right. Perhaps a plumber could freeze the pipes to allow the element to be replaced?

Z.

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    normally such things would be installed like a radiator, so there would be a control valve at one end and a lockshield or similar isolator at the other. Turning both to off isolates the rad/towel rail from the rest of circuit, and In  such a case only a rad full of water is lost, this is how you can paint or put wallpaper behind the radiators without a full drain-down.

    If it really has been installed without isolators, it would be sensible for the householder to get some added but to combine it with a flush out and new corrosion inhibitor at the same time as getting a new element fitted.

    Mike.

     

     

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    Zoomup,

    Having been in my house a number of years, I know any attempt for appropriate reasons to drain down my heating system is an absolute pain, due to a very bad section of pipework that airlocks and stops correct filling back up again, so much so local plumber will not work on my house as it took him a full day, all sorts of hoses stuck in here there and everywhere to get it eventually filled correctly. 

    Anyway few years ago got the main bathroom refitted and of course my other half wanted a whole new heated towel rail, plus old one needed to come off to allow tiling removal and application. Also old towel rail didnt have any isolation valves either.

    Mentioned issues about drain down to the bathroom fitting company and was told not to worry, he lifted the floor in that section and froze the pipework to the towel rail, not only did that allow safe removal of the old towel rail, he also fitted isolation valves on new bits of pipework coming thru the floor all ready for new heated towel rail to go on when tiling had been done, so perhaps that can be done in your situation?

     

    Cheers GTB 

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    I have used pipe freezer a few times either when extending the CH or replacing stuck TRVs. It works well, but you need to get everything in place and work quickly!

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