Hanging Rads--close to wall or gap?

johneym

hi Folks,

plumber re-doing whole house and he hangs the rads very close to wall. The brackets supplied can be turned both ways for a gap or almost no gap. They are single rads. He says people save space this way an he always does it this way.
I dont like them being too close and also think circulation would be better if they are out a little bit. He claims it doesnt matter as the heat comes from below an above. ?

Opinions?

Victor

The extra space is meaningful only in certain circumstances. Its nigh impossible to stand in the space a radiator occupies.

Depending on how you want to use the rooms, you might do either.

Micky Dolenz

Normally the bracket has a short side and a long side, Singles hang on the long side and doubles on the short side. Different people will do it differently. Have him do it the way you want it done.

johneym

thanks guys,

problem is he had it already done when I discovered it. Plus already connected up to pipework and insulated.All singles on short side of bracket. He claims he will need half a day to change them at my expense as"I didnt tell him I wanted them that way" ?Ironically he has left a gap for the double rads.
Could someone clarify what is better from a heating point of view?

Thanks

mossy2

Hello There
I know that it's a bit late now but I think that a gap should be left between the rad and the wall. They'll never let on in the Ideal Homes or Elle Decor mags but that gap is very handy when you're tucking your washing in there to dry them in our miserable climate.

DoneDL

I would always bring a rad away from the wall as 90 percent of output is convection and 10 percent is radiation, (also easier to paint behind).That said as been suggested space does not always allow for this and a customer may have other preferences. You should change them to suit your preference and compensate the Plumber, he wont be living there and its normal in any job for the customer to change their mind.

yoshytoshy

They're called convector radiators because the air gets pulled up and thrown out the top.
The further it is from the wall ,the more air will circulate.

You'd normally see a hall radiator or bathroom radiator on the short side ,thats all.

Victor

yoshytoshy wrote: »

You'd normally see a hall radiator or bathroom radiator on the short side ,thats all.

The rooms with the least available space.

Joey the lips

from above you can see whats normally done. Usually the short side is only used in hallways and bathrooms etc... What is the construction of your house..

If its timber frame i find most of the rads are over spec'd, Aside from that you would be perfectly within your legal right to insist the plumber fits them correctly.

Where the short and long side usually give trouble is later on when retro fitting skirting... Thats why upstairs i used beading. Its not worth the trouble.

CBYR1983

Who manufactured your rads?

The manufacturer will normally supply an information sheet. Any such sheets which I have seen indicate that a double rad is hung on the short side of the bracket and the single rad is hung on the long side of the bracket.

I don't know why this is.

For example, look up the Quinn radiators website and you'll find this type of sheet. Your plumber should have followed the manufacturer's guidance, so check and present this to him.

ntpm

CBYR1983 wrote: »

Who manufactured your rads?

The manufacturer will normally supply an information sheet. Any such sheets which I have seen indicate that a double rad is hung on the short side of the bracket and the single rad is hung on the long side of the bracket.

I don't know why this is.

For example, look up the Quinn radiators website and you'll find this type of sheet. Your plumber should have followed the manufacturer's guidance, so check and present this to him.

Good advice::)
The plumber should always refere to Manufacturers Instruction.
They have done test on their rads and have had to prove the "Stated Outputs" can be achieved. This would be dependendent on which way the radiator was hung.

Also Normal working practice is as previous threads:
Short side for Double rads... so the don't stick out too far.
Long side for single rads.