Radiators

karlitob

Hi all,

Once again, I come asking questions and can offer nothing but thanks. Your help would be appreciated.


i) What radiators do people recommend
- I know this is a hard question. I'm sure each plumber has his/her preference. I know it depends on what style that we're looking for.

ii) Where is the correct placement of a radiator in a room

iii) Is there a way to determine how many radiators should be in a room?
- is there a formula for heat output and room size?

Many thanks

DoneDL

Quinn are a good make but make sure you get radiators with a 1/2 removable air vent not one`s where if the bleed screw snaps your`e stuck.

Below a window or on an outside wall, failing that wherever you like as long as the circulation is good. Depending on the size of the room radiators should be positioned to prevent cold spots.

Plenty of radiator sizing calculators online.

karlitob

DoneDL wrote: »

Quinn are a good make but make sure you get radiators with a 1/2 removable air vent not one`s where if the bleed screw snaps your`e stuck.

- Whats a 1/2 removable air vent and whats a bleed screw?

[/QUOTE] Below a window or on an outside wall, failing that wherever you like as long as the circulation is good. Depending on the size of the room radiators should be positioned to prevent cold spots.[/QUOTE]
- thank you

[/QUOTE]Plenty of radiator sizing calculators online.[/QUOTE]
- didnt realise. thanks for the tip

JohnnieK

1/2 inch removable bleed screw is what you vent the air out of the radiator with. It is on the side of the radiator at the highest point and a plug on the opposite side. If the bleed screw ever breaks it is easy to replace. The rads with the bleed screws on the back of the pannel are hard to repair some times impossible.

2 stroke

[/QUOTE] Below a window or on an outside wall, [/QUOTE]

It's time that plumbers stopped thinking this way

This is an ancient idea from the days of floor mounted radiators, the curtain closed behind the radiator and the radiator compensated for draughty windows.
Todays wall mounted radiators and curtains do battle daily. Radiator shelves and short curtains is the male response to this problem, but most women prefer full lenght curtains
Put your rads on internal walls especially where you plan full lenght curtains. Heat lost to an internal wall isn't lost, but is returned to the house. A radiator behind a curtain very much only heats the enviroment.

Marcanthony

Below a window or on an outside wall, [/QUOTE]

It's time that plumbers stopped thinking this way

This is an ancient idea from the days of floor mounted radiators, the curtain closed behind the radiator and the radiator compensated for drughty windows.
Todays wall mounted radiators and curtains do battle daily. Radiator shelves and short curtains is the male response to this problem, but most women prefer full lenght curtains
Put your rads on internal walls especially where you plan full lenght curtains. Heat lost to an internal wall isn't lost, but is returned to the house. A radiator behind a curtain very much only heats the enviroment.[/QUOTE]
Agree with op.

TopTec

"Below a window or on an outside wall,
It's time that plumbers stopped thinking this way
This is an ancient idea from the days of floor mounted radiators, the curtain closed behind the radiator and the radiator compensated for drughty windows.[/QUOTE]

Er..... , nothing to do with curtains or shelves - it is all to do with air circulation... ie convection. The coldest wall, usually the one with the window, is the one that forces circulation of warm air throughout the room.

TT

JohnnieK

Some one should go tell them in Bolton Street to re-write the text books on heating installations and radiator locations:).

Marcanthony

JohnnieK wrote: »

Some one should go tell them in Bolton Street to re-write the text books on heating installations and radiator locations:).

AND BY SOME OF THE RECENT STANDARDS I HAVE SEEN. THEY SHOULD HAVE ONE ON ONE TEACHING ASSISTANTS FOR PRACTICLE CLASSES ASWELL.THE BOOM CREATED HANDYMEN NOT TRADESMEN,

DoneDL

Marcanthony wrote: »

AND BY SOME OF THE RECENT STANDARDS I HAVE SEEN. THEY SHOULD HAVE ONE ON ONE TEACHING ASSISTANTS FOR PRACTICLE CLASSES ASWELL.THE BOOM CREATED HANDYMEN NOT PLUMBERS,

I would suggest giving information or experience, AH is also available for comments. Like most of the people that post here I am a time served, qualified and competent plumber with a sensible amount of qualifications.

TopTec

Marcanthony wrote: »

AND BY SOME OF THE RECENT STANDARDS I HAVE SEEN. THEY SHOULD HAVE ONE ON ONE TEACHING ASSISTANTS FOR PRACTICLE CLASSES ASWELL.THE BOOM CREATED HANDYMEN NOT TRADESMEN,

:D:D:D

TT

JohnnieK

Marcanthony wrote: »

AND BY SOME OF THE RECENT STANDARDS I HAVE SEEN. THEY SHOULD HAVE ONE ON ONE TEACHING ASSISTANTS FOR PRACTICLE CLASSES ASWELL.THE BOOM CREATED HANDYMEN NOT TRADESMEN,

I was the oldest in my class in collage and all the young lads were more worried about how much they were getting paid than learning, needless to say i stuck to my own company.:D

Marcanthony

DoneDL wrote: »

. Like most of the people that post here I am a time served, qualified and competent plumber with a sensible amount of qualifications.

Congrats on your qualifications.
However during the boom all you needed was a van to be a plumber. my milk man had a van during the boom (we use to call him Jesse James after the famous cowboy)
:rolleyes: Due to the recession. I think he has a horse now.
SO as long as you kept to your own company like "johnniek" and did not get trained by a milk man. You should have no need to defend yourself .

2 stroke

TopTec wrote: »

Er..... , nothing to do with curtains or shelves - it is all to do with air circulation... ie convection. The coldest wall, usually the one with the window, is the one that forces circulation of warm air throughout the room.

TT

How is air supposed to circulate from a rad around a house, if a heavy pair of full lenght curtains is covering the rad?

Dubstar07

To answer the original questions and concur with some others:

1. Rads that conform to the recommended standard (EN 442). Brands: Runtal, Quinn-merriot, Jaga & Stelrad. Ensure you get good quality radiator valves (myson or pegler) and trv's (myson) if you are using them.

2. First place to go for is under a window. Windows are a bigger source of infiltration of outside cold air which causes down draughts and hence
feelings of cold among room occupants.

After windows it's an external wall. Why? Because you are losing a greater amount of heat on an external wall than an internal wall. The temperature difference across an internal wall may only be one or two degrees (depending on the specific rooms). Temperature difference across an external wall can be 24 or 25 degrees (depending on external temp. and what temp you want your room at).

3. The most accurate way is to do a heat loss calculation based on the particular building elements (walls/floor/window) of the room(s) you are heating and allow for infiltration. Ideally, the chosen radiator will cover the full length of the window, where one exists.

Formula Q=UA(dt) answer in watts where u is the element u-value, a is the element area and dt is the temp difference between outside and inside. (see building regs for more info)

How many rads will be determined on how big the room is and possibly how many windows there are. For a standard 3 bed semi,
1 rad per room should be enough. But depends on insulation levels.

One other point, if you have a room stat mounted on a wall, a good place for this is the hallway. Ensure there is not a trv installed on the rad in this space and that the stat is located away from the rad.

2 stroke

Dubstar07 wrote: »

3. The most accurate way is to do a heat loss calculation based on the particular building elements (walls/floor/window) of the room(s) you are heating and allow for infiltration.

I'd like to see this calculation done, taking into account an interlined blackout curtain covering the rad.

I realy can't see many plumbers agreeing with me, as that would mean agreeing that what they have being doing for years is questionable. But it is time for change, houses are better insulated than ever. My last house rarely had frost on the ground outside the kitchen or sitting room windows and cost a fortune to heat.

Marcanthony

2 stroke wrote: »

I'd like to see this calculation done, taking into account an interlined blackout curtain covering the rad.

I realy can't see many plumbers agreeing with me, as that would mean agreeing that what they have being doing for years is questionable. But it is time for change, houses are better insulated than ever. My last house rarely had frost on the ground outside the kitchen or sitting room windows and cost a fortune to heat.

2 stroke as a time served Plumber and an engineer. I agree with you.As theory is not always the correct method to use. Experience some times is a lot better.

fealeranger

Just bumping up this old thread to see if the opinion on rad's is still the same. I'm on the hunt for rads at the moment and just searching for prices and brands and any advice, cheers.