Connecting a heated towel rail in the bathroom is necessary to ensure quick drying of small laundry, as well as to maintain the required level of heat in the bathroom. Instead of simple curved pipes, elegant structures with a spectacular design are now being installed. They can be seen in numerous photos and videos on the Internet. Previously, horizontal structures in the form of coils prevailed, and now vertical ones have come into fashion - a ladder with jumpers.
Towel dryer connection options
Towel dryers must operate constantly in order to create an optimal microclimate in the bathroom. For their installation, you can invite specialists or install a heated towel rail with your own hands. How to connect a heated towel rail?
- To the hot water system.
- To the heating system.
- To the electric heater.
- Combined connection.
The first method is the most common, since hot water is supplied year-round. Heating systems work only during the cold period, and this is not very convenient. In addition, repairing and replacing a heated towel rail in winter requires turning off the riser, which can lead to freezing. The output can be the installation of a bypass. Connecting the device to the heating system requires the use of seamless pipes that can withstand water hammer.
Electrically heated models provide a system independent of the hot water supply. The disadvantage is the cost of electricity consumption. When deciding how to install a heated towel rail in the bathroom, some owners choose a combined option, when you can selectively use water or electric heating. The method is especially convenient for frequent shutdowns of the water supply. Such a modification is more expensive than analogues, but over time it pays off due to increased comfort. At the same time, cyclic operation does not lead to a significant consumption of electricity.
Features of installing a heated towel rail
Before starting the installation, there are some important points to consider:
- In a multi-storey building, the installation of a device connected to a centralized hot water supply system (DHW) has its own characteristics. Incorrect connection of the heated towel rail to the riser can create problems in the whole entrance.
- When choosing a spectacular imported heated towel rail, you should find out whether it is possible to connect to an apartment hot water system. Usually, domestically produced models are recommended, made in accordance with GOST and corresponding to SNiP.
In pursuit of fashion, apartment owners use devices with parts made of dissimilar metals, which leads to electrochemical corrosion. Now widely used plastic pipesconnected to devices made of any metal.
- To connect the heated towel rail to the apartment heating system, it is recommended to choose a combined type of product.
- It is not recommended to install a heated towel rail in the bathroom with a bottom connection: its power is reduced by 10%. It is recommended to connect the ladder-type appliances diagonally, with a lateral or vertical connection to the water supply. The center distance is 500 mm.
- The heated towel rail is selected exactly according to the dimensions and geometry of the pipe layout.
- For pipes of different diameters, adapters are used at the connection points. It is not allowed to use pipes with a diameter smaller than that in the system on the device. Pressure rises in constriction areas, which can lead to an accident.
- Installation of a heated towel rail to a hot water riser is carried out using bends, detachable pipe connections and taps. It should be borne in mind that they do not regulate the water supply and must be opened or closed completely.If a change in fluid flow is required, one tap for the towel warmer can be replaced with an adjustable valve containing a valve with a seat.
At the junction of the pipes, a bypass is equipped - a jumper that allows you to turn off any device without blocking the water supply through the riser. It is not necessary to install a bypass, but for repair work it can be very useful when there are problems with shutting off the water in the pipe.
Installing a water heated towel rail with your own hands
To install a new device, first of all, you need a connection diagram for a heated towel rail, indicating the dimensions of each section and the location of the fittings, then the assembly will be more accurate.
Installing a heated towel rail in the bathroom with your own hands now requires a soldering iron for plastic pipe welding. The set should include nozzles of standard sizes. If you follow all the instructions correctly, the welding process is easy to master on your own. On this topic, it is useful to watch a training video so as not to miss important points of the technology.
You can extend the pipes to any place where the device will be installed. Do not just hang a heated towel rail over the bathroom. There are several reasons for this:
- Dryers are never placed where there is excess moisture.
- Water entering hot pipes will cause increased humidity and calcium salts to settle on them.
- It is inconvenient to take a shower and reach for things on the pipes through the bath.
Pipe preparation
The progress of work will be as follows:
- A pipe cutter cuts sections of plastic pipes of the required dimensions. At the ends, a chamfer is removed with a slope of 150 and a length of 2-3 mm. Burrs and crumbs are removed from the cut edges to obtain quality joints.
- It is necessary to shut off the valve for supplying hot water to the riser and cut off the old heated towel rail from the pipes.
Important! The issue of installing the device should be agreed in advance with the Housing Office.
- The riser may be worn out, then it is advisable to partially replace it too or install a new one entirely. It is advisable not to leave old pipes in the ceilings, and the connection points for new ones should be available for repair. The work of replacing the riser and installing branches from it should be entrusted to specialists.
- The next step is to install ball valves and a bypass - a pipeline section with connecting parts.
Mounting the towel warmer on the wall
How to hang a heated towel rail in the bathroom? For this, brackets are used. First, they are screwed to the device, then they are leveled with a level and marks are made on the wall.
In the bathroom, you have to drill holes in the tiles, for which a special drill is used. Fix the device to the wall with plastic dowels.
It is important to decide at what height to hang the heated towel rail, and choose the right gap. The distance from the wall to the axis of the heated towel rail pipe according to the norm is:
- from 5 to 5.5 cm with a diameter of up to 2″;
- 3.5 cm with a diameter of up to 1″.
The mount can be fixed or with an adjustable gap due to a pin screwed into the bracket. This way you can create the necessary air circulation, which ensures quick drying of the laundry. Too frequent adjustment is not recommended, since the pipes are constantly under pressure. They work reliably when permanently fixed.
The device must not be fixed rigidly, so that during temperature deformations of the pipes, the bearing sections of the wall are not loaded.
How to install a heated towel rail for ease of use? The standard stipulates that the installation height of the heated towel rail according to the rules is 120 cm. If the size cannot be maintained, the permissible lower limit is 95 cm, and the upper limit is 170 cm.
Before you properly connect the heated towel rail, you should choose suitable fittings. The thread is sealed by winding from flax, and the tightening is done carefully so as not to damage the threaded connections.
Pipe connection
Polypropylene pipes are welded to the couplings with a soldering iron. Pipes of the required length are cut. The ends are chamfered and the edges are cleaned. The pipe is inserted into the sleeve, and the sleeve is placed on the pin, after which they are heated. The heating time is determined according to the table.
Additional control: the element is considered hot if it can be easily turned and removed from the nozzle.
After removal from the soldering iron, the heated parts are immediately connected. They are positioned exactly relative to each other with a slight pressure. After 3–5 seconds, the pipe connection seizes.
Mount the device in such a way that water passes through it from top to bottom. To do this, the water heated towel rail is first connected by the upper inlet socket to the riser. Having connected and fixed the device, the system is checked for leaks, for which the taps are opened and the hot water supply is turned on. Installed devices must be free of leaks.
Conclusion
Installing a heated towel rail in the bathroom is a complex list of operations that affect the reliability of the device in the future. High-quality installation is usually performed by specialists, but if you have the skills to work with plumbing, you can install a heated towel rail with your own hands.
