How to replace a heated towel rail in the bathroom with your own hands: how to change and how much does it cost to replace

In many apartments, a heated towel rail serves not only to dry things, but is also responsible for maintaining the desired microclimate in the room. Over time, it becomes unusable or simply does not suit the owners with its appearance. And in old apartments it happens that it is simply unsuccessfully located. Then the question arises: how should the heated towel rail be replaced correctly and is it possible to do it yourself?

The complexity of the work will depend on many factors. In the simplest case, the services of a locksmith will cost one and a half to two thousand rubles, and the work will not take more than two hours. But if you need to make changes to the hot water supply system, then the cost of installing a heated towel rail will increase quite noticeably. Even if you doubt your abilities and decide to hire professionals, it would be useful to know how to replace a heated towel rail in the bathroom. This will help to control the quality of the work being done and avoid problems in the future, the primary source of which is illiterate installation.

Choosing a new heated towel rail

How to change heated towel rail in the bathroom do-it-yourself most quickly and easily? The replacement process will cause the least complications if the new model is not very different from the old one. What should you pay attention to here?

The most important parameter can be considered the distance between the eyeliners. If it matches, then there is no need to modify the water supply system to the device, and this is the most difficult and costly part of the work when replacing a heated towel rail. All manufactured varieties fit into a standard range of sizes between supply pipes: 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800 mm. Having carefully measured the distance between the connections of the old heated towel rail, you can go to the store to buy a new one.

Another important point. There are two types of heated towel rails: the heating element can be in the form of a ladder or a coil. It is problematic to change one view to another: hot water is supplied to the coil from the side, and in the model by a ladder - from above or below.

The dimensions of the heated towel rail and the attachment points are not critical. Even a mismatch in the diameter of the supply pipes is easily eliminated with the help of adapters.

Removing an old towel warmer

The heated towel rail can be connected to heating or hot water pipes. The second option is preferable - then the bathroom will be warm and dry all year round.

In any case, you will have to contact the Housing Office or a local service company. Only their locksmith can turn off the hot water in the riser. No one, of course, will allow you to turn off the heating in winter. In this case, the replacement of the heated towel rail in the bathroom is carried out in the summer. But you still need to check whether the water is drained from the heating system. We open the tap on any radiator, substituting a convenient container under it. After checking, you can start dismantling.

Well, if the old design was attached to the pipes with threaded connections. Then they can simply be unscrewed after draining the water from the system. But what if it is no longer possible to unscrew the thread or the old heated towel rail was simply welded on? You will have to cut the pipes with a grinder. It is important not to forget that these pipes will then have to be threaded. To do this, leave a piece of sufficient length.

It is better if the cuts on both pipes of the heated towel rail are located strictly vertically. To do this, we first outline the cut line using a level. The cut itself must be perpendicular to the pipe.Having cut off, we make small chamfers at the ends at an angle of 45˚, they will be needed for free entry of the lehrka when threading.

It is necessary to dismantle at least two people: one works as a grinder, and the other supports a heated towel rail. Otherwise, it may fall or pinch the disc in the grinder, which can lead to very sad consequences.

After disconnecting from the pipes, the fasteners are dismantled and the old heated towel rail is removed.

Threading and fixing pipes

To connect to the riser, the remaining parts of the pipe must be threaded. It is most convenient to use a lerka mounted on a ratchet with a long handle. Any lubricant must first be applied to the pipe. It is important to ensure that the lerka goes smoothly.

The thread is cut as follows: half a turn of the lerka forward - a quarter of a turn back. There is no need to rush into this operation.

What pipes are best to use?

• To supply water to the heated towel rail, it is more convenient to use reinforced plastic pipes. It is not necessary to buy a soldering iron for welding them, you can take it from friends or rent
• You can use steel pipes, but their connection will require quite complex welding work. They weigh a lot and are prone to corrosion.
• Copper pipes do not rust, but they will have to be connected by soldering, and they cost a lot.

Fittings are screwed onto the obtained threads on the pipes. Linen tow and Unipak paste are used for compaction. There are recommendations to use waterproof sealants, but then the connection will turn out to be non-separable.

Installation of polypropylene pipes is simple. To connect them, various fittings, corners and couplings are used. Instructions are attached to the welding soldering iron, where the entire process of soldering pipes is described in detail. There are several important points:

1. When soldering plastic pipes, it is strictly forbidden to turn them.
2. It is not recommended to use tow for sealing polypropylene pipes.
3. The piping must be mounted in such a way as to provide the heated towel rail with a distance of at least 35 mm from the wall. With a coil diameter greater than 23 mm, the offset increases to 50 mm.
4. Tightening of plastic fittings should be done with special strap wrenches, the use of gas fittings can lead to damage to the connecting element.
5. A Mayevsky crane must be installed in the system to bleed air.
6. Shut-off valves on pipes must be reliable.
7. During installation, it is better to use "American" fittings (fittings that allow you to connect the elements of the system by tightening the union nut), so that later you can easily disassemble the entire system if necessary.

Installing a bypass on a heated towel rail

This is a kind of jumper that will allow you not to shut off the water in the entire riser, if, for example, you notice that a heated towel rail is leaking. Shutting off the water supply to the coil without a bypass can take quite a long time. It is not necessary to specify at whose expense the flooded apartments will be repaired in this case.

Installing a bypass allows you to quickly shut off the water supply to a damaged heated towel rail without disturbing its general circulation in the house. It is a bypass pipe, which is installed at the junction of the coil and the riser, but before the ball valves that regulate the water supply.

It is not recommended to install a valve on this pipe. It can impair the circulation of water throughout the riser, so a representative of the housing office may require it to be removed.

Fitting a new towel warmer

Installation of a heated towel rail is carried out as follows:

• The mates of the American are screwed into the purchased heated towel rail. All joints are sealed.
• The coil is applied to the wall, attachment points are outlined.
• Holes are drilled in the wall for mounting brackets, which are usually mounted on dowels.
• The heated towel rail is connected to the riser, after which the fasteners are fixed to the wall. It is recommended to level the coil beforehand. The connections must be tightened carefully so as not to damage the threads. But their insufficient sealing can lead to the fact that the system will leak.

• To check the tightness, we fill the coil with water. Valves must be opened smoothly to avoid water hammer.
• If leaks are detected in the pipes, we close the shut-off valves and eliminate the imperfections.

Thus, knowing how to replace a heated towel rail, you can do the work yourself or control the work of professionals.

Towel dryer replacement cost

How much does it cost to replace a heated towel rail? If you do not risk doing the work yourself, then you can turn to specialists for help. The price of replacing a heated towel rail fluctuates around 1,500 rubles, but it is better to use our form for calculating the cost of work and find out the price in your city.