Can the installation of an electric towel warmer be considered a prevention of the appearance of fungus?

Fixing the towel warmer to the wall

We fix the heated towel rail on three or four screws using plastic dowels and screws.

Usually they are already bundled with the device itself, but they may have to be purchased separately. Considering the increased humidity of the room, we take galvanized or stainless steel fasteners.

To ensure the required accuracy, proceed as follows:

• We attach the heated towel rail to the wall at the location and mark the hole for only one fastening;
• We drill a hole, insert a dowel into it and slightly “grabbing” the heated towel rail with a screw, we outline the next fastener, in the place farthest from the first;
• If the suspension system does not allow drilling without removing the device, remove the heated towel rail, drill a hole for the second fastening;
• Having again grabbed the device with screws, we outline the remaining attachment points, perform their drilling, similarly to the second hole. We install the device, fixing it at all points.

Mounts usually come with the device itself.

We do the work carefully. The device is made of rather thin polished metal and can be scratched or even dented. If possible, remove the packaging from the heated towel rail tubes after installation.

I recommend: Requirements for the installation of gas equipment

Water coil: advantages and disadvantages

Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages, which do not hurt to disassemble before choosing.

The main advantage of water is savings. It is heated from hot water supply, does not require additional payment. Another budget-related plus is its starting cost – it costs less than an electric one.

This is where the advantages end and the disadvantages begin. The disadvantage is the dependence on the temperature of the water in the pipe. It is hotter in winter and cooler in summer. It happens that the water in the hot tap is cool at first, and only when it drains a little, it becomes hot. In this case, the water in the heated towel rail is constantly cool and it does not perform its functions. Even if the installation is correct, during those periods when hot water is turned off, due to the lack of sufficient heating, fungus and mold may have time to form.

If installed incorrectly, the coil can always be cold, except when someone uses hot water.There are frequent cases when the heated towel rail stops working - this is usually due to the formation of an air lock or clogging. The need for cleaning is another drawback of water heated towel rails. If this is not done in a timely manner, there is a threat of leaks and breakthroughs.

Dependence on the installation site can also be called a disadvantage of water heated towel rails. They can be mounted only near the hot water pipe and only during repairs.

All shortcomings have alternative solutions. For example, there are water heated towel rails in which you can set the degree of water heating inside the device itself.

The pipe can be brought out in a convenient place and the coil can be equipped taking into account the intended design. However, both alternatives increase the cost of the solution.

The risk of pipe rupture is related to several factors. First, the quality of hot water plays a role. If it contains a lot of heavy substances, cleaning will be needed more often. But you can equip the water supply system with filters and purify the water. Secondly, the metal tends to expand and contract depending on the temperature of the water. If the water temperature changes too frequently, the coil pipe will fail more quickly. This is one of the reasons to think about choosing the type of heated towel rail. And thirdly, the more joints and elements a coil has, the faster it will start to fail. For water, a simpler option would be the best choice.

Water heated towel rail: options

Almost every bathroom in a typical apartment building comes with a hot water heated towel rail. This zigzag section of tubular pipeline is connected to a hot water supply system.

The main purpose of the appliance is to dry towels, although it is also very convenient for drying clothes and warming up a small bathroom space.

The bathroom is a room with high humidity, in which towels dry for a long time. On a hot device, this process proceeds several times faster.

Under the condition of centralized water supply, when part of the hot pipe is involved in its arrangement, it is possible to operate the heated towel rail at least all year round. There are no problems with the safety of the device.

Although no one excludes the risk of depressurization at the assembly joints, its probability is rather small. And the consequences of this unpleasant situation can only entail additional financial costs for repairs.

In the cold season, the device, acting as a kind of compensating loop through which hot water is distributed to several apartments, provides a noticeable heating of the room. The warmth it maintains in the bathroom, where a separate heating radiator is often not provided, is never superfluous.

The heat radiated by the water heated towel rail prevents the mirror from fogging and prevents the formation of mold, which often settles on damp surfaces.

But such a dependence is fraught with the fact that in the event of a shutdown of hot water, the coil cools down, ceasing to perform the function assigned to it. In between heating seasons, it serves only as a towel rack and decorative room decoration.

When hot water is supplied, the structure will begin to warm up, but rather slowly.And even with the arrangement of an autonomous water supply, every time you turn on the system, you have to wait until the pipe itself warms up first, followed by the bathroom.

More convenient in this regard are electric models that can be placed on any of the walls of the bathroom, with the exception of the space around water sources. But finding free space for an additional coil is not always possible.

And not many people are ready to allocate additional expenses for paying for the electricity necessary for the operation of the device.

When arranging an autonomous water supply, it is much more profitable to install double-circuit water heated towel rails in the bathroom, equipped with a heat exchanger

In double-circuit devices, in addition to constantly flowing hot water, there is a heated antifreeze, designed to evenly distribute heat over the radiator. The heat exchanger can be built into the overall design, or taken out separately.

Dual circuits are convenient because they allow you to adjust the temperature. An additional coating of the inner walls protects the functional structure from sudden pressure drops and aggressive environments.

There are also combined models on sale that combine the best aspects of water and electric heating devices.

Due to the successful combination of the qualitative characteristics of water and electric models, combined heated towel rails are able to operate smoothly even in the absence of hot water in the system. The only drawback of the combined models is their high price.

Varieties

There are two main types of heated towel rails:

water

electric

There are also combined ones, but they are used very rarely and for the most part, due to their cost, they are not particularly in demand in our market.

The tasks for both models are the same:

direct purpose is drying towels or other linen

secondary - a radiator for heating a small room to create a comfortable temperature and coziness

If you don’t have a heated floor in the bathroom, then it’s not very pleasant in winter to bring a fan heater in there every time before taking a bath in order to raise the temperature to an acceptable level and not get covered with goose bumps.

they also help prevent fogging of the mirror and the accumulation of condensate

A good towel warmer should cope with all three of the above tasks.

Metal protection methods

Electrochemical corrosion is one of the main obstacles encountered in the way of human activity. Protection from the impact of destructive processes and their flow on the surface of structures and structures is one of the permanent and urgent tasks of any industrial production, and any household activity of a person.

Several methods of such protection have been developed, and all of them are actively used in the daily life cycle:

• Electrochemical protection - electrolytic according to the principle of operation, the use of chemical laws, protects the metal using the anode, cathode and tread principle.
• Electrospark processing using various installations - non-contact, contact, anode-mechanical.
• Electric arc spraying is the main advantage in the thickness of the applied layer and the relative cheapness of the process.
• Effective anti-corrosion treatment is the removal of contaminants and cleaning of the treated surface, followed by the application of an anti-corrosion and then an additional protective layer to the surface.

All these methods have been developed in the process of human activity in order to protect tools, vehicles and transportation at the junction of several industrial sectors, and using scientific achievements.

Electrochemical corrosion, which is a natural process of destruction of the metal surface under the influence of neutral or aggressive environmental factors, is a complex problem. Machine-building, transport, and industrial enterprises, vehicles suffer losses from it. And this is a problem that requires daily resolution.

Choosing an electric towel warmer

Modern electric heated towel rails are very energy efficient devices and consume 40-60W of power.

This is even less than the usual incandescent light bulb. Not to mention the “heaters” of 200W or halogens, on which, if desired, you can assemble a full-fledged infrared stove.

True, such low power is inherent in the minimum mode, which only copes well with drying towels.

At the bottom of individual instances, a regulator is built in, with which you can stepwise increase the load several times.

For example, in medium mode at 60-80W, it will no longer be possible to hold your hand on the tubes for a long time.

Meanwhile, huge, almost the entire wall units can reach up to 2 kW.

By the way, in order to fully heat the bathroom with these dryers, when buying, remember that the optimal thermal regime of the room is ensured only if there are about 100 W of thermal energy per 1 m2.

Therefore, for a standard bathroom, an economical model up to 100W will only do well with socks and underwear. Don't expect miracles from her.

For a noticeable warm-up, choose models up to 600W, with the ability to adjust and reduce the load.

At the same time, of course, no one forces you to drive the dryer 24 hours a day. If in winter it is quite and rational, then in summer it can be turned on only after taking a shower or bath in order to dry the room, linen and other things.

About the design of heated towel rails

The use of electricity is always more convenient than the use of other types of energy carriers. An electric heated towel rail is installed in any place where there is a need for drying clothes and additional heating of the room. It is convenient in that it is turned on only at the right time; the fact that the temperature is maintained automatically; the fact that there is no need to be included in the hot water supply system. The power of the heated towel rail is such that it carries out not only drying, but also heating bathrobes, socks and everything else that is nice to wear warm. If in addition you need to heat the room, then you need to choose a heated towel rail, which has a higher power.

Towel dryer.

An electric heated towel rail also complements the interior. There are many modifications of electric heated towel rails that differ in appearance.If earlier the heated towel rail looked clumsy and bulky, then after the introduction of new technologies and the application of design, it is arranged elegantly and attractively. In addition to the fact that such devices are pleasant to use purely aesthetically, they are equipped with additional elements. This is a thermostat, thermostat, timer. What bells and whistles your device will be equipped with will depend on how much it will cost. According to the design principle, an electric heated towel rail can be of two types:

• combined;
• dry.

The scheme of the combined heated towel rail.

Combined is a water heated towel rail, the water of which is heated using a heating element. Instead of water, another heat carrier can be used: oil, antifreeze. Such devices are less economical. If the carrier leaks, the heating element fails. The dry type electric towel warmer is usually made of steel. A heating cable is laid along the entire length inside. Outside, it is enameled or chrome plated. The temperature of the outer surface does not exceed 55°C to prevent burns if accidentally touched. Such heated towel rails are considered economical, since their energy consumption is comparable to the power of a conventional electric lamp. You can keep them on all the time. Maintaining the temperature will provide a thermostat. They are reliable, safe and have a service life of up to 10 years. The selected device can be installed in any convenient place in the bathroom or other room.

A heated towel rail equipped with accessories such as a thermostat, thermostat and timer allows you to feel more comfortable.There are heated towel rails equipped with devices for control using a computer program. The mode of operation of such devices is configured depending on the desire of the consumer. To order, you can get devices with any coating.

Typical schemes for switching on heated towel rails

In the houses of the old housing stock, a section of the riser, curved in the form of the letter "C" or "M", was used to heat the bathrooms and bathrooms. The simplicity of such a PS, however, has a number of advantages. Being connected in series to the DHW circuit, the device ensures a constant temperature, excludes interference in the operation of the system by other residents and practically does not affect the hydraulic resistance of the line.

A heated towel rail in the form of a riser section, although it has an unsightly appearance, is at the same time the most unpretentious heating device.

With the advent of more aesthetic stainless steel heated towel rails, it became necessary to replace old appliances with the least interference with the operation of the heating system. An ideal situation can be considered when the inner diameter of the riser is equal to the cross section of the contour of the new substation. Of course, if the heating device is cut in using couplings and drives of the appropriate diameter.

A complete replacement of the simplest heated towel rail with a modern stainless steel device is possible only if fittings with a full flow area are used - there can be no question of any installation of ball valves

If taps and fittings are used to connect the heated towel rail, or if the new heater consists of pipes of a smaller diameter than the riser, then a bypass must be used.Being, in fact, a workaround for the coolant, this simplest device makes it possible:

• maintain circulation of the coolant through the riser even if the substation is connected by pipes of the minimum diameter;
• regulate the temperature of the substation or carry out its dismantling without affecting the general house heating system or hot water supply (installation of shut-off valves or a thermostatic device is required);

• passing through itself the main flow of the coolant, the bypass ensures the constancy of the coolant temperature for all apartments in the house.

Over time, developers abandoned the installation of the simplest substations, leaving the tenants the right to choose and install a heating device. To do this, they began to draw conclusions under the heated towel rail on the riser, while at the same time providing a normal flow of coolant through a direct or offset bypass. I must say that there is absolutely no reason to worry about the performance of such schemes - water is guaranteed to circulate through the heater thanks to the principle of "gravity pump". It is based on the fact that the cooling coolant goes down and is replaced by masses of hotter water coming from above.

The thermogram of a heated towel rail operating on natural circulation indicates the high thermal efficiency of the "gravity pump"

For the same reason, the installation of a substation is considered the most effective, in which the coolant is supplied to the upper part of the heating device and taken from below. This condition can be ensured both with lateral and diagonal connections.

The opinion that the latter method has an advantage in terms of flow rate and thermal efficiency is greatly exaggerated.However, one of the best schemes is considered to be the one in which the coolant is supplied to the near upper corner, and the return line is connected to the remote lower one.

A lateral straight or diagonal connection will not cause any surprises if the connection is made taking into account the necessary slopes

In this case, the operability of the PS does not depend on the speed and direction of the coolant supply, and the risk of airing the device tends to zero. The only condition is that in this case, slopes of at least 3 mm per 1 linear meter must be observed. m highway.

With a lateral connection, it does not matter at all whether the PS is between the supply and return points or protrudes beyond them. The only thing to consider is a significant increase in the risk of airing the device if its upper part is above the branch along which the heated towel rail is connected to the riser

Mounting a heated towel rail above the tie-in point into the main increases the risk of air locks - in this case, you will need to install an air vent (Maevsky tap)

The lower connection of the heating device is considered less efficient and may cause its unstable operation.

The operation of heated towel rails with a bottom connection is very dependent on the pressure and direction of the coolant supply, therefore several connection schemes are used - with a direct, offset or narrowed bypass

This type of installation is recommended for use only with top supply, as well as in systems with forced circulation of the coolant.

Design as an important selection criterion

The form of the device is of fundamental importance. It depends on it how compactly it will be located, how many things can be placed on it.The forms of various types of ladders, snakes, "ironing boards" are popular. Snake heated towel rails are designed for a small number of things.

If you plan to dry several towels, it is better to choose a device in the form of a ladder with a large number of "steps".

Wall-mounted corner and swivel electric heated towel rails are very practical. They can be positioned in the most space-saving way and adjusted if necessary by turning the appliance so that it can be used comfortably. For a large family, a model in the form of a clothes dryer with sliding elements is suitable.

After power, the design of a heated towel rail is the most important selection criterion. If you wish, you can find a truly comfortable model. The main thing is to clearly define the priorities, the location of the device. It should be borne in mind that the heated towel rail is installed 30-50 cm from any interior items and away from combustible materials.

A separate socket is required for connection.

When buying a heated towel rail, pay attention to Russian-made models. Among them there are very attractive design devices.

The price is an order of magnitude lower than for imported counterparts

About Sunerzha products

This manufacturer sells towel warmers of the middle price range. The range includes a huge number of devices of various performance, design, heat transfer, etc. All this allows you to make the choice more comfortable and correct. Distinctive features of this company are not only the unique design of products, but also its high quality.Among the range you can find both classic and other solutions. This goes to show that if your bathroom is creatively designed, then you can still find something suitable. It is safe to say that the guarantor of the quality of domestic production is Sunerzha. An electric heated towel rail from this company will last a very long time. You can find not only liquid products, but also cable ones.

Electric coil: advantages and disadvantages

The main advantage of an electric heated towel rail is the freedom to choose a solution, location and moment of use. With an electric one, there will never be a situation where it is not possible to dry this or that thing due to the fact that the hot water has been turned off.

The main requirement for installation is only access to an electrical outlet. The main condition for use is the presence of electricity in the room.

Among the disadvantages are the need to pay for electricity, the higher cost of the device. In fact, by purchasing an electric coil, we are purchasing a heating appliance. It can be adjusted, turned on only if necessary, but, firstly, we are dealing with an electrical appliance, the use of which carries all the same risks as the use of any appliance powered by a socket (short circuit, etc.), and secondly, it also periodically breaks down and needs repair, thirdly, if you use it too sparingly and at the same time this is the only source of heating in the bathroom, there may be a risk of dampening of the room and the appearance of mold in it

It is very important to organize good ventilation in the bathroom.

By choosing an electric coil, you can afford more complex and voluminous models, since in this case there is no risk of clogging the flowing water with salts.

Electric heated towel rails are presented in a wide variety and can even serve as design elements.

An electric coil can be used as a clothes dryer, which is very convenient, because in the summer there is no source at home where, for example, you can quickly dry clothes that have been wet in the rain.

For more information on choosing a heated towel rail, see the video:

Causes of breakdowns and troubleshooting methods for electric heated towel rails

Electric heated towel rails (often called design radiators) have a sufficient margin of safety, but, like any other technique, they can fail due to resource depletion, internal defects, overheating or power surges in the network.

Depending on the design, two types of electric design radiators are distinguished - solid-filled and liquid. Heat transfer in the former is provided by graphite and other compounds, while the latter function by heating specially prepared water, antifreeze or a mixture of mineral oils. In solid-filled design radiators, both a traditional spiral or tubular electric heater, and a heating film or cable can be used. Liquid "towels" are built using traditional "dry" or conventional heating elements.

The device and wiring diagram of the electric heated towel rail

In order to find the cause of the breakdown of the electric heated towel rail, you will need a multimeter, a set of screwdrivers and an adjustable wrench.The search begins with checking the integrity of the electrical circuit, gradually moving towards the power elements:

• check the presence of mains voltage in the outlet;
• "Ring" the power cord with a multimeter - its resistance should not exceed 1-2 ohms;
• when the substation is connected to the network, the voltage at the terminals of its heater is measured. If the multimeter shows the presence of 220 V, then this is an indirect evidence of the failure of the heating element;
• in the absence of supply voltage at the heater terminals, the serviceability of the contact group or the thermostat relay is checked - the cause of the malfunction can be both burning of the contacts and poor electrical connection;
• if not a mechanical, but an electronic thermostat is used to control the temperature of the heated towel rail, then it is more difficult to find the reason for the lack of voltage on the heating element. First of all, you should check the output relay or power semiconductors - powerful transistors, thyristors or triacs of the output stage. If they are in good condition, other components of the circuit are subjected to verification. If you have no experience in repairing electronic devices, then it is better to entrust this work to a specialist.

All you need to diagnose and repair an electric heated towel rail is a multimeter, an adjustable wrench and a set of screwdrivers

Replacing the heating element in a heated towel rail is easy. If the type of device is unknown, then before disassembling it, turn the coil over so that the working fluid does not leak out. Then, with an adjustable wrench, unscrew the nut on its flange, dismantle and replace the heater. Don't forget to check if there is any leakage current on the design heatsink body.To do this, one multimeter probe is connected to the metal surface of the heated towel rail, and the other is touched in turn with the leads of the heating element - the device must show infinitely high resistance.

Burnout of the heating element is the main cause of breakdown of electric heated towel rails.

Before assembling the heater, replenish the level of the working fluid (if there were leaks or part of the oil leaked out during operation), leaving room for thermal expansion. After that, the integrity of the sealing gaskets is checked and, if necessary, replaced with new ones. Next, with a force sufficient to ensure tightness, tighten the flange nut and check the performance of the heater in various modes.