Towel warmer radiator?

Dielectricunion

I have a 2 pipe hot water radiator in my bathroom and I was thinking about eventually finding a way to replace it with something more sprawling that I could use to hang towels on. This may not be practical or worth the trouble but it would be cool! Do towel warming radiators just run the supply through a series of loops before entering the radiator?

Excuse my ignorance. This is my first time owning a house with radiant and I'm excited to learn more.

mattmia2

I would probably put it in series with that rather than replace it. the cast iron radiator will heat and cool much more slowly than the steel/brass/copper towel radiator so it won't balance with the rest of the system. Is this separate supply and return mains?

HVACNUT

Towel warmers are in addition to the space heating. They're low temperature, where the cast iron radiator is high temperature, so they won't deliver the BTU's needed to heat the room. The ones I see have low temperature radiant floor heat as well.

You likely have a mono flo system. (One loop around the perimeter of the basement, and branch loops to each radiator.) You would need to pipe a seperate low temperature zone off the boiler, and its not worth it for a towel warmer.

EdTheHeaterMan

@Dielectricunion, I may disagree with some of the statements made about towel warmers. I had a towel warmer on a system that used a 180° high limit and added a TRV (Thermostatic Radiator Valve) to keep the bathroom from overheating. The Towel warmer I uses was rather large with many cross pipes welded to two main risers the were connected to 3/4" feed and return. If you could tell me the dimensions of that radiator, I might be able to match up a towel warmer that will do the job in the bathroom even with towels covering the radiator.

EDIT: This very large towel warmer may have enough EDR to heat your bathroom. But the math will tell us if it will work.

Steamhead

That radiator is tall enough to BE the towel warmer. I use mine that way.

Dielectricunion

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1862795#Comment_1862795

This radiator is 9x14x35" and fed by 3/4 pipe. I assume the piping was originally installed as a gravity system but now has a single circulator. There are separate supply and return lines that hit each radiator

EdTheHeaterMan

@Dielectricunion, By my calculation your radiator will have an output of about 3000 BTU/hr with 180° water in it. The Buderus Towel warmer that I pictured in my mock-up photo is the Model Number NB2448 which is 24" wide and 48" tall. It should be hung on the wall at least 3" above the floor but you can go higher to accommodate the necessary piping. That item may be hard to find in USA but it should be available somewhere, and it happens the have a BTU output of 3000 BTU/hr with 180° water in it…. Go figure!

Call around to some suppliers that handle Bosch and/or Buderus equipment to see if they can order one for you.