Radiators - changing them, brand ?

Snow-Munki

Snow-Munki

Snow-Munki

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Hi,

Thinking of getting all of our radiators swapped out as they are probably a good 20/30 years old and don't seen very efficient ( most are single panel ones ).

Firstly what brand should I be looking out for, seem them at places like B&Q, screw fix, tool station, wickes etc. Any preference ?

Next I've watched loads of youtube vids and articles about swapping them out but think i might get someone in to do them, or do at least 1 days worth so i get the hang of it perhaps ?

How much would I be expect to pay on labour, assuming not of the pipes will need moving, as I'm looking at hopefully getting the same sized radiators.

Thanks,
 
It's not a difficult job. The most annoying part is draining the system but once that's done it's relatively straightforward so long as you have the appropriate tools.
 
Ah, just checked closer and all the upstairs ones are the old measurement ones and not metric.

Will be a pain to move all the pipes ! Think those extension things don't look too good ?
 
Stick to a decent rad like Stelrad, can be had for the same price as the cheapo ones in DIY shops with a little online searching.

I've got extension tails in one of my rads, originally bought an adjustable one but it leaked pretty quickly (not surprising). Changed it for an appropriate length 'fixed' one and no bother now.. but it looks odd and a bit crap. Next time I need a plumber I'll add it to his list :)

This in the type that leaked on me

This is the type I changed to
 
Carpet, which I plan to change ( main reason why we want to replace the radiators ) so can make a mess now.

Then floorboards under neath.
 
Snow-Munki said:
Ah, just checked closer and all the upstairs ones are the old measurement ones and not metric.

Will be a pain to move all the pipes ! Think those extension things don't look too good ?
Click to expand...

The extensions don't look bad at all and are barely noticeable unless you have something like 75-100mm at each end then they look a bit odd.
They come in plenty of sizes too which you can combine if needed so it's a simple job - http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Heating/d230/Radiator+Valves/sd2762/Radiator+Valve+Extension/p24460
Or - http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hea...sd2762/Rigid+Radiator+Valve+Extension+/p13659
 
straight swap is easy.

its just a pain when you can't get the right size then you might need pipes changing, I had enough flex in my pipes to get a slightly bigger one on
 
I changed mine recently and used some extension unions from screwfix to make up the 40mm difference. It's an easy job so give it a go.

Saved draining the system to swap valves.
 
hmm, double checked the widths of my current radiators and they are:

1450 / 960 / 480

So it would seem the next size down would be 1400 / 900 / 400

so 5cm / 6 cm / 8 cm might be a bit too much using extensions do you think ??

even if i did half the lengths either side, worried it look not very 'finished'

Oh and plan to replace all the TRV and lockshields too as they are very old and worn. So would be a total drain of the system.
 
If you split all the extensions 50/50 you'll barely notice them and as they are pretty cheap you can just do a dry fit & see what you think :)
 
just doing all the calc now, but thanks.

sorry forgot to mention, big question is some are single panel ( type 11 ). Replacing for a modern type 11 working out BTU seems to be perfectly fine. But swapping to type 21 or even 22 obviously doubles the output.

But is it worth the 'bother' to move the pipes further from the wall.

As I think personally soldering pipes and tearing up the floors boards is probably a bit too much for me :p
 
Personally I'd replace the pipes down into the floor. It's really not a big job and certainly no soldering involved. I'm not a plumber but the ones I replaced recently I just cut the existing pipe off underneath the floorboard and then added a small section of coil pipe between the old pipe and a new piece of copper pipe to give you some movement and flex when you mount the radiator. You could use copper throughout which I've done on a couple but you need to be more accurate and maybe get yourself a pipe bender which aren't that cheap.

Use push fit connections and it's plug and play.

Plastic Pipe: http://www.screwfix.com/p/jg-speedfit-bpex-barrier-coil-pipe-25m-x-15mm/11027
Push fit: http://www.screwfix.com/p/jg-speedfit-pem0415w-straight-couplers-15mm-pack-of-10/89893
Copper pipe: http://www.screwfix.com/p/wednesbury-copper-pipe-15mm-x-3m/98683
Copper pipe cutter: http://www.screwfix.com/p/rothenberger-automatic-tube-cutter-15mm/36198
Plastic pipe cutter: http://www.screwfix.com/p/plastic-pipe-cutter-26mm/59590

Seeing as you're doing all the rads the cost of all these bits will be minimal and worth it, imo, to have perfectly fitting rads, no extensions and brand new copper pipe which will be on show.
 
Russinating said:
Personally I'd replace the pipes down into the floor. It's really not a big job and certainly no soldering involved. I'm not a plumber but the ones I replaced recently I just cut the existing pipe off underneath the floorboard and then added a small section of coil pipe between the old pipe and a new piece of copper pipe to give you some movement and flex when you mount the radiator. You could use copper throughout which I've done on a couple but you need to be more accurate and maybe get yourself a pipe bender which aren't that cheap.

Use push fit connections and it's plug and play.

Plastic Pipe: http://www.screwfix.com/p/jg-speedfit-bpex-barrier-coil-pipe-25m-x-15mm/11027
Push fit: http://www.screwfix.com/p/jg-speedfit-pem0415w-straight-couplers-15mm-pack-of-10/89893
Copper pipe: http://www.screwfix.com/p/wednesbury-copper-pipe-15mm-x-3m/98683
Copper pipe cutter: http://www.screwfix.com/p/rothenberger-automatic-tube-cutter-15mm/36198
Plastic pipe cutter: http://www.screwfix.com/p/plastic-pipe-cutter-26mm/59590

Seeing as you're doing all the rads the cost of all these bits will be minimal and worth it, imo, to have perfectly fitting rads, no extensions and brand new copper pipe which will be on show.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for all the info. I'll have to read up on that in that case and do a bit more research.

Would be ideal, just worried more chance to mess up :p
 
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