I am having a new kitchen which will mean that the radiator in the kitchen will have to be moved. As there isn't a good place to relocate it too I would like to install a plinth heater fed from the central heating system. The easiest connection for this would be to pipe back about 1.5 metres then into a stud wall where I could connect it onto another radiator the other side of the wall, feed to feed and return to return. My questions are is this feasible? or do I have to install pipe upstairs back to the main feed and return pipes. Also is it OK just to blank off the pipes in the wall af the radiator beinf removed? The pipes at the radiators are 8mm.
Do bear in mind that the fans in these can be quite noisy if the room is otherwise quiet.
It *may* be feasible to do this.
There's no problem with blanking off the old feed and return pipes.
It *may* be OK to connect to the back of the other radiator. The catch is in the total flow available through the pipes from the main feed and return. When 8mm pipe is used it is typical to connect all radiators manifolds, but not always.
The issue is that 8mm pipe is only capable of delivering the flow required to transfer about 1500W of heat at typical pipe lengths in a house. If the system was designed properly, then the radiator(s) should have capacities below this - or more to the point, the radiators should be sized to compensate the heat loss from the room in the coldest weather (standard is -3 outside) and the pipes sized adequately to cover that.
The rub here comes in that there's a fair chance that if the radiator already there is in a living room or dining room then it may already be at or close to 1500W. Adding another heat emitter to the same pipework would then result in both devices giving out heat at a level that is too little.
You can check this by measuring the radiator in the other room and then trying to identify the manufacturer and model - or something pretty close. Watch out for whether it has one or two panels and fins on either, neither or both. This affects the output a lot. The manufacturer's data sheets have tables of outputs for each radiator size. On a standard UK boiler, the water temperature is lower (82 degrees) than that used when testing radiators; so take the figure from the table and multiply by 0.89 to get the actual typical heat output. Make a note of that.
Now do the same for the existing kitchen radiator. Assuming that the room is currently heated adequately, this will indicate the heat that you will require from the fan heater. Generally these plinth heaters are 1500 to 2000W but if the real requirement is less, they can be run at lower fan speed or the water flow can be reduced.
If the sum of the heat requirement of the 2 radiators is less than
1500W, then you could go ahead and connect the fan heater as described. If it's much over (e.g. more than 1800 to 2000W total) then you will need to run separate pipes.
Is there a convenient way that you could extend and hide the existing pipes? 8mm copper is very easy to work with.......
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.