Bought some thermostatic radiator valves and was looking at fitting them on the upstairs radiators. Problem is I've only just noticed that the valves are 15mm and the radiators have 10mm feeds
I'm sure it's possible to get 10mm to 15mm converters (either pastic or metal) but what I'm worried about is whether there'll be enough space to fit them. From the floor to the current valve there's about 12cm. Is this enough?
Thanks
Personally I think 10mm looks bad for the final radiator connection. If I could get access to the underfloor area (normally this is easy as the original installer had to lift the necessary boards), I would put the convertor underneath the floor then do the final run to the rad in genuine chromed 15mm pipe. Looks much neater.
Yes, but they won't like nice.
Christian.
I meant, they won't *look* nice. ;-)
Christian.
I misread that as they won't like mice and couldn't quite figure it out :-)
I think you're right about getting underneath the floor and doing it there but unfortunately three of the bedroom floors have floating real wooden floors and I wouldn't want to lift that unless I absolutely have to :-(
Fair enough. You could approximate it by sticking a 10mm to 15mm end feed fitting coupler at the top of the 10mm after threading a piece of 15mm pipe over the 10mm. A chromed radsnap should then cover both the 15mm and the join. Most of the coupler will be inside the rad valve.
You might even get away with threading chromed pipe and not using the rad snaps. The chrome will be more convincing, but you'll have a couple of mm of join to cover at the top, possibly with a 1cm slice of rad snap held on with a spot of silicone.
Christian.
Yes, but don't get the ones that are a 10mm socket one end and a 15mm on the other. You can get an insert for the 15mm socket on the valve that converts it to 10mm.
I think this is one, but it looks a little different from the ones I've used, could just be the angle of the photo:
A 15mm pipe looks neater than a 10mm one. Interesting.
No..Thats not what he wants .Screwfix dont do fittings reducers for 15 to 10mm ...It is item number 9214 that
Stuart
Well straighter at least ..lol.....
It's about perception of what is normal and relative sizes. The 10mm feed looks totally out of scale on most radiators even if it is technically all that is required.
The two radiators I'm installing in my loft conversion (one towel, one round top) are done in 10mm plastic and convert to 15mm chrome in the wall before emerging. I'm laying solid oak and didn't want pipes coming up through the floor.
Christian.
Actually anything would look neater than the semi painted and scracthed mess the previous owners left behind but that's another story....
I've also been told by a plumber who installed some other radiators for us that we should look at getting the 10mm pipe replaced to some of the radiators as the pipes were much longer than the recommended maximum but they seem to work okay so I'll not worry too much about that for now.
It looks like it may be a bit messy on the feed pipe as I can't get down below the floor. This may need rethinking :-(
Thanks for all the comments folks.
I'm having difficulty parseing this; do you mean the feed pipe is 10mm and the valve base is 15mm? If , 'Yes'; what's the problem? Adaptors - a brass)?) fitting 15mm exterior and 10mm interior is placed on the 10mm pipe and inserted into the 15mm valve base. [The 10mm pipe has an olive] and tightened to normal compression-fitting standard.
The adaptor fits within the base of the valve; all of my radiators are fed off 10mm piping.
same here, about to convert the upstairs first, as I'm working up there at the mo'
simplest method for me is to cut the 10mm to just above the floorboards (obviously leaving some spare) then join it to the 15mm chrome and push the 10mm down so it's hidden under the floorboards I've checked them all and there's enough give in the pipe work and space under the boards to do it
This is a ridiculous thing to do. Use an internal adapter FFS.
Remember that the chrome pipe will need a compression joint and the floorboard hole will need to be big enough to swallow the nut.
Christian.
Surely its a personal choice thing. I personally would much prefer the chrome 15mm rather than a thin bent bit of 10mm.
And you can get things from Screwfix and
You can get those chrome effect cover things though - not ideal I know.
Eh .?...Why is it ridiculous. If he has 10mm pipe from floor to rad with a fittings reducer so the 15mm valve can accept the 10mm pipe ( as I do) then what alternative is there but to cut the 10mm pipe and fit the chrome 15mm pipe . How else is he going to dispose of the excess pipe .He can't push all of it under the floor boards .
Stuart
What I am doing with the 1 rad that I am dealing with ( replacing 10mm pipe with a short length of chrome 15mm) is to split the floorboard where the pipe enters the floor so that should I need access in future I just need to remove the short piece of floorboard between the pipe and the wall ..It will be screwed down .
Stuart
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