Radiador

ADD A RADIATOR
Basic plumbing skills are needed to cut and join pipes. You
also need to know about your heating system and how to
drain it down

Check for pipes and electric cables before drilling. Always
make certain you have identified the pipe properly before
cutting it. Know where to turn off the gas, water and
electricity before you start work. If you use plastic pipes or
fittingsto join metal pipes, make sure you link the metal
with an earth wire.

Add a radiator to your central-heating system to provide
extra heat.
A radiator can be teed into any part of the central-heating
flow-and-return pipes, but it is important that adding a
radiator doesn't rob existing radiators of their share of the
boiler output. Once you have established where to join the
new pipes tothe circuit, you can set about hanging the
radiator on the wall. The best direction to work in is from the
radiator to the heating circuit. Only when you reach the
existing pipework do you need to drain down and cut the
pipes.

2 - Where to connect
Working out flow rates in
pipes can be complicated but
as a rule of thumb, a 15mm
(1/2in) flow and return
should serve no more than
threeradiators. If the
radiators are more than
1000mm (40in) across or the
pipe runs to the radiators are
more than 4 metres (13ft)
then the number of radiators
served must be reduced to
two. This means that any
15mm (1/2in) heating pipe
serving more than this must
not be used to connect an
additional radiator. Instead,
you need to go back to the
22mm (3/4in) section of pipe
or extend the22mm (3/4in)
run so it takes in one of the
excess radiators. If you follow
this advice your radiators will
heat up efficiently (1).

3 - What size radiator do you need?

Radiator outputs are given in British Thermal Units and
Kilowatts. Select a radiator to suit the heat you require. A
4m x 3m (13ft x 10ft) living room with two outside
uninsulated cavity walls needs around 3kw to give21oC
when it is minus 1oC outside. The bedroom above it needs
just 2.2kw because it doesn't need to be as hot and there is
some gain from the heated room below. It is customary to
add 10% to the figures above for exposed sites or very cold
weather. If you select a radiator with a larger output, it can
be controlled with a thermostatic radiator valve.

A very rough rule of thumb is: thevolume of the room in
cubic feet multiplied by 5 = temperature requirement in
BTUs.

4 - Positioning a radiator
Radiators work best in the coldest part of the room. Ideally
this will be on an outside wall, usually under a window
where the cold air drops to the floor. If you have long
curtains or don't want to put a radiator beneath a window, it
is perfectly acceptable to place one where itwill suit your
furnishing arrangements. Modern convector radiators with
fins at the back will still work well in any position. If you
haven't got enough room for the right-sized radiator, choose
two smaller ones and spread the heat more evenly.

5 - Fitting the valves
Fit the valves before you hang the radiator so you can see
where the pipes will come up through the floor. If the valve
isdirectly above a floor joist you might be able to move the
position of the radiator slightly to one side in order to miss
the joist. If you can't do this you will have to bend the pipe.

Remove the protective plugs from the radiator. Wrap at least
five turns of PTFE tape around the threaded tails of the
valves and screw them into the radiator. Some valves
require a large allen key to screwthem in, others have flat
sections for a spanner. Screw the valve tails tightly into the
radiator.

Make sure the PTFE tape
stays on the thread rather
than just running along it as
you tighten. If it does run,
undo the valve and roughen
the thread slightly with a
hacksaw blade then re-tape
the thread more tightly (2).
When the tails are tight
attach the valve bodies. One
valve will...