Radiators

[Zandana123]

Hi, pretty dull topic but let's try and make it more exciting!

I've just removed 3 rads from our 90s house as we've done up the rooms and they're a bit old looking.

Trying to find some nicer new ones.

The kudox ones from screwfix are ok but not particularly inspired and a little bulky.

Does anyone care about radiators, and know which ones are nice, and where to view/buy them?

Talking strictly the standard horizontal type.

[Skyliner001]

Acova

[Zandana123]

Also, our daughter calls them rator rators, which is cute

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

That makes me feel so much better

[Zandana123]

Moved into our place in February. Put some photos on the wall above the radiator. Dropped one and it went behind the rad but didn't make a noise when it hit the floor because it was cushioned by 2 inches of fluff that came out with it

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

Wow, I have a bendy radiator brush but somehow there are bits in mine it doesn't reach. It is shameful

[cyclingmad]

AMount of dust after last time i cleaned it which was over 6 months ago. but I have my long bendy stick so before I tunr it on this coming winter I'll give it a quick dusting.

[cyclingmad]

Close up in daylight so you can see its still white as white

[cyclingmad]

No stains so far had this for over 3yrs now i reckon. I haven't done my whole house just this room as I was getting latio door shut in so had to move radiator and only place was to put it on this wall.

Looks as new as when I purchased it orher than some speckles of paint from a recent refresh I did...been too lazy to wipe them off

However this radiator is far better than my old fan style ones. When I can afford to do the rest I will.

[Fightthebear]

It seems to have some sort of coating on it, no stains so far.

They do look really good.

[Zandana123]

Looking good! Thanks for the pic.

The bare metal one is cool though won't suit our house I don't think. Is it stainless?

[cyclingmad]

www.amazon.co.uk/Bendable-Radiator-Brush-Flexible-Cleaning/dp/B00IF7QHD4?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

Then I have something similar to this for cleaning all my radiators

[cyclingmad]

Here is what it looks like up on the wall

[Fightthebear]

www.screwfix.com/p/acova-3-column-horizontal-designer-radiator-600-x-1226mm-raw-metal/1040p

We got the Acova from screw fix in raw metal. Modern industrial style but they look way more expensive than they are.

[Zandana123]

@cyclingmad

www.bestheating.com/milano-aruba-anthracite-horizontal-designer-radiator-various-sizes-78654

I got these ones but in white, look really stylish and weren't too expensive

They do look quite nice actually

[Zandana123]

Aluminium rads heat up quick but they also cool down quickly. Cast iron is the opposite, heat up slow and stay hot for longer. Thermal inertia. I guess this just translates into a different duty cycle on the boiler.

[Neron]

Babamamananarama I prefer the aluminium ones. They are more expensive to buy, but seem to have a better output/performance. I have brushed ones and I love them

[Babamamananarama]

Neron wow I just found aluminium rads with BTUs of 13000 on that site - that's bonkers.

I'm looking into replacing an oil radiator with air source heat pump and need to find some beefy radiators which will heat up large spaces at a lower heat.

[Eng123]

I'm still traditional and like radiators under the window. Heat loss through the window is a room loss so it doesn't really matter where the rad goes (minor impact due to the temperature gradient over the cold surface only). As said above placing rads elsewhere gets in the way. One of the reasons I like wireless thermostats is that you can move them around until you find the spot that works for you.

[FlamedToACrisp]

What principles would you suggest for choosing where to put the radiators?

Under the window and the heat all goes up and disappears through the glass... anywhere else and the windows get condensation and there's less wall space for the furniture...?

Thermostat - near the door and all the heat is sucked out as it opens... then the other rooms overheat as the thermostat decides it's cold? Or far away from the door, so the thermostat thinks your room is warm enough, although it's freezing cold near the door?

[cyclingmad]

I have a long bendy thing that helps keep them clean and I can push it through all the gaps

[cyclingmad]

www.bestheating.com/milano-aruba-anthracite-horizontal-designer-radiator-various-sizes-78654

I got these ones but in white, look really stylish and weren't too expensive

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

I have the modern column ones, very like the Zehnder ones linked to upthread. They look lovely and stylish, but the are an absolute bugger to clean. They're totally hollow between the two lines of columns and they are just dust magnets. They also sit really far out from the wall and for instance are too big really for the modest sized rooms in my house. I would not buy them again.

[Eng123]

Don't worry too much about exceeding the thermal capacity as you will no doubt have TRVs and a stat elsewhere. The drawback is that the rads will be bigger than they need to be, the advantage is that the room will heat up quicker ( if the boiler is rated high enough). I'm a screwfix kudox fan I'm afraid! But I do know what you mean about being dull, I like column rads but 5rying to keep then clean is a nightmare. Have 6ou thought about basic rads but using rad covers?

[Neron]

@Babamamananarama from the Just Radiators website. Lots of choice/styles and one of the better places in terms of prices. I really recommend them

[Babamamananarama]

Neron where did you get yours? I'm about to move somewhere with large rooms and will need to update rads soon.