The heated towel rail - quite demanded accessory for a bathroom. He and towels dry, and expel excess moisture from the room after bathing. And at the same time warm the room so that you do not freeze while standing naked. But despite the simplicity of the design, the price of the dryers is rather big. It would be a shame to spend several tens of thousands of rubles on the coil, which can not meet your expectations. Therefore, before buying we recommend you read the expert advice on the choice of these heating devices.
Content:
The best manufacturers of towel rails - which company to choose
A good heated towel rail, like any other product, is desirable to buy from reputable manufacturers. Not only do they constantly improve their series, they also strictly monitor the quality, not allowing marriage.
Many large companies communicate with their customers and take into account their opinion when creating new models. And the most famous ones even have a staff of designers who, along with the designers, are engaged in the development of original towel warmers that fit perfectly into the bathroom interior.
When we talk about good manufacturing companies, we mean the following brands:
- Arbonia;
- Margaroli;
- Zehnder;
- Terminus;
- TermoSmart.
With the best towel warmers from these companies you will meet in our ranking. However, the brand name is only the beginning of the choice. To buy a good dryer for adequate money, you will have to take into account other criteria.
Principle of work and device of heated towel rails
At its core, any towel warmer is a radiator. By the way, his task is just to dry not only towels, but also an excessively wet bathroom. Regardless of the type, it is a coil pipe through which the working fluid circulates.
Then everything determines the type of dryer. If it is a water model, it includes fittings for connecting to the heating system, if the electric model is an internal heating element with its own cord and plug.
The principle of operation of such devices is simple: heating up due to the high temperature of the internal heat carrier, the pipes evaporate moisture from the things hung on them and dry the air in the bathroom. Usually such a “battery” is attached to the wall, but there are also floor models.
Types of towel rails
Water
Good old serpentines are familiar to us from the time of the USSR. Is that in recent years, they have become much more efficient and graceful.
Water heated towel rail is connected to the existing heating system, regardless of its type (central or individual). If the bathroom has a water heated floor, the dryer can even be cut into a common line, however, then its temperature will be as low as in the lower branch.
On the one hand, water coils are good because they are not directly dependent on power supply. On the other hand, they work only when there is hot water in the heating circuit, which means that in summer they become useless.
Of course, you can also connect a heated towel rail to the DHW circuit, but not all houses and cities have hot water supplied centrally and without interruptions.
Pros:
- Non-volatility;
- Efficient space heating and drying;
- Simplicity of design;
- Do not require maintenance;
- Security;
- Low cost.
Minuses:
- Depend on the availability of hot water;
- More often in them air traffic jams are formed;
- As radiators, over time, overgrowing or corrode from the inside.
Electric
These are already separate "batteries" with a closed circuit. Due to the design features, they have slightly larger dimensions, since inside there is a need for space for the installation of heating elements. But such towel warmers can be mounted anywhere in the room - if only at a distance of the cord length there was a 220V outlet.
Depending on the selected coolant, electric models are divided into two types:
1. Oil - characterized by good heat capacity.
2. “Dry” - in such towel warmers there is no longer a heating element that heats the liquid, but simply a cable.
Pros:
- Reliability and long service life;
- Independence from the water supply;
- Efficient drying with relatively low power consumption (up to 150 W);
- Heated towel rail can be turned off at any time.
Minuses:
- Dependence on electricity;
- High price.
Also, electric models, unlike water models, may have a whole range of additional functions, for example, a timer, a thermostat and automatic protection.
Combined
These versatile models combine the virtues of water and electric towel rails, that is, they can pop up to either hot water or heating, or to the network. Accordingly, their equipment includes fittings (nuts, bushings, gaskets, etc.), and a cord with a plug.
When connected to all communications, you can use the dryer all year round: in the winter from the heating system, in the summer, from the outlet. One problem - the choice of installation location, which will allow for double installation.
Pros:
- The ability to use different heat sources;
- Easy operation;
- Economical power consumption.
Minuses:
- Complexity of installation;
- High price.
Options for choosing a heated towel rail
Manufacturing material
Of course, when choosing a water towel, you have to take into account the materials that are already used in the main system. It is highly undesirable to combine different metals with each other. But to know the features of certain models of dryers still need.
1. Chermet is ordinary painted steel capable of withstanding pressure in an individual heating system. It is also suitable for the central one, but only if the pipes have no more than 6 atmospheres. These towel warmers do not have the best thermal conductivity, and eventually rust and flow. But they are inexpensive.
2. Stainless steel - like models have a fully welded construction and are not afraid of rust. However, it is the stainless steel seams that are a weak point, since it is technically very difficult to get a reliable hermetic seal on this metal. Such a product weighs like ordinary steel, only costs 2-3 times more expensive.
3. Copper - towel rails made from this metal are considered to be among the best for connecting to a water circuit. They calmly tolerate high pressure in the system and hydraulic shocks, have anti-corrosion effect and look just gorgeous in the interior. Copper dryers are versatile, have a small weight and good heat transfer, but they are expensive.
4. Brass has the same advantages as pure copper, except for the most important thing - it is not designed for high pressure in pipes. It is better to connect brass heated towel rails to individual heating or to use electric models.
Coil Form
Heated towel rails can have the most bizarre form, but the most common are U-shaped, M-shaped and ladders.
The number of horizontal sections will determine how many towels can be simultaneously hung on this battery. Otherwise, there are no special recommendations on this issue - the main thing is that the dryer fits into the interior of the bathroom.
Power (for electric models)
Not only the drying speed of things, but also the temperature in the bathroom depends on the power of the towel warmer.
To maintain it at +25 ° C, it is necessary that about 140 watts of heat are needed for each square meter of space. Just take into account other heating devices that are in the bathroom - they should also be involved in the calculation.
Connection method (for water and universal models)
Like heating radiators, towel warmers can be connected to the hot branch in different ways. And on this will depend on the effectiveness of its work, that is, the degree of heat transfer.
There are the following connection methods:
1. Bottom connection - inlet and outlet connections are located at the bottom. A rather effective way, since hot water will immediately be pushed into the upper part of the coil and pass through the entire pipe, giving up its heat.
2. Upper - input and output, respectively, are located in the upper part. This design is considered to be ineffective, because the bottom of the towel rail will always remain cold, and the cooled coolant will become more difficult to climb to the outlet.
3. Diagonal is a great option, especially if water comes from the top corner, and comes out from the opposite bottom, giving maximum heat to the room.
4. Side - a popular way, where the flow is from the top down, but both pipes are located on one side of the towel warmer. Such installation allows you to install the device anywhere in the bathroom.
Installation location
The design of the towel rail attachments largely determines the possibilities of its installation and the space occupied by it.
According to this parameter, coils are usually divided into:
1. Wall - the most popular models that save a lot of space in the bathroom.
2. Floor standing - a little larger and due to the nature of the installation they steal a part of the area. However, if you have a spacious enough bathroom, such a device can be a good zoning element.
3. Folding - in fact, this is one of the modifications of wall-mounted towel rails, only having the ability to rotate 180 degrees around the axis of attachment. Alas, such a solution does not add durability design - in the places of bending, gaskets often begin to leak.
4. Portable - and here we are already dealing with a variation on electric towel rails. Since they only need a socket for operation, the device in this design can be freely moved from place to place and used in other rooms.
Which towel to choose
1. If hot water in your house goes all year round, it is better to take a water heated towel rail - save on electricity. Here the work is well done by the ferrous metal, but if the pressure in the system is quite high, do not be stingy and buy a copper device.
2. In the private sector, where heating and hot water is the merit of the owners themselves, it is also allowed to use a water coil. Here you can put stainless steel or even brass, if funds allow.
3. When in the house of constant interruptions with hot water, it is better to immediately buy an electric or more versatile combined towel warmer. So you can use it at any time, and in winter also save on electricity. Just take a corrosion-resistant metal - copper, brass or stainless steel. Ordinary steel does not tolerate ever-changing modes of operation.
How much does a heated towel rail cost?
1. Water models cost less, although everything here depends on the material of manufacture, complexity of design and brand awareness. Steel is in the range of 750-195000 rubles, stainless steel can pull and a half million. The ceiling for copper appliances does not exceed 130 thousand rubles, for brass - 200 thousand with a minimum price of 2500 rubles.
2. Steel electric towel warmers are presented in the price range from 1000 to 213 thousand rubles. (stainless steel is traditionally more expensive). For a copper model that feeds from the network, you will have to pay from 16 to 80 thousand, brass is absolutely worth the exorbitant money - at least 10 thousand rubles, maximum 11 million.
3. The cost of combined stainless steel heated towel rails ranges from 3 thousand to 2 million rubles, Chermet will come out three times cheaper. Brass wagons start from 5,000 rubles and reach 12 million.
