replacing radiators - help

Hannimal

I am getting a decorator in to do some painting in my house soon. My radiators throughout the house are a bit dated and worn and have paint marks and so on on them. I think the decorator will be removing them for painting anyway, so this would be a good time to change them. However, I would not like to go for the same design of radiators as they have a dated and cheap look and the new radiators would need to fit where the old ones are .

What options do I have? Will I be able to replace them with any radiator of the same size? Or is there something else that I need to consider?

neilmcl

Radiators of the same size will require less, if any changes to the pipework, however be careful when changing single to doubles and vice versa as the pipe work will be set a different lengths from the wall and you may struggle if it's not flexible enough to move.

chiny

Warning; post not money saving.   I replaced a radiator recently because I didn't want the OP's issue of "a dated and cheap look" in my completely refurbed kitchen.   Charcoal grey, aluminium, vertical... it is gorgeous, more a work of art than a radiator.   Several practical advantages: takes up less horizontal wall space which is critical in a kitchen and clings closer to the wall (less in the way).   Mrs C is impressed as she can gently lean against it and get warm from head to toe (well, ankle).

Hannimal

neilmcl said:

Radiators of the same size will require less, if any changes to the pipework, however be careful when changing single to doubles and vice versa as the pipe work will be set a different lengths from the wall and you may struggle if it's not flexible enough to move.

Really stupid question but what is a single versus double radiator?

Hannimal

chiny said:

Warning; post not money saving. 

I thought it was as I am looking to just replace existing rather than have plumbing work etc done. Sorry

AskAsk

Hannimal said:

neilmcl said:

Radiators of the same size will require less, if any changes to the pipework, however be careful when changing single to doubles and vice versa as the pipe work will be set a different lengths from the wall and you may struggle if it's not flexible enough to move.

Really stupid question but what is a single versus double radiator?

a single radiator is thinner than a double radiator.  they give out less heat.

i got all the radiators in my house replaced with new ones.  i worked out the BTU required for each room and see if a similar size (width) would be sufficient.  i got a gas engineer to come round and replace the radiators.  he had to change a little of the pipework to fit the radiators.

Hannimal

AskAsk said:

Hannimal said:

neilmcl said:

Radiators of the same size will require less, if any changes to the pipework, however be careful when changing single to doubles and vice versa as the pipe work will be set a different lengths from the wall and you may struggle if it's not flexible enough to move.

Really stupid question but what is a single versus double radiator?

a single radiator is thinner than a double radiator.  they give out less heat.

i got all the radiators in my house replaced with new ones.  i worked out the BTU required for each room and see if a similar size (width) would be sufficient.  i got a gas engineer to come round and replace the radiators.  he had to change a little of the pipework to fit the radiators.

I googled it and I think mine are single. So you'd recommend only replacing a single with a single? 

neilmcl

Hannimal said:

AskAsk said:

Hannimal said:

neilmcl said:

Radiators of the same size will require less, if any changes to the pipework, however be careful when changing single to doubles and vice versa as the pipe work will be set a different lengths from the wall and you may struggle if it's not flexible enough to move.

Really stupid question but what is a single versus double radiator?

a single radiator is thinner than a double radiator.  they give out less heat.

i got all the radiators in my house replaced with new ones.  i worked out the BTU required for each room and see if a similar size (width) would be sufficient.  i got a gas engineer to come round and replace the radiators.  he had to change a little of the pipework to fit the radiators.

I googled it and I think mine are single. So you'd recommend only replacing a single with a single? 

If you're simply going for ease of fitting, and you going down the DIY route then replacing singles with singles of the same width will require minimal (if any) work with the existing pipework, replacing a single rad with a double will mean the radiator tail valves will sit further away from your pipework and if there's no play in the pipes you will need to get them adjusted to fit.

As you're replacing the whole set of rads then the sensible thing to do would be to get someone to actually measure your heating requirements and fit the correctly sized radiators to suit, which would probably require adjusting the pipework.

AskAsk

Hannimal said:

AskAsk said:

Hannimal said:

neilmcl said:

Radiators of the same size will require less, if any changes to the pipework, however be careful when changing single to doubles and vice versa as the pipe work will be set a different lengths from the wall and you may struggle if it's not flexible enough to move.

Really stupid question but what is a single versus double radiator?

a single radiator is thinner than a double radiator.  they give out less heat.

i got all the radiators in my house replaced with new ones.  i worked out the BTU required for each room and see if a similar size (width) would be sufficient.  i got a gas engineer to come round and replace the radiators.  he had to change a little of the pipework to fit the radiators.

I googled it and I think mine are single. So you'd recommend only replacing a single with a single? 

in this pic below, you will see that the single radiator has one fin, while the double radiator has 2 fins.   Ignore type 11.  Type 21 is single and type 22 is double.

new radiators are different widths to old radiators, so there will be a little bit of pipework to do to connect the new radiators.

i find singles are not very warm, so i replaced them all with double unless it was in a hall way where them being thicker made it looked a bit ugly.  double radiators can be less in width than the single radiators as they give out more heat.

nofoollikeold

Things to consider:
1. Are the current radiators sized for a condensing boiler or a non-condensing boiler.  If for non-condensing and you intend to fit a new boiler in the future, then the radiators need to be sized for a lower operating temperature, which means they need to be physically larger for the same heat output.  
2. Do you know the heat output requirements for each room? If not, this should be calculated for each room, and the radiator for that room sized accordingly.
3. As others above have pointed out:
3a. There are different configurations of radiator, which affects their heat output.
3b. A radiator wider than the existing will require alterations to the pipework.  This can either be achieved:
3bi. Out of sight (under the floor if accessible?) OR
3bii By using bends / elbows, which would be visible.  If the difference is very slight, it may be virtually impossible to alter the pipework.  A greater difference gives more scope for alterations.  
3c. A radiator narrower than the existing can usually be accommodated with respect to width by using extensions.  Don't use telescopic extensions, they almost invariably leak in the end.
3d. A key measure is the distance of the centre of the bottom inlets (the pipe centres) from the wall.  As mentioned above, if you get a different depth of radiator, this distance will be greater, and again the pipes will need adjustment.
3e. The radiator brackets will almost certainly be different.  They are generally made of much thinner metal than before, so that large radiators (probably anything over 1200 mm in length) are meant to be hung with the long angle of the bracket to the wall.  This means the short angle is normal to the wall, and may again alter the pipe centres.  
4. If you are tempted by designer radiators, be aware that many require the flow and return to be connected to specific ends.  If your pipes are the "wrong" way round, the radiator won't work properly.
5. Presumably you will take the opportunity to also change all the valves.  Don't overlook the cost of these - a decent thermostatic radiator valve is £20 to £25.  
6. You might also consider installing "smart" radiator valves which can give you very accurate control of heating room by room, and can be controlled from your 'phone.  But they aren't cheap.

jefaz07

The biggest issue here I can see is the ‘dated’ comment. 

How are we taking? 

There is a good chance your radiators may be imperial, Myson Premier HE for example. 

If so and you don’t buy the same then you’ll either have to put extending valves on OR lift a floor to adjust piperwork. 

Bare in mind they are a lot more expensive than metric radiators