Mystery always on towel rails

oniongirl

Riddle me this, clever forum people.

We just moved house, and in the downstairs loo, main bathroom and ensuite there are towel rails. I believe them to be plumbed rather than electric, by virtue of the fact that a) I see no power cable coming from them and b) I see no switch to turn them on or off.

However, they appear to be on all the time, regardless of whether the heating or hot water are on.

Is that possible? Do I need a heating person to come and figure the mystery out for me because I don't really want towel rails on 24/7... Especially over the summer, but even now, in the winter, it seems ridiculously wasteful.

cymruchris

Photographs would help vastly  

oniongirl

cymruchris said:

Photographs would help vastly  

Yes, sorry! Not much to photograph. All pipework is hidden. 

theoretica

What sort of heating system do you have?  Some types of boiler need an always on radiator or towel rail as they get upset if there is no water flow route.  But when your heating is totally off in summer I expect them to be cold.

oniongirl

theoretica said:

What sort of heating system do you have?  Some types of boiler need an always on radiator or towel rail as they get upset if there is no water flow route.  But when your heating is totally off in summer I expect them to be cold.

It's a previously unheard of to me type of boiler. Here is what I know:

- It's condensing - we moved last Friday and the pipe froze and it leaked everywhere

- It has a hot water tank

- Above the hot water tank, attached to it, is a tiny tank. The survey we had done said this was something to do with hot water coming out at mains pressure and seemed pretty magical to us (and yet does not seem to be magical enough to power the shower with several nozzles anything more than a pathetic splish (SI unit), so that must've been as disappointing for the previous owners as it was for me when I had to give up mid shower and retreat to the normal one in the main bathroom)

I do hope this technical description assists 😂

TadleyBaggie

Sounds like a "system" boiler, we have exactly the same setup as you, I believe the small tank is an expansion tank which isn't normally required on modern system boilers but may be a relic from the original installation.

homersimpson246

Try switching the boiler off totally and see if they go cold, if not then somehow they are getting their heat from another source (possibly electric).

oniongirl

TadleyBaggie said:

Sounds like a "system" boiler, we have exactly the same setup as you, I believe the small tank is an expansion tank which isn't normally required on modern system boilers but may be a relic from the original installation.

 I'm not sure it is a relic. From the survey: "Central heating is provided by a Vaillant Ecotec plus 618, gas fired boiler located in the utility room. This is understood to have been provided in 2010. "

Also: "Hot water is provided by the gas boiler and is stored within an unvented, steel cylinder in the utility room. This cylinder is pressurised with an external expansion vessel and there is also an electric immersion heater to provide a secondary means of water heating. This type of modern hot water system is mains fed and will provide an improved flow of hot water to the various outlets which is important in larger

properties with several bathrooms. "

oniongirl

homersimpson246 said:

Try switching the boiler off totally and see if they go cold, if not then somehow they are getting their heat from another source (possibly electric).

Good idea, thanks, I'll try that tomorrow. If they're still hot after turning off the boiler I'll be utterly confused as I have hunted high and low for power switches. It's not like this house has any cupboards to hide them in! 

theoretica

And the things at the bottom definitely don't twiddle?

cymruchris

It looks like it is a water one rather than an electric one from my limited knowledge - there might be more experts than me - but an obvious and maybe silly question - you've mentioned there are no switches - but have you looked around the walls outside the toilet? not necessarily inside the toilet? Sometimes they have a habit of putting switches outside rather than inside. 

I don't have a clue in reference the boilers - but seems like others are giving some good advice - and I do think it's water not electric as mentioned.