Draining the air from the towel rail yourself
Since the only problem that causes the unit to malfunction is air. it must be eliminated.
As soon as you bleed the air from the towel radiator, it will start working again at the same level. To bleed air plugs is easy enough, you can cope with this problem yourself, without the help of specialists.
To make the mechanism warm again, air can be deflated in two ways:
On some models, the plugs on top of the towel radiator are removed, there is a valve to bleed the plugs.
The traditional way to eliminate air involves draining the water. Since the towel radiator is connected to the water supply system, it is enough just to drain all the water together with the air plugs. In multi-storey buildings, the water is drained from the riser on the upper floor. If the drain is in your apartment, even easier. you can independently drain the water.
Sometimes, releasing all the water is not enough, so you have to resort to the second option: unscrew the nut that attaches the dryer to the pipes. Unscrew the nut very carefully and slowly. As soon as the air comes out, you should stop.
Be sure to remove everything from the bathroom beforehand, so as not to flood the water, and under the place of attachment put a container for water.
The modern way to bleed air involves a device called a “Maevsky valve”. Many towel dryers are sold already complete with a faucet, or you can buy it separately.
Faucet is attached to the device for drying and is intended only to drain air, it can not cut off the water. The tap consists of a regulating screw and a needle valve.
Using a special wrench or screwdriver, turn the screw, the valve will open and the air will completely escape from the mechanism. The air should be deflated until the water flows without bubbles. Experts recommend draining the water until there is a trickle of not warm, but even hot water.
Before carrying out all the work, also be sure to take care of precautions: remove everything from the bathroom that is afraid of moisture and put a container of water under the towel radiator.
When you deflate all the air, tighten the screw back, after which the device should be warm again.
If you do not have a Mayevsky crane and the possibility of buying it, to deflate the air from the towel dryer is possible by improvised means.
To remove air from the pipes yourself you will need:
Using improvised tools, you should perform the work, similar to a Mayevsky faucet. You do not need to be a plumber. Arm yourself with the necessary tools, open the air vent, bleed and close tightly.
You will hear a noise at first. this is air coming out, then the water will flow. Bleed until the water pressure increases and it becomes warm.
As you have noticed, draining the water is not difficult at all. You do not need to hire a handyman and spend money from the family budget.
How to deflate a towel warmer
We’ve all seen a towel dryer in the bathroom. It can look like a pipe in the shape of a “U” or “M” or in the shape of a ladder. It’s not exactly an ordinary heating pipe, which you’ll learn more about next. And if it gets airlocked and stops heating, it can lead to not quite obvious negative consequences, such as the appearance of mold in the bathroom. That’s why it’s important to know how to deflate your towel radiator. The causes of poor performance of this device and ways to fix it are discussed in detail in this article.
How to deflate a towel warmer yourself?
It is necessary to bleed the air from the towel radiator, how to do it correctly yourself?
If air has accumulated in the towel dryer and formed a plug, the dryer simply stops heating. To resume the heating of this drying device, you need to bleed the air that has collected in it. To do it yourself is simple enough. Most of the modern models of towel dryers are equipped with the so called “Maevsky tap”, which lets the air out of the dryer system. You need to unscrew the upper bolt in it with a screwdriver or a special key, and you will hear a characteristic hissing sound. Deflate until a stream of water without air bubbles comes out. Under the towel radiator put any container for the collection of descending water so as not to flood the floor in the bathroom.
After you bleed all the air, tighten the bolt back on. After this procedure the towel dryer should begin to warm up.
This is a schematic representation of a ladder-type towel rail with the approximate location of the Maevsky tap:
Here. One of the varieties of the Meyevsky cocks:
Usually in towel dryers the Mayevsky faucet is located under the decorative cap
The photo below shows the moment of installation of the Maevsky faucet:
When installing a towel dryer, be sure to put a Maevsky faucet, at its upper point, usually before connecting. Nothing is easier take a flat screwdriver, and on modern faucets of Maevsky even there is a wingman for convenience and ottovernivaya either screwdriver or a wingman of the faucet we lower air, completely while water without bubbles and shooting (it is naturally necessary to put a bucket or a basin under a stream). everything is ready, this operation will have to be repeated in a couple of days. But there are unicums who do not think it necessary to put it, I do not know why, but there is this number, in this case on the end of the upper point of the approach look connection if there is an American or coupling nut well, let’s do it while, take the adjustable key (namely adjustable, not pipe, because the pipe you just crush the brass fittings prepackaged!) So with an adjustable wrench loosen the connection and deflate, then tighten, such an event. But it’s not the peak of madness. there are masters who have not put a Mayevsky crane manages to solder a towel dryer on the not demountable MRN-ka, hands would have whipped their own soldering iron, there is nothing to do. Call a master, let him cut off, put a faucet and solder American! This case is not long literally for 30 minutes, and in principle, and not expensive.
To flush air from a towel dryer is not a problem, for this purpose it is necessary to go down into a cellar, or to rise on a technical floor if distributing under a roof (there is also such houses), to find a riser with diameter of a pipe on 25. Rarely the riser for 20. There you will see a tap just to bleed air from the dryers, there is a tap, it’s a must for the installation of the system. The second option (if you do not want to go down in the basement) inspect your towel radiator, some of them have a Mayevsky tap (such taps are put on the batteries, and they are just for bleeding air), but not all, often it is not, if not, then unscrew the “American” on a quarter turn. “American” is near the threads, it is just as easy to bleed air through it. If you need a more precise answer, you need to know exactly what kind of towel dryer you have, there are hundreds of configurations, the only common thing, the air can be vented in the basement (wrote about it in the beginning).
How to deflate a towel warmer: step-by-step instructions
Cleaning towel rails can extend service life and improve energy efficiency.
In general terms, this task is to remove the air that normally remains in the system as the water passes through. If air remains for a long time, it can affect the heat production of the towel radiator and cause uneven heating.
You will realize that it is necessary to bleed the air from the water towel dryer if its top will remain cold, because the air tends to rise. Maintenance will maximize the energy efficiency of equipment and avoid unnecessary costs for utilities.
The modern method
This method involves the installation of a Maevsky faucet on the towel radiator. Modern models are sold complete with it. Note that the tap is not responsible for shutting off water, but only serves as an air vent.
The Maevsky valve includes a needle valve and adjusting screw. In order to bleed the accumulated air, it is enough to turn the screw with a flat screwdriver or a special key to open the valve.
It is necessary to release the air until hot water flows in a thin stream from a small hole.
After that the screw is screwed in the initial position and literally in a few minutes the towel radiator begins to warm and then becomes hot. What to do without a Mayevsky faucet if you need to bleed air? In this case, you will need improvised tools:
Even without the skills of a plumber, you can loosen the fixing nut slightly and bleed the air. When you see a gurgling noise do not be frightened, so the system, in which air has accumulated before, fills with water. If you plan to carry out this operation in an old house, it is better to call an experienced plumber, since it is possible to break the nut.
Such a procedure will have to be performed several times a year for the towel radiator to function properly.
How to expel the air?
Now let’s understand what you need to do to get rid of air in the towel dryer. Let’s consider two variants of designs of this device: with and without a Maevsky tap. In addition, you should understand that in order to eliminate this problem in the operation of the device in question, you need to take into account a number of features and moments.
But in general, this work can be done by anyone without the need to attract a specialist, which will save not only time but also money.
With the faucet of the Maevsky
Not many people know what to do if you need to bleed the air from the towel radiator. The best option is to install a special valve that will work as a bleeder. It is called a valve Maevsky. Modern models of towel dryers are already equipped with such a valve. This is not a water faucet. it is not used to shut off water, and acts just as a bleeder.
Before we start the process, let’s understand how the device works. This element consists of two parts:
To get rid of the air lock using the Mayevsky cocks, you need to take a special wrench, which will turn the screw, or a screwdriver flat type and open the valve.
How to fix half cold radiator
When the air is completely out, the screw should be screwed.
An indication of this will be that the water will start pouring out of the faucet. It should be noted that if everything is done correctly, in a short period of time the heating of the towel dryer will start, after which it will become hot and will work as usual.
Without a faucet
This method can be called a classic or standard. The solution in this case will be obtained by simply draining the water from the towel radiator. But here it’s not so simple, because it will matter where the person lives. If we are talking about a multi-storey, it is required to study the scheme to understand in which place there is an opportunity to open the faucet. If the descent is located in your apartment, you can do it yourself without any problems. To do this, you need to perform certain actions.
First you need to unscrew the nut that will connect the hot water pipe to the dryer. To unscrew this element will need to use a wrench adjustable type.
In advance, you should have a container where you will drain the water, if the need arises.
After that, it is required to wait for the moment when, after loosening the product, you can hear hissing sounds of various kinds.
When the air stops escaping, that is, there is no more air inside, the nut can be screwed back on.
But it happens that the above-mentioned method does not allow you to fix the problem of a towel radiator with both side and bottom connection. Then you can use other options.
It happens that in the buildings, erected quite a long time ago, it is required to approach the situation individually, taking into account the specifics of a particular building. You can try contacting the person who lives on the top floor and ask him to bleed the air from his apartment. This can be explained by the fact that the route of the riser, which flows hot water, runs from the ground floor to the top floor, where it makes a loop and goes back downstairs. Given that air is lighter than water, which is logical, it will accumulate precisely in the highest point of the system. Here you need to do the same steps that were mentioned above. You just need to do it here, not in your apartment
If the house is a 9-story or high-rise, usually the pipe and outlet of the hot water supply according to the standard design is placed in the attic.
Therefore, to get to it, you should follow a similar algorithm: you need to open the tap, and drain the water into the sewer. But this area is often closed to outsiders, and only the representatives of the plumbing service have access to it. In this case, it will be better, indeed, to call plumbers, who will be able to perform the required actions, having previously opened the attic.
If the building, where a person lives, does not fit any generally accepted characteristics of buildings, it remains only to call representatives of a special plumbing service, which will certainly help a person to understand the problem and make troubleshooting of the towel dryer.
Which towel warmers do not have clogs
According to the current standards of the SP and SNIP, the towel rail must be cut into the riser in parallel. The part of it between the bottom and the top tapping automatically becomes the bypass.
In complex constructions with long pipes or their complex geometry (e.g., a ladder with shelves) the hydraulic resistance increases sharply. Water does not enter them, preferring the path of least resistance. the bypass.
Therefore this element narrows. cut a piece of riser, connect PS to it by elbows, and bypass is made from a piece of pipe with a diameter one standard size smaller than the riser.
In Soviet times, the U-shaped towel dryer in the bathroom was installed directly, without a bypass. This option guarantees the absence of air s in any direction of flow in the riser.
The problem of loopholes in the upper floors of homes without hot water with columns during the fall turn-on heat solved by installing a valve in the attic with a hose nozzle to let air out with the cold water to run the circulation system.
No circulation in the DHW or heating circuit
An example of how a towel rack can be an integral part of a circuit.
Why doesn’t the towel dryer in the bathroom warm because of the air? It’s simple, it becomes the cause of the fact that there is no hot water in the heat exchanger, respectively, the circulation is broken, or rather, there is no circulation at all. If after all the measures to remove the air the towel rail remains cold, then you need to move on to more global measures.
Why doesn’t the towel radiator in the bathroom warm, determine the causes of the lack of circulation:
- The neighbors, who are many respectable, have stalled the riser;
- The utilities company transferred the circuit of hot water in the summer (open) mode;
- Improperly chosen diameter of branches from the main line.
Now about everything in order: Why the towel dryer is cold? The heat exchanger in a bathroom is established on a pipe of a return flow of DHW. Yes, the hot water supply, if it is correct, should always circulate, as well as the heating. This is done so that the water does not stagnate in the risers and does not cool. Otherwise, having opened the tap it will be necessary to flush all the cooled water in the riser, and only then the warm water will be poured. If there are meters, it is at least a senseless waste of their money.
In this case, you can safely write a statement to the utilities company that you have not heated towel dryer in the bathroom. They are obliged to take measures. There are different options for distributing the HTW pipes, one of them is that the towel rails are part of the main line. If you remove them, you understand, the circuit will simply stop. Despite the adventurousness of the idea, some still go to the fact, that completely remove the towel dryer. They sometimes forget that all the pipes need to be connected so that hot water can circulate bypassing their apartment. After this, the neighbors do not work the towel dryer. And not in one or two, but all at once.
In addition to negligent neighbors, “put a piggyback” can be the housing and utilities company. All this on a legal basis, with wet stamps and the approval of the city administration, in general, you can’t get anything wrong.
They simply transfer the system to the summer mode, thereby saving fuel on heating water. They turn off the return flow in the DHW circuit. The whole trouble is that according to the norms and rules all towel dryers are on it, which eventually become cold. It would seem and there is hot water, but it is of little use. It if not to take into account that the towel dryer ladder does not heat because of the complete absence of hot water. After all can disconnect for a week for professional work, and can cut it for the whole summer. Probably, they care about the health of the nation, to strengthen the immune system: “If you want to be healthy. harden yourself”.
One more reason why the towel dryer doesn’t warm is the wrong pipes for a branch from a main. Definitely, the branch pipes, departing from the main line should be smaller in diameter, but not too. Optimally. one step less. In such a case hot water quite easily overcomes linear resistance and gets into a towel dryer. If the diameter of the branch pipe is too small, the water will simply follow the path of less resistance, that is along the main.
If the towel dryer is cold, then the reasons can be hidden in the design of the heat exchanger itself. Suppose, if the towel has a lower connection and at the same time is extended in the vertical plane, the water pressure may not be enough to lift the coolant to the top of the heat exchanger. Though it rather can concern hastily assembled homemade towel bars, factory models are balanced. If the problem with the factory coil, it can be solved by installing a circulation pump.
How to make an expansion tank for heating with your own hands in an hour?
How the heating system is pressurized step by step here.
What you need to know when choosing a towel dryer
Shapes of towel dryers: a. m-shaped; b. n-shaped; c. f-shaped; d. “snake”; e. “ladder”.
Manufacturers of sanitary equipment in the manufacture of towel rails mainly use two materials. stainless steel and brass coated with a layer of chromium. At first sight they look absolutely identical. All their differences in different ability to withstand differences in working pressure, which are inherent in the supply of heat and hot water in multi-storey buildings.
Jeeves Heated Towel Rails. How it’s Made
Steel products are more durable than those made of chromed brass, so in multi-storey buildings predominantly steel is used, as in heating systems and hot water supply pressure drops sometimes reach 8-10 Atm.
When choosing a steel towel dryer you should stop on the products, made of solid pipe, the thickness of which should be not less than 3 mm. The absence of a welded seam on the pipe ensures that there will be no leaks, possible during the operation of the product of a welded pipe.
How to install a bathroom radiator. A simple DIY project to do in less than two hours.
The domestic manufacturers practically do not produce towel dryers from brass. Imported products are offered in the market of sanitary ware, which are mainly used in low-rise, private building when equipping houses with autonomous heating system.
Of course, the imported brass plumbing has a more diverse form, more attractive in appearance, but it is designed for much less pressure than sometimes occurs in the pipelines of multi-storey buildings. Therefore they are acquired for installation in cottages, country houses, where an autonomous system with the working pressure of about 3 atmospheres is installed.
While choosing a towel dryer it is necessary to take into account the important feature of its design in the liked product there should be a valve through which it will be possible to lower air if necessary. Such a valve from domestic manufacturers is manufactured under the name “Mevskogo cocks”. With its help the problem of the first start of a towel dryer after its installation or after connection of the system to the water supply after a break for prevention is easily solved.
The design of the “Maevsky tap” and its correct installation
Towel rail installation to the wall (scheme).
Many people who are not too well versed in technology, hearing the name “Maevsky faucet”, imagine that this is a very complex piece of plumbing equipment, and some do not even know what it is needed. In fact, there is nothing complicated in its design, the simplest “Maevsky valve” includes only two parts body and conical screw.
In essence, this design is a reliable air vent. The principle of its operation is as follows: when the tap is open, the air from the heating system enters its body through the inlet opening, at the same time it is removed through the outlet opening in its side. When closed, the screw fits tightly to the inside of the body, preventing fluid from escaping from the pipeline.
“Maevsky’s cocks” are produced in different sizes with diameters of external threads, corresponding to the diameters of pipes used to manufacture heating systems. Depending on the design the valves can be opened by hand, with a screwdriver or a special key.
When removing the air lock from the system together with the air is removed, some water. Therefore, when installing the faucet, take care that the opening is at the bottom of the faucet. Then it is possible to collect the liquid in a container without allowing it to reach the walls of the room. The tap should be installed in the upper part of the system, this will allow you to quickly remove accumulated air.
Using the “Mayevsky tap” is not difficult. Place a container underneath the opening in the faucet, turn the faucet quietly and deflate. At first, air will flow out with a slight hiss, and then a small trickle of water will run. Then close the tap by turning it in the opposite direction. If the towel radiator is still cold, you deflate again and wait until the stream of water pouring from the opening of the faucet becomes hot.
Before you begin to install the heating device in the bathroom, you must take care of the acquisition of:
- “Maevsky valve” if it is not in the set of the heating device;
- A ball valve (3 pieces);
- screwdriver or a special key for the faucet;
- a container for collecting water.
Since the towel radiator must be installed by a master, you will find everything else you need for the job.
