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Q. |
Are
the cast iron radiators from Feature Radiators compatible with my
system? |
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All of our radiators are compatible with normal central
heating systems and have British Standard fittings. On an existing system you can replace all the radiators or
just the ones you want.
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Q. |
Are
cast iron radiators as efficient to run as regular radiators? |
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Yes.
They are no more expensive to run than regular radiators.
Cast iron is a very efficient heat emitter.
Cast iron also holds heat extremely well, which means that
the radiators stay warm long after the central heating has been
turned off. It is for
this reason that radiators made of cast iron are arguably more cost
effective than regular radiators. |
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Q. |
Who
will install my radiator? |
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Our
radiators can be installed by any plumber or competent DIY
enthusiast. They are
compatible with 15mm (1/2") or 22mm (3/4") valves from all DIY stores or
local plumbers merchant, though we would strongly recommend our own
attractive alternatives which are in keeping with the radiator
itself. |
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Q. |
How
do I calculate the correct size of a radiator for a room? |
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Radiator
outputs on this site are all quoted in Watts, you may prefer to work
in British Thermal Units, so the conversion factor is included in
the this FAQ section.
A heating engineer will be able to very accurately calculate the
exact room requirements, however the following calculation gives a
very good approximation (when in doubt choose a larger radiator than
required and fit a thermostatic radiator valve to control the room
temperature).
Find
the volume of the room in cubic metres (length x width x
height)
Lounges and dining rooms multiply by 50.
Bedrooms multiply by 40.
Common areas and kitchens multiply by 30.
Bathrooms multiply by 90.
For rooms facing north add 15%.
For French windows add 20%.
For double glazing deduct 10%.
For very exposed sites, or very cold weather add 10%
This will give you the output of any radiator in Watts. Multiply
this by 3.412 to give the requirement in BTU's.
We
will let you know the heat output of any of our radiators, so you
can choose a single radiator or a number of radiators whose outputs
add up to the heat you need. |
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Q. |
The
radiator I want hasn't got enough output for my room, what can I do? |
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You
need to add another radiator into the room to provide the shortfall
in output required. You can use any type of radiator to do this, we
supply aluminium radiators (Decoral
10) which, for their size, have the greatest output, and are a
popular radiator style. |
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Q. |
I
want to install aluminium radiators is there anything I need to know? |
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Aluminium
radiators are installed in exactly the same way as steel or cast
iron ones, the only difference is that a different inhibitor must be
used to avoid corrosion. Suitable inhibitors are now easily
available from most plumbers merchants. Examples of our aluminium
radiators are the Motus and Decoral
10. |
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Q. |
How
do I convert from BTUs to Watts? |
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Divide by 3.412. |
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Q. |
How
do I convert from Watts to BTUs? |
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Multiply by 3.412. |
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Q. |
Where
should I position radiators? |
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Radiators
work best in the coldest part of the room. Ideally this will be on
an outside wall, usually under a window where the cold air drops to
the floor. If you have long curtains or don't want to put a radiator
beneath a window, it is perfectly acceptable to place one where it
will suit your furnishing arrangements.
If you haven't got enough room for the right-sized radiator, you can
choose two smaller ones and spread the heat more evenly. |
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Q. |
Can
I use microbore pipework? |
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Yes,
but on really big cast iron radiators (over 3500 Watts) it can prove
problematic on balancing the central heating system, if in doubt ask
your plumber. |
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Q. |
How
do I fit valves? |
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Wrap
at least five turns of PTFE tape around the threaded tails of the
valves and screw them into the radiator. Make sure the PTFE tape
stays on the thread rather than just running along it as you
tighten. If it does run, undo the valve and roughen the thread
slightly with a hacksaw blade then re-tape the thread. Some of our
valves have parallel threads which means that they never tighten
against a stop like traditional valves so more PTFE than usual is
required - we recommend the use of gas type PTFE which is much
thicker than the standard. The advantage of parallel threads is that
they fit the same depth on all radiators so giving pipe centres is
more accurate and also the threads are completely hidden inside the
end of the radiator. |
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Q. |
Valves
are sold in pairs, what is the other valve for? |
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The
one valve is the temperature control, the other is called a
lockshield valve and is used to balance the radiators in a system so
that they all heat up at roughly the same rate. Simply put the
radiator closest to the boiler if left unchecked would heat up much
more quickly than one sited at the other end of the house, so the
lockshield valve should be more open the further away from the
boiler and more closed closer to the boiler. |
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Q. |
What
is the difference between a TRV (Thermostatic Radiator Valve) and a
manual one? |
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The
TRV controls the room temperature by sensing the room air
temperature and automatically opening and closing the flow to the
radiator to maintain a preset temperature. A manual valve controls
the temperature of the radiator regardless of how warm the room is
already. On large radiators (above 1800 Watts, or where the radiator
is oversized for the room) we recommend TRVs because they save you
having to get up to turn the radiator up and down, but they are not
essential. |
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Q. |
Do
cast iron radiators take longer to warm up than standard radiators? |
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Yes,
however, because there is a lot of mass with cast iron,
the radiators have the advantage of staying warm long after the
central heating has been turned off.
This means that the changes in temperature in a room heated
with radiators made of cast iron are more gentle than those in a
room heated with regular radiators. Most
people tend to run their central heating twice per day, once in the
morning and then again at night, if a third short period is added
into the middle of these two times then the warm up time is greatly
reduced and the house will remain warm all day and night.
When
mixing standard radiators with cast iron we find that if the central
heating thermostat is sited near a standard radiator the heating may
close down before the cast iron radiators sited elsewhere have
reached full temperature. The solution is to slow down the standard
radiator influencing the thermostat by part closing the lockshield
valve on that radiator (the usually covered end valve opposite the
temperature control valve on the radiator used to balance the
central heating system).
Heating
a home is partly about heating the fabric of the building.
Cast iron radiators are again becoming popular amongst
heating engineers and architects (particularly for older buildings)
as they tend to retain the warmth in the fabric of the building
which in turn counteracts
damp and condensation. |
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Q. |
What
should I paint my radiators with? |
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Most
of our radiators are painted with cellulose or acrylic car spray
paint, there is no need to use expensive specialist radiator paints
- car paint is designed to cope with extremes of temperatures and be
tough enough to withstand a great deal of abuse. Emulsion paint can
be used, but the finish tends to not last very long cracking and
peeling are common problems with using emulsion. Powder
coating produces a fabulous finish, BUT... the radiators are not
designed to go through the prolonged baking process 9 times out of
10 all will be well, but especially on old cast iron radiators the
paper seals between the sections can be damaged, replacing these is
a very hard task. If you want to powder coat a radiator find a
powder coater who uses a low temperature baking process. A
similar looking end result to powder coating can be achieved using
products like "Plasti-coat" a spray paint available from
DIY stores. |
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Q. |
Can
you arrange delivery? |
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Yes. Generally
delivery to mainland UK is £25 per order, however, there are
limitations to this for remote areas with certain radiators. Areas
affected are North of Perth, Mid and North Wales and South of Exeter
- but this only applies to some of our radiators. |
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Q. |
How
long does it take to get a radiator? |
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Stock
items, generally whites, chromes and grey metallicas take 7-10 days,
smaller radiators can be sent by courier which takes 4 working days
from order. Cast iron radiators vary between 7-10 days in primer (Clasico,
Liberty and Burlington), 3-5 weeks in a colour depending upon the
style. |
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Q. |
What
do radiator connections BBOE etc stand for? |
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BBOE - Bottom Bottom Opposite Ends (like most standard radiators)
TBOE - Top & Bottom Opposite ends (many old cast iron radiators
were connected this way)
TBSE - Top & Bottom Same Ends (many old cast iron radiators were
connected this way) |
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Q. |
Do
you have a showroom where I can see the radiators? |
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Yes. We
have a 1000 square feet showroom where we have examples of nearly all
of our radiator ranges on display. The showroom has now been
extended (March 2004) and we now have well over 100 radiators and heated
towel rails on display. Click
here for directions and opening times. |
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