Hanging vertical radiators
Clive
I have thought about this for a week and still can't decide.
I have bought two vertical radiators. They need to be supported by
six wall brackets each. The bolts are seriously heavy duty. The
radiator is humungously heavy so it needs to be supported by every
bracket. My concern is that if not every wall bracket is sharing the
support of the weight of radiator and water then the radiator will
pull off the wall.
Now a conventional horizontal radiator has just two brackets - so it
doesn't matter if the brackets aren't perfectly aligned, the radiator
will tilt a bit but be supported.
With this vertical radiator, the distance between each bracket
needs to align to within 1mm, I guess, otherwise a bracket won't be
supporting the weight. The notch in the wall bracket which contacts
the "plate" welded to the back of the radiator is somewhere near the
middle of the bracket. My problem is how to measure and place the
brackets on the wall so that the distances between the *notches* are
within 1mm of the distances between the *plates* at the back of the
radiator. I'm thinking I can't guarantee that measuring from the
*bottom* of each wall bracket will give the correct distances because
of manufacturing tolerances and errors in the wall brackets.
Thanks
Clive
Rob Horton
(1) What are the dimensions of the radiators?
(2) How heavy is the radiator, say in KG, and whats it's capacity in
litres. This will determine it's total weight.
I fitted a vertical radiator in my kitchen about 4 years ago. It seemed
scarily heavy, but was "only" 25KG. Try lifting it by hugging it to your
body instead of using your arms. It will feel different.
If the brackets are done up tight but not super tight then the weight of
the radiator can make the brackets shift a small amount ( I assume that
they have a slot for the bolts or a hole that has a bit of slack) so
that they are all supporting the radiator equally. Once this has
happened do the mounting bolts up as tightly as they will go.
If you are having problems aligning the the brackets horizontally, how
do you get the height correct between the top and bottom brackets?
TheScullster
"Clive" wrote
Are the brackets slotted - most rad brackets have slots you can use at least
for temporary fixing?
If so fix the top brackets so they are rock solid.
Position the other brackets secured fairly firmly through the slotted holes
only.
Hang the radiator off the top bracket - if you are worried about this but
some blocks under the bottom of the rad for extra security.
Slide something behind the radiator and knock the other brackets up till
they touch the radiator mountings.
Take off the rad without moving the brackets, or mark the position of the
other brackets somehow then take it off.
Fix the remaining brackets in the established positions and re-hang
radiator.
Just remember though that, even if you get the brackets spot on in the cold
condition, the chances are the rad will lift off some when it gets warm and
expands upwards.
HTH
Phil
martin...@gmail.com
Hi Clive,
How heavy-duty are your heavy-duty fixings? When I was doing the same
job a few years ago I ditched the supplied fixings (which weren't all
that good) and used multi-monti things to hang the brackets instead
(which I'm now a complete convert to). They bolt straight into a hole
in masonry without a plug and I reckon a single one would hold my rad
(just don't over-tighten them). It's as well to be sure of this,
because as Clive has said, what with expansion and other effects you
can't be sure that the rad will ever have its weight on more than two
fixings.
Cheers!
Martin
The Medway Handyman
>
> Hi Clive,
>
> How heavy-duty are your heavy-duty fixings? When I was doing the same
> job a few years ago I ditched the supplied fixings (which weren't all
> that good) and used multi-monti things to hang the brackets instead
> (which I'm now a complete convert to). They bolt straight into a hole
> in masonry without a plug and I reckon a single one would hold my rad
> (just don't over-tighten them).
Rule number one, always bin the fixings supplied & use your own.
Brilliant things them thar multi-monti's, I'm a convert too.
--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk