Radiator connected to basin tap!?

[swiflee]

Hello all,

I visited my elderly aunt on Friday who lives in a Greater London local authority sheltered housing block and I was very concerned at the installation of the radiator in the bathroom.

The left side valve has a 15mm feed going to it which I assume is for the heating but the right side (main picture) has a 15mm feed which is tee'd from the hot water supply to the basin.

This would indicate that central heating water can reach the basin and the hot water is therefore unsafe to use?

Apparently several of the flats in the block have been piped like this and a few residents are wondering why there is dark water coming out of their taps?

I am going to take it up with them but thought to ask here first to see if anyone would consider this acceptable?

Hope everyone had a Good Easter.

Regards

Swiflee

 

[ShaunCorbs]

wheres the left side going and no either needs to be piped up to the ch or a stainless steel rad installing

 

[heatservice]

Dependant on how much hot water is used I would have thought the radiator would rust through within a matter of weeks, clearly there are some dodgy plumbers working in London.

 

[king of pipes]

Definitely not right this needs sorting out asap report it to the relevant authority with these pictures . cheers kop

 

[steadyon]

A fair number of 30's blocks in London have community heating, with bathroom radiators in the hot water circuit. However, the originals were copper radiators and caused no trouble. These have sometimes been replaced with steel radiators by "plumbers" (or DIY'ers) who don't know what they are doing, leading to endless problems of leaking radiators and rusty hot water.

Your mother's radiator looks as if it might be aluminium. If so, won't rust, but not appropriate to pass hot water for washing through it. Also likely to cause galvanic corrosion elsewhere in the system.

As others have said, needs changing.

 

[swiflee]

Thank you for your help everyone.

@king of pipes - I have raised it to the relevant authority. Let's see what happens. .

@ShaunCorbs - The left side pipe just disappears into the wall and into a big cupboard which I didn't have access to.

@steadyon @heatservice - the 'radiators' were only fitted recently and it is communal heating. Based on the fact that the pipework looks much older than the radiator, I am inclined to believe that they are DHW fed towel radiators and they have been swapped out. Whoever the housing association have contracted out the work to must have used steel radiators which is causing rusty water.

Will post the update here,

Regards

swiflee

 

[Ric2013]

So you have to run all the cold water out of the radiator befor you can get any hot water out of the tap?

Someone at my college (on year 3 of a 2 year course) did that on an assessement. I don't think he ever qualified.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

So you have to run all the cold water out of the radiator befor you can get any hot water out of the tap?

Someone at my college (on year 3 of a 2 year course) did that on an assessement. I don't think he ever qualified.

Normally on a secondary return/ tied into one

 

[Dkdc71]

Seen similar before on an older block of flats the idea is the hot water return heats the bathroom looking at the pipework in the picture it should in theory feed the basin first and non return valves where fitted below the basin and the hot water circulates back into the return pipe in behind the void you can't see as steadyon said they where copper towel rail or rads fitted with lockshield valves unless they have an inhibitor in the system copper and your aluminium radiator can have a reaction haven't seen one piped like that in years and I can't see any nrv on your pipework

 

[Ric2013]

There won't be inhibitor in the system if it's running out through the tap, Dkdc71.

 

[Dkdc71]

That's true Ric2013 thinking off it as a heating system and forgetting the domestic water system ..thinking too hard