Hydronic towel warmer

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Stef

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I've purchased a hydronic towel warmer to install in my small bathroom. I plan to use a 2 gallon water heater housed in an adjacent cabinet to supply the towel warmer only. It's all copper supply. I can't figure out what type of circulator pump/timer/thermostat to use. My instruction docs all reference the pump without giving any specs for the type of pump needed. Where do I start? I'll need something small to fit into the cabinet with the water heater, but what else should I consider? Recommendations?

Thank you!
Stefanie
 

hj

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Pit to the towel warmer with the hot going in the bottom and returning from the top into the cold inlet and you may not need a pump. If you do need one, almost any small circulator will suffice. Just put a valve on the pump's OUTLET before it returns to the heater to slow the water down to a manageable velocity.
 

Reach4

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If that is an electric water heater, I would consider trying to return that and get an electric towel warmer. If it is a 2 gallon gas water heater, I don't know what to think.
 

Jadnashua

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For simplicity, I chose to install an oil-filled, electric one that is wired to a timer. While a hydronic one could probably supply more room heat if that was the intention, it probably isn't much better for actually just heating the towels, and in fact, may not work as well. There's no adjustable thermostat on my electric one, so it heats up to a certain temp, and shuts off then cycles to maintain. And, it gets quite a bit hotter than you typically would run a water heater - you certainly wouldn't want to grab onto it.

What HJ was getting at is that, with some careful placement of the piping, it would probably just work via convection loop without the use of a pump. That would keep the cost and complexity down, too.
 

Stef

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Thanks for your replies. It's a two gallon electric water heater. Part of the rationale for purchase is 1) it's a vintage bath with a 100 year old tile, and so hydronic heat "fits" better than an electric towel warmer or floor heat, and I read it would be more economical, 2) it's a VERY SMALL guest bath (though it will be an often-used guest bath), and so a little luxury is nice (especially since the ancient clawfoot tub is a lot less luxurious), and 3) the towel warmer is pretty gorgeous.

I considered having a HVAC guy look at it and see if the installation of the towel warmer was a good opportunity for a whole-house recirculator, but thought the closed 2-gallon tank closed system would be simpler. It's not so simple. The small space and working around the existing wall tile make clever and/or careful pipe placement an impracticality (plus I would have no idea whether ANY placement would work via convection), and so I think I'll add both a recirculator pump and timer/thermostat. And the valve for the pump outlet. I'll make sure to have our HVAC double check when it's done; I'm not sure my plumber is confident in the installation.
 
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