Lack of Training

It’s amazing how these things happen close together (see HotOil blog 6/2/12) but this week another technical issue came up at work concerning heated towel rails. This was the age old question of what rail is suitable for what heating system. Again there seems to be a general lack of knowledge these days amongst people in the supply side of our industry, people who should know these things, people who are paid to know these things. In a nut shell, there are largely two types of sytem when towel rails are heated by hot water. A Closed Circuit is where the hot water is contained within a closed loop and the water has no other purpose than to heat radiators. Because there is no physical contact between the water and humans, cheaper steel radiators and towel rails can be used. An additive is placed in the water to prevent rusting and corrosion. This additive would be harmful to humans if contact was possible. The other possibility is an Open Circuit. This is where the same water used for heating is also used for washing and bathing. Using an additive is obviously not possible so the towel rails have to be constructed of stainless steel or brass, both or which will not corrode. The downside is that rails made from these materials are significantly more expensive. It makes sense that the end user, “the client”, would not know about these things. It’s also makes sense that the designer, the plumber, the sales person should all be aware of such technical necessities. Closed circuits probably make up 80%-90% of the heating systems in the UK but with an estimated 25,000,000 homes in the country, there is still a reasonable possibility of an Open Circuit, especially in older blocks of flats. Steel radiators placed on an open circuit will rust. Perhaps within a few months, perhaps it might take a year or two, but they will rust. After one of their people mis-sold a steel radiator 10 months ago, an east London supplier of mine has just paid out nearly £2000.00 for a replacement radiator and to repair water damage. A costly lesson. All their counter and sales staff are now aware of the issue and they have included it in their on-going training. In these days of compensation, it may be that many others will be following the same path.