Bulbs & Fittings Ideas

We’ve had a towel warmer for 20+ years plus experienced the steam/hot water and the oil immersed heater element types in our travels. The old warmer (a cheap version with micro-wire heating filament) finally gave up the ghost. After some pretty thorough research I decided to try this one – glad I did. It’s well built, and relatively easy to install if you’re handy with tools and electricity. And, unlike many of the other warmers in this price range, it does get VERY warm; so warm that you don’t want to leave your hand on a bar for more than a few seconds. Every horizontal bar heats up – I assume they each have resistance wire running through them. The vertical side bars also get warm by conduction, but not as warm as the horizontal bars.

The installation is pretty straightforward, however, the instructions assume that everything is straight, true and level. First off, if you just screw the four stand-off legs onto the heating frame, they will be somewhat crooked, unless you are really lucky. I suggest that you first measure precisely the distances, both vertical and horizontal, between the threaded inserts on the frame. Then screw on the legs and use a dead mallet (lead shot filled), NOT A HAMMER, to align the wall side of the legs to match the frame insert spacings. If you don’t believe me, after you screw on the legs, including the "feet", lay the assembly, feet down, on a flat surface, and you’ll see that most likely the feet don’t sit flat. Spend some time truing things up before you mark the wall to drill the mounting holes. I decided to measure the frame insert spacings and use those dimensions to lay out the wall hole pattern. And don’t forget to measure very carefully the wiring leg that goes to the wall outlet box.

The stand-off legs and feet are a great design, one of the best I’ve ever seen. The wiring leg and wall outlet box cover are not as slick. Speaking of slick, the rubber grommet on the box cover does NOT slip over the wiring leg tubing easily. Suggest you use some household (non-petroleum based) lubricant such as Kentucky jelly; worked like a charm.

The only serious fault with the design is the on-off switch, which is located on the very bottom of the vertical tube opposite the wiring leg. It would have been very nice if they had figured out how to put the switch on the top of that wiring leg, where you can see it and reach it, without having to use a mirror to find it. Our electical circuit has a wall switch, so it wasn’t a big deal for us. But this heater draws 150 watts, so you might not want to leave the heater on 24/7. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get up to temperature.

Sure, it’s not a steam/hot water heater, or oil-immersion heater element towel rack. But those are very expensive, and most American houses are set up to make it easy to install a European style heater. If your bathroom has an electical outlet located on a gypsum board wall, installing this heater is a 2 hr. job. If you’ve got an existing heater wire feed that’s located in a tight corner, and ceramic tile wall, like we have, it’s a 4 to 6 hr. job, and takes some more sophisticated tools and skill. But it’s worth it, especially if you like toasty warm towels.

A suggestion to the manufacturer, if you’re listening. With the instructions, provide either a paper template with the wall hole layout, or at least the exact dimensions. This is too nice a bathroom accessory to have it installed any way but true and straight.

This warmer looks great but could get a little warmer
For the money it’s a great value
I would recommend

Heats up more quickly than I expected and does a great job. I turn it on when I get up in the morning and my towel is toast warm when I get out of the shower less than two hours later. It was easy to install. It took me a few minutes to figure out the on/off switch, but I realized I was making it more complicated than it is. I love that there is a light to show when it is on. This was a great purchase.