Thinking about getting brass valves for your new radiators?
Especially if you’ve purchased column or cast iron radiators that have a certain authentic, stately look about them, heavy, old-fashioned brass or pewter valves can look just the ticket.
After all, they can be the perfect accompaniment to traditional-looking radiators – rather than ruining the look with modern chrome-plated valves.
Sound like I may be onto something?
In that case, I’m going to explain more about brass and pewter valves below. As an experienced engineer who’s personally served over 20 years fitting radiators and boilers in the Edinburgh area, I love fitting these!
Why choose brass or pewter valves?
Many years ago, you used to get just very standard, simple on/off valves. You may think we’ve left this era behind, but you can still get the look! In fact, there are now valves made to look just like the traditional valves, only thermostatic and energy efficient.
They don’t look out of place against the valves that were fitted on old cast-iron radiators up to 100 years ago! So, if you’re going for that authentic look in your home, you can get these valves in a lovely antique brass style.
Saying that, I’ve also fitted some recently that were graphite grey in colour, and my customer wanted their valves in grey pewter. They matched the radiator beautifully, and also looked very authentic.
These valves don’t come cheap – we’re talking £70 – £120 for a pair (compared to £15 – £20 for standard valves) – but totally worth it if you’re going for that look. This is compared to your other option of standard thermostatic valves and lock-seal valves with a chrome finish and white head; nothing exciting. You see these on 90% of radiators these days.
Advice from an experienced engineer
Brass valves are more about the look than anything else, to be honest. However, if I were to give you some advice, I’d say only buy reputable valves from a reputable company. Some people choose to order from sellers on the likes of eBay or Amazon. It might be cheap, but the problem comes if you buy ’em cheap and then they leak.
You’ll find your boiler’s pressure is constantly going down, and you won’t necessarily know why until you check. It can lead to headaches all-round, and you might have to replace them again. It’s a false economy. Chinese import valves can be one of the worst culprits, and can come back to bite you when they leak as you can’t return them.
I’d personally recommend looking on TradeRadiators.com. They have a wonderful page dedicated to valves, modern radiators, towel rails and everything else you could think of! It’s almost like being a kid in a sweetie shop, as you’re presented with so much choice. So, if you want something special and a better idea of what’s out there, take a look.
Always buy from reputable sources.
Conclusion
I hope this blog has given you a better idea of some of your options when looking at brass valves for your new radiators. There are some beautiful choices available from reputable sellers (like TradeRadiators.com – and no, they aren’t paying me to say that!). Just don’t buy anything that you won’t be able to return if they’re bad quality (like Chinese imports).
Do you want to know more about brass valves for your new radiators? If you have a question, just leave it in the comments’ section! I’d love to hear from you.
