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September 12, 2007
Steam heating Hell
My building is heated by steam- (or hot water?) filled pipes that run along the bottoms of the walls. There is no knob or other way to turn the heating off-- it's all controlled by a thermostat in the ground floor unit of the townhouse -- and I'm on the 2nd floor and was much too hot last winter. My landlord said the entire heating system is a single "circuit" so he can't just turn off the heat on one floor.
It's starting to cool off again...
Has anyone had any experience with this? What can I get my landlord to do about it?
Comments
This is very typical in NYC apts.
I suggest what I have been told over and over again.
Open a window.
Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 3:56 PM
I have the same problem, open a window and use a fan. Ceiling fan works great if you have one.
Situation sucks, but much better than being too cold.
Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:18 PM
(me again-- the poster)
I've tried opening a window and running the ceiling fan.
I'm in a floor-through apartment, so that works well for the rooms with windows-- but they drop to very cold before the interior room cools to 80... it is better than freezing, but not ideal.
Assuming my landlord would do something if I asked, any ideas what I could ask him to do to fix it?
Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:26 PM
Unfortunately, any viable solution I can see for the landlord to do would be to split up the heat into seperate zones. I dont see this as happening though because it would be VERY expensive to do this.
Not sure how much he values you as a tenant, but its seems like you are stuck unless you move or convince the other people in the building to lower the heat (Assumming they have the same problem).
Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 4:45 PM
A steam-heated building needs to be balanced. Tell your landlord to call a plumber or heating contractor who KNOWS STEAM SYSTEMS.
Just because it says "heating" on someone's business card doesn't mean they know steam.
Hot water heating, steam heating, forced air heating, electric....these are all very different skill sets and I've never met a single person in this industry who speaks as intelligently about one as they do about another.
I know very little about forced air, but there is ALWAYS something that can be done to help control a steam heating system.
Shame on you people for advising the original poster to open a window and turn on a fan.
Did you not get the memo? Something about energy use and some "inconvenient truths"?
Let's get on the same page already.
Posted by: Master Plvmber at September 12, 2007 5:11 PM
Master - As a plumber of course your response is as such. My advice was simple in terms of reality. What is the likelyhood the landlord will hire plumbers to fix a system that most of have dealt with at one point or another renting in NYC especially in older buildings>
I agree there is always something you can do, however a landlord spending large sums of money to because a tenant is too warm in the winter seems like pie in the sky.
If the poster were asking from the perspective of a landlord I would agree with you 100%.
Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 5:30 PM
I also must chime in that there is a difference between steam heat and hot water. A steam radiator can, in fact, be turned down or turned off...the valves can be changed to allow for more or less heat, etc. A hot water system is different, and may be an all or nothing proposition (either the entire building has heat or it doesn't). Is it a gas fired system? Try calling Keyspan/Brooklyn Union.
Posted by: guest at September 12, 2007 8:52 PM
my advice is to thank your landlord for giving you adequate heat.
Posted by: slick at September 12, 2007 11:09 PM
The advice about steam versus hot water heat is backwards. In fact a steam radiator needs to be on or off, never in between. But is unclear from your post what kind of heating system you have. I am guessing that you have some sort of continuous loop hot water system. I know nothing about them. If it were one pipe steam systems, you could turn off individual radiators (or all of them). There are also (I saw it on This Old House) individual thermostatic valves which can be inserted before each radiator, automatically turning off the steam to that radiator when a room reaches a certain heat.
And slick? as a landlord, I think it is perfectly reasonable for tenants to want to live in a comfortable apartment. Nothing in the OP's comments suggested unreasonableness, and indeed the landlord and tenant's interests are parallel in this issue.
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 13, 2007 9:48 AM
I managed to turn my old steam radiators off when my pad overheated but learned the hard way that they should be turned off when actually off to begin with. Else the valves leaks.
Posted by: Johnny at September 13, 2007 12:24 PM
You can turn off your steam radiator but you shouldn't. We turned ours off too (we own the house) but then we had to replace various parts of the boiler to fix the damage we'd caused to the system.
Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 1:45 PM
Open a Window!
Posted by: guest at September 13, 2007 8:33 PM
if you're going to turn off your steam heat radiators, don't turn the valves off completely (at least don't leave them that way). Turn them all the way off, then turn them back a quarter rotation. The valve should remain fully seated, but this will help keep it from sticking.
Posted by: guest at September 14, 2007 4:30 PM
Me again (poster).
First, thanks to everyone for the posts.
I'm pretty sure it's a hot water system. There are no radiators, just long pipes running beneath ugly metal plates along the edges of the walls.
My landlord uses some general-purpose handyman rather than a plumber who knows heating systems. He's not a bad guy-- I'll try asking him to hire someone who knows what he's doing.
Posted by: guest at September 17, 2007 5:02 PM
I'd get pipe insullation from your local hardware store and wrap those pipes. I've done this before in apartments with exposed risers that let out too much heat. It works.
Posted by: guest at September 18, 2007 12:34 AM
We went through this whole question last winter in our five floor co-op, circa 1890. I did a lot of research and the answers were pretty fascinating - especially to a chick from California who never imagined myself becomming the keeper of the boiler.
Here's what I learned...
Our building was originally heated with coal fires in each room. At some point in the 1900's, a coal fired boiler system was installed with radiators and steam heat. The boiler was stoked once each day with coal and fired up at which point it would burn very hot all day and then at night, the fire would be allowed to die and residual heat would warm the building. During the day the heat would be pretty intense and windows would be opened because it was believed that fresh air was good for one's health (weren't they smart!) In the evening, the windows would be closed and heavy drapes drawn to hold in the heat. Coal fires in specific rooms were still an option if needed. Incidentally, the huge radiators that we are all blessed with, are also a bi-product of that time, when they needed the extra capacity to adequately heat. Today, we all insulate and replace the old leaky windows with new double-paned windows that reduce heat loss and keep more heat in. This disrupts the 'balance' of the system.
What we've done is replaced some of the larger units with smaller ones, and installed thermostatic valves in rooms where we need heat, but want to regulate it more (bedrooms at night). They cost about $150 each for a good one. I won't repeat the other advice given, but will add it's important to always have all the units on to maintain the balance.
Perhaps your landlord will put in a smaller unit or spring for a valve control? If you tell him you want to respect the balance of heat in the building, but still be comfortable, perhaps he'll appreciated it. If not and you plan to live there a while, just spring for it yourself or work out a deal where you pay less rent. If none of the above works, enjoy the fresh air from cracking the window - it's good for you!
Posted by: guest at September 23, 2007 1:19 PM
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