January 9, 2009

Radiator Temperature Fun

So I borrowed a IR Temperature Gun from work. You use it to measure surface temperature. It is quite fun.

My radiator is 89 ice cold. It took about four minutes to heat up to 140 when the boiler kicked on. (This was enough to get the apartment temp to 80). I checked two radiators in the hall and vestibule which are the same level as my apartment. They have bigger vents and maxed at 190 and 174. All three were cooler on the vent size. It still isn't too cold yet this winter so the heating cycle was very short. In twenty minutes my radiator was back to 89 and the ones in the hall were at 155 and 141. Then it all started over again on the next 30 minute cycle.

I also turned the shut-off valve a few turns and the radiator barely reached 102. It was a short cycle, since it was only 34 outside. I would love to put a small amount of rust and crud in the valve and check performance. I will have to borrow some wrenches.

My window glass was at 70 and a door to the garden was at 71. These are new energy star windows. The window glass in the front door was only 59!!!! and felt cold to the touch in the steamy vestibule. This is a brand new door.

I thought this was all mildy interesting and will try again when the weather drops next week.

Posted by Pstreet at 8:13 PM | Comments (3)

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