November 20, 2009

Heating Issues

Hi all,

I have a question about my heating system. In the past couple of weeks or so, I've noticed that my gas heat randomly turns on and off despite my thermostat settings.

For example, last night it went on when my apartment was approaching 70 degrees and the thermostat was set at 50 or below. It's hard to hear it turn on, but I heard some bubbling and the radiators were warm to the touch and emitting heat.

What could be causing this? I have a very new boiler but an old thermostat. Do I need a new thermostat, or could it be a problem with the boiler and/or its connections to the radiators?

Also, any recommendations for a type of thermostat (and a good contractor to install it) if I were to get a new one?

Thanks for any help!!
-C

Gas Heat -- Random Start/Stop

Hi all,

I have a question about my heating system. In the past couple of weeks or so, I've noticed that my gas heat randomly turns on and off despite my thermostat settings.

For example, last night it went on when my apartment was approaching 70 degrees and the thermostat was set at 50 or below. It's hard to hear it turn on, but I heard some bubbling and the radiators were warm to the touch and emitting heat. It didn't get below 50-55 or so yesterday, so there's no reason it should've turned on at all.

What could be causing this? I have a very new boiler but an old thermostat. Do I need a new thermostat, or could it be a problem with the boiler and/or its connections to the radiators?

Thanks for any help!!
-C

November 16, 2009

No Hot Water...Help

My apartment has not had hot water for the past 4 days. My superintendent is continuously rude to me and doesn't answer questions on why it's not working nor when it will be fixed. How much does hot water cost, roughly, on a daily basis- I imagine it will be just a few bucks but I want to subtract the price of hot water for the amount of days it has been out from my "heat and hot water included rent". Any ideas?

November 14, 2009

Heat Stays On, Thermostat Broke?

Just moved into a rental in Park Slope where we pay heat and hot water. Each unit has it's own boiler in the basement and we have baseboard heating throughout the apartment. Heat wasn't working when we moved in so I went to the basement and saw emergency switch was flipped. Turned it on and heat kick in, but never shut off, had to go back down and flip the switch again to keep it off. Thermostat turned to 55 didn't do anything. Any help? Landlord employs some friend of his to do most work in the building. But this guy doesn't inspire confidence. I'd rather pay a professional to come find the problem.

November 12, 2009

Gas Supply for Boiler

One of the long term projects in our building is looking at a replacement for aging (but still functioning) oil-fired boiler for steam heat - potentially with a gas-fired or dual-fuel boiler.

Currently, gas is supplied from the street via two seperate 2" pipes and used for for all (25) stoves and a 2 or 3 gas clothes dryers in the building.

Is there any rough guideline for piping requirement for a gas-fired boiler? Our current unit is rated at 1,400,000 BTU/hr, but is probably oversized (based on EDR of our radiators).

Is gas line capacity something that a plumber tests? Or is this a Keyspan issue? Is it safe to assume that increasing supply can only be achieved by digging up the sidewalk and installing larger supply mains to the building?

November 10, 2009

New Boiler for 8 Unit Coop

Looks like we need to replace the boiler in our building...it's an 8 unit coop (each unit is approximately 1,000 square feet). Any sense of what this is going to cost us? Any ideas about working with National Grid to get a credit for energy efficiency? Thanks for any ideas.

November 6, 2009

Heating System Not Auto Filling

I have a Weil-Mclain heating system. I just turned it on for the first time this season. It worked fine for a few hours but when I checked after 3 hours, the gauge glass was empty. The system was simply not refilling automatically. What could be wrong? I'm really heating system illiterate so please explain in non-jargon! Thanks.

Furnace or Thermostat Issues

My furnace is not turning off. The temp is kept at around 68-70. Two days ago, I woke up to 82 degrees due to the furnace not stopping, thermostat was set to 68. I shut the heat off from the thermostat and reset it. Yesterday, I replaced the batteries. This evening, I turned on the heat and it kick off and continued to run up to 7 degrees, even when the thermostat was set at 68. Again I set the thermostat to off and reset it. This was not an issue back in early October, when we go some cold days, the furnace/thermostat was running ok for about 1-2 weeks. Any ideas? or Technician recommendations?

November 4, 2009

Furnace Malfunction?

Morning headaches during heating season. We have oil heat, have regular maintenance done on our furnace. Has anybody else had this problem? Any ideas for how to investigate? Thanks!

November 3, 2009

Furnace 'False Starts'

just wanted to throw this out there before i call someone to look at this.
our 3 yr old furnace (weil-mclain) seems to make that click 'on' sound and ignite then goes no further and just stops. this is happening when there actually isn't a call for heat from the thermostat.
it's working fine when the thermostat requests heat. this is just happening in it's 'down time'.
any ideas or suggestions?

Forum: Heating