Tenants: we need help urgently to remove radiator from the small room

Well… it is too hot for them, but they do not want us to lower the thermostat.
They asked 2 weeks ago. We responded that we will look into that.
since that they asked several times.
It is not a simple task to remove radiator.
At minimum it will require about 2 hours of licensed plumber.

Honestly, it does make sense: we removed radiator from similar room just below about 15 years ago, when we lived in apartment below.
It is an internal room and we decided to take a risk to remove radiator and did not loose anything in regards to the temperature.
But tenants are always cold 🙂 even if you keep 72 for the whole winter.
So, we did not remove radiators from similar rooms above in tenants apartments.
We renting this particular apartment for the last 18 years, 4 tenants before the current, nobody mentioned anything about this radiator.
We would have no objection to remove that it.
Even better: to replace it with modern when tenants could shut it by themselves.
( forgot to mention: one boiler for 3 apartments, steam).

But I am slightly surprised by the pressure of this tenant.
I did explained what I wrote above in writing ( texting) when I heard this request for the first time.
We want good relationships with our tenants but I think we have no obligation to remove that damn radiator on their snap of the fingers. Am I right in my last assumption or wrong?

lucie

in General Discussion 2 years and 5 months ago

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Guest User | 2 years and 5 months ago

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Dope or tape

justinromeu26 | 2 years and 5 months ago

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Should these plugs get pipe dope or anti seize or teflon tape?

Guest User | 2 years and 5 months ago

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Replace the radiator air vent with a 1/8 inch black or brass plug. That effectively disables the radiator. If air can’t get out of a radiator, steam can’t get in

justinromeu26 | 2 years and 5 months ago

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If you proceed with what colonial is saying, read what i say about the possibility of damaged threads in my post above and only proceed if you know you can isolate that radiator by turning the valve off. Changing vents and installing thermostatic vents is diy but fixing threads is not and we often encounter damaged threads on old stuff and have a plan in place before moving forward.

colonialrevival | 2 years and 5 months ago

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Shut off at the valve or install a Thermostatic Radiator Vent. CastRads makes some nice ones, Honeywell makes the basic one.

Guest User | 2 years and 5 months ago

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I would never remove a radiator for a tenant unless I already had plans to remove it. Is this steam heat? Getting your shutoff valve(s) working or installing an adjustable thermostatic radiator valve is likely a better and easier option

justinromeu26 | 2 years and 5 months ago

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It should not. The radiator should be on its own dedicated line off the riser. If you have a pipe going out the other side of the radiator it might be two pipe steam. The other pipe might return to the boiler. If it goes to another radiator, that is something else but i’ve not seen that in a house.

I am not a plumber so some of what i am saying is speculative. I will add this, perhaps closing off that radiator might make other rooms warmer. You throw the balance off. I don’t worry about this in my house because if i am not happy i run out and get a different size vent and change it.

Read about radiator vents so you know your options and understand this as you go forward. Be aware, that if you want to change vents, the old threads could be damaged and you remove a vent and could encounter a problem that even thread tape won’t fix. Here in my house, i’d drill it and rethread it and put a helicoil in but that is beyond most homeowners. And before you mess with anything, check your valves, that they close and hold. Don’t mess with vents with the system on or a bad valve. At least not in the winter when you need heat.

lucie | 2 years and 5 months ago

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Thank you. Does it mean that radiator above on the same stack will be shut off if the valve in this radiator is closed?

lucie | 2 years and 5 months ago

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Thank you. Does it mean that radiator above on the same stack will be shut off if the valve in this radiator is closed?

justinromeu26 | 2 years and 5 months ago

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doesn’t the radiator have a valve you can close?

i have never seen a radiator without a valve on it but i suppose anything is possible. if it does not have a valve, bring a plumber in and have him install one.

we keep our bedrooms valved off in this house. but we want the other rooms nice. all this is possible.

Have you looked into getting a smaller radiator vent? go to the smallest possible vent size. a smaller vent will slow the voiding of cold air and the incoming steam meaning the radiator will only get so warm before the thermostat shuts the boiler down. read about these on the net. gorton is one company that makes steam vents,

the above might be what you are obligated to do.

a company named danfoss also make adjustable vents. they seem to work so-so but check them out. i suspect the real heating guys will look down on them. i would not bother with them in my own house but i have worked in buildings where they had them and when they worked they were ok.

i would not remove a radiator unless i liked the tenants and knew they would be there for ten years. even then, that would be extreme.

steve
www.brownstonehomeinspection.com