mule_roany_mare t1_irlbns9 wrote
This is dumb advice which makes tons of assumptions.
Are they talking about one pipe steam or two or anything else?
For one pipe steam the valve needs to be fully open so that the condensation can drip back down the riser, it's also why your radiator needs to be raked towards the riser too.
You have to keep the valve fully open or fully closed, it's not a temperature control. You can install a special vent called a TRV which gives you some control though. A steam radiator needs to let air out so steam can come in, the TRV has an expanding seal so that when the room is warm enough it will trap air.
If you want to turn off your radiator & don't have access to the valve (or you just got it to stop leaking & don't want to mess with it) you can just cover the valve with tape. After a cycle or two your radiator will only have room for trivial amounts of steam.
TLDR
the valve between the pipe & the radiator needs to be full open or full closed. The gospel of dry steam. Opening windows to control temperature is a dick move
redditorium t1_irlgbr6 wrote
> If you want to turn off your radiator & don't have access to the valve (or you just got it to stop leaking & don't want to mess with it) you can just cover the valve with tape. After a cycle or two your radiator will only have room for trivial amounts of steam.
Is this also true for two pipe radiators?
mule_roany_mare t1_irlmilu wrote
Probably, I don't see why it wouldn't work. If you have a vent for air plugging it will trap air. If air is trapped a minimal amount of steam will get in.
I also don't see any risk for damage, but I've never even seen 2 pipe steam in person.
I know about one pipe steam because I've had to fix 20 problems with my 120+ year old building.
__-__-_-_ t1_irmw16q wrote
If you have a two pipe system you're better off just shutting the valves. Two pipe valves are designed to be used repeatedly and to be partially closed to throttle the heat. If you see multiple valves, only touch the one that's closest to your radiator on the steam supply side, though. That one is the one for you to use, the others are just to isolate the radiator for repairs and will probably start leaking if you wear out the seals by repeated use.
b0xtarts t1_irnb37d wrote
Bruh can we private chat?
im_not_bovvered t1_irrtmr8 wrote
>Opening windows to control temperature is a
>
>dick move
You're bolding this like a lot of renters (myself included) have choice in this. With the windows open and the heat on my apt is a minimum of 85 degrees. It would be well over 100 if I didn't open the windows.
It's the landlords, management companies, and supers that need to do something about it.
mule_roany_mare t1_irs4721 wrote
Unfortunately the landlord is bound by the lowest common denominator, that means keeping the coldest apartment at 68 degrees (plus a margin of error in practice).
Owners would love to save money, but the dick who refuses to close his window is also the dick who calls the city & gets you fined. It's a problem in coops & condos just as much as renter buildings.
It's a catch 22 that hinges on uncooperative residents who have zero incentive to conserve energy.
im_not_bovvered t1_irs6z1q wrote
People are, largely, opening their windows so they don't die of heat stroke.
If tenants don't control the heat, it's not tenants' faults if the only way to literally not have a 110 degree apartment is to open the windows.
mule_roany_mare t1_irsco2v wrote
You have a lot more control over your heat than you think.
What kind of heat do you have?
im_not_bovvered t1_irsk6t4 wrote
I have radiator heat. The landlord and super control the boiler in the basement and when we receive heat. My two radiators cannot be turned off with knobs and they are behind radiator covers that are fused to the wall and painted shut and I have a heating pole that you also cannot control.
I don't control my heat. When it's on it's on. When it's off, it's off. I live in a pre-war building uptown - I'm not sure why you think I have any control over my heat.
mule_roany_mare t1_irsl4us wrote
…. I know how heating works, I’m asking what kind of boiler you have so I can tell you your specific options.
Do you have one pipe steam?
What is a heating pole? Are you talking about the riser that runs between floors?
im_not_bovvered t1_irsnfjb wrote
If you know how heating works, why are you asking me what a heating pole is? I feel like you know exactly what I'm talking about but are trying to be a know it all. Heating pole/radiator pipe/steam riser. Take your pick. It runs from the bottom of the building to the top and mine has a vent on the top because I'm on the top floor.
I don't think you actually know how it works if you think I have options. Once again, *I do not control my own heat.* I cannot turn my radiators on, I cannot turn them off, and I do not have any control over the boiler. If I could find a wool cover that I could be assured wouldn't catch fire, I'd try that. Other than that, I cannot do anything about the amount of heat I get.
Also I am a tenant in a rental building that is 76 apartments big. Our boiler room is locked - how am I supposed to know what kind of boiler we have? I could go on a dive on DOB that may or may not tell me what type of boiler it is, but the fact remains that the landlord and super control when it is and isn't on.
mule_roany_mare t1_irspw9w wrote
Because you haven’t answered the relevant question.
A pole isn’t a pipe & wanted to understand what you were trying to say.
I give up, enjoy your uncomfortable apartment.
>how am I supposed to know
By answering the damned questions & describing the features of your radiator accurately so I can tell you what you have & how to control the heat in your apartment.
How can you be so sure of what you don’t know & also confident you know everything?
im_not_bovvered t1_irsrlaf wrote
I literally told you exactly what my setup is in an earlier comment.
I have one of these:
https://renov8or.blogspot.com/2015/10/covering-exposed-heating-pipes-with-rope.html
And two radiators that cannot be turned off (the knobs don't work) that are covered with metal covers that are fused to the wall and cannot be removed.
I do not control when the heat is on or off in my building, so why does it matter what kind of boiler I have? I don't control it. Unless my super replaces my radiators (not going to happen) or sets them up with a temperature control (again, not going to happen - I have asked) or I can control the boiler (I don't), there's nothing I, a tenant, can do. If it's cold, call 311. If it's too hot, tough - there is no maximum heat law in New York City. Literally the only things I can do is open my windows, which is how these buildings were designed for combating illness, and run my a/c.
If you are familiar with radiator/steam heat in NYC you know exactly what a heating pole is and you're just being pedantic. I am confident about the building set up that I LIVE IN and how the heat works in my apartment building. Stop trying to gaslight me. This is not my first pre-war apartment with steam heat.
mule_roany_mare t1_irssi01 wrote
No one is gaslighting you.
You just don’t know as much as you think you do. You don’t need to control the boiler or the valve to prevent heat from entering your radiator.
Your options are different depending on what type of heat you have which can be determined by your radiator.
All the stuff you keep saying isn’t what’s relevant.
Enjoy your heat
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