Apartment too hot!


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Old 10-14-18, 12:16 PM
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Apartment too hot!

Hello everyone,

I live in an apartment building on the top floor (5th) and they turned on the heat for the year the other day. My apartment feels like summer in Vegas... even with all the windows open!

I have a baseboard heater running through my main room and bedroom as well as one in the bathroom. I read that if they're water based, I can cover the fins with heavy duty aluminum foil and that should do it.

My landlord is not the most responsive. How can I tell if this is water or electric based? I have a few photos of the knobs, which lead me to believe it's water.

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EDIT It doesnt seem to want to link to a photo

Thanks for any advice!
 
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Old 10-14-18, 12:20 PM
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Welcome to the forums.

If it's a "building based" system..... it will be hot water.
How-to-insert-pictures
 
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Old 10-14-18, 12:26 PM
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That's good to hear! I'll go with the aluminum foil approach then.

Thank you!
 
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Old 10-14-18, 12:26 PM
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Do your radiators have thermostats? If might look something like this:

 
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Old 10-14-18, 12:36 PM
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If it doesn't have a thermostat like Dane posted.... you could turn one of those yellow handles off and stop/reduce the flow of hot water.
 
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Old 10-14-18, 12:58 PM
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No thermostat unfortunately. As far as you might know, does it matter which handle to turn?
 
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Old 10-14-18, 01:15 PM
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Either one.

Just remember that during the winter.... some water must be allowed to flow thru those pipes to prevent freezing where the pipes pass thru cold locations.
 
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Old 10-14-18, 04:10 PM
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You'll soon develop a knack for moving the yellow handle the perfect amount to get the heat you want. Off and on are easy but getting the right amount might take some fine movements of the lever.

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I have fond memories of an apartment where I had the magic touch. It took me a couple days to learn just how much to move the lever but I became quite adept at getting the apartment to the desired temperature. There was no thermostat so it wasn't automatic but it soon was second nature to just titch the valve as needed without thinking about it.
 
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Old 10-14-18, 05:46 PM
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Should not mater which handle to turn.
 
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Old 10-15-18, 04:13 AM
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Depending on the type of building and boiler controls the aluminum foil trick would be my choice and has been for many years. Also, the baseboard units should have a moveable damper that can be opened or closed that will allow at least some adjustment. If your baseboards do not have the dampers installed I would ask the building maintenance if they were removed and if they were could they re-install them. A picture of the whole baseboards, especially the top part would help.
 
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Old 10-16-18, 05:09 PM
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When the opportunity presents itself, move to someplace that you have control of the heat. I doubt that you will ever be fully happy with your present situation, but the aluminum foil idea may alleviate your misery.
 
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Old 11-12-18, 03:45 PM
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Don't uninstall anything. You may cover the radiators with anything you want to. There is no danger of fire with a water or steam based system.

If there is a really cold snap outside then uncover the radiators and enjoy the heat.
 

Last edited by AllanJ; 11-12-18 at 04:06 PM.
 

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