First, I HATE where I live. I am desperately searching for a higher paying job so I can get the heck out of this place ASAP. I just came home from vacation to a hot apartment, so nothing has changed and I put up with this unbearable heat last winter too.
Second, my apartment building is old in two ways. The people who live here are mostly old and the building itself is old, so they set the heat to a higher temp making it VERY difficult for us young adults. I also have medical issues, and heat doesn’t help. I also live on one of the higher floors.
It was 83/84 F in my apt before my vacation. I turned off the heating valves in the bedrooms and family room (it is a very small apartment). Well, it hasn’t mattered at all. It still is in the 80s in here. In fact, I wonder if my temperature reader is wrong because some days/nights it’s felt as if it was in the 90s!
So, the heating valves are shut off yet I am still feeling heat come out of the radiators, sometimes so hot it’ll burn my hand (not a literal burn, but incredibly hot to the touch). I opened up the large family room window tonight to get the cool 30some degree air from outside into the apt with the fan next to the window to blow the air in, along with the small bathroom window, and the window in the bedroom. It cooled down for awhile and then all of the vents went on full mode really hot. I’ve shut the widow in the bedroom and the heating vent in here for right now has decided to shut itself off.
So, it appears that it doesn’t matter if the valves are closed. It also appears if you try to cool the place down by opening a window it gets hotter.
Oh and haha my water is shut off about once a week.
What should I do?!?! I honestly can’t live like this. I spend my time in libraries and grocery stores to cool off, and sleep is well, a luxury.
You also need to be more clear about what you mean by valves and vents.
Let’s assume you have steam heat, meaning the radiator has air vents like raindog linked to. These are actually very difficult to turn off entirely. The large valves that connect the radiator to the system are often too old to seal tightly, so the steam leaks through anyway. The air vents are there to let the air out of the radiator so it can fill up with steam. Your best bet is to tighten down the valves and tape the holes in the air vents shut. That will make it somewhat harder for the steam to get in, and will hopefully keep a bunch of air in the radiator taking up space that the steam would use.
BTW, the way the air vents work is to be open when they are cold which lets air out, but they close up when they are hot, which keeps the steam inside the fully hot radiator. If you had cold air blowing on the vent, it may have kept it cold enough to stay open, at least open longer than normal. It might help to see what kind of air vent you have.
Ah, the venerable “Project Heat”. Opening the windows a bit works, but as you see, you nee to determine which vents/thermostats/whatever are being used to regulate and at least block the cold window air from hitting it.
Can you post a picture of the radiator(s) you are talking about?
In most cases you can insulate a standing radiator that will not shut down, or a folded rug over a floor register that wont close.
There are a lot of seniors that would love to live in your appt. I bet.
That way, every radiator can be controlled. If you’re a renter you may struggle reaching into your own pocket. But maybe you’re landlord will pay for some or all. They’re super easy to install. Super easy.
I live in an old building with a steam boiler. I had the SAME problem. For years people left the balcony doors open in the middle of winter.
I installed them on every radiator. Also…I bought them from a local plumbing/boiler supply house and I paid a lot less then whats in the link I posted.
