Ransley, I'll give you some credit. Most of what you said has validity, HOWEVER.................have you ever actually seen an "OLD" steam radiator valve? Sure it will have gobs and gobs of paint on it but their is no paint thinner in the world that is going to free it because the paint is not the problem. When you have time, take a 40 or
80 yr old steam valve off of a radiator. RUST is the issue. Most of them look like someone welded it in place. Usually the stem just snaps off and then you replace the valve. Other than that, you got most of it right and yes I would charge in the neighborhood of thousands to balance an entire complex of apts. Bubba
Yo Bubba I just replaced today a rad in a kitchen today in my building that had a gas fridge in it before 1980. So the kitchen was always cool since it was balanced for that gas frige. This guy thinks only 120,000.00 in new radiators are the fix , Yea he is a fucktard to fall for that scam. Its to bad he is so dumb its because its only a $2
- $5,000.00 fix that will give him a $8000.00 return in only the first year, Yea he is a moron, because he is thinking of 120,000.00 in new radiators... The problem is the building is being managed by idiots...... who dont know what the f*ck they are doing except collecting rents and thats RAY, gee im so "vulgar" being truthfull..............
Stop name calling names and stick with the mechanical questions. You'll look like less of a putz.
You've already gotten valid answers. The thermostatically controlled valves, such as those by Honeywell and Danfoss, work great. They essentially make the radiator it's own zone and a handyman can install the setup on a radiator in ten minutes or less. Figure seventy five to a hundred bucks per radiator.
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A cheaper and less precise control would be the adjustable vents. Some of the units are preset and others allow the occupant to adjust the setting. Google Vari-vent. Figure twenty bucks per radiator for materials and five minutes per swap out.
The idea with the adjustable vents is to retard the delivery of steam to the closer-to-the-boiler radiators and the ones that get too hot by closing down the steam vent aperture, and to open up the colder/ farther radiators. Really cold radiators can be drilled and tapped to add secondary vents to allow even more air to escape and pull more steam towards that radiator. Google 'balancing one pipe steam' - there's a good article floating about that covers the topic in more detail.
Steam radiator valves should always be fully open or fully closed. Messing around with the valves to control the heat doesn't work, interferes with the set-it-and-forget-it objective, and promotes leaking valves.
BTW, whoever sold - and bought - that $120K heating plant upgrade without addressing the known radiator issues is a putz. It's people like that that give coops and condo boards a bad name - people going off half-cocked and pissing away other people's money, then requiring more of other people's money to correct the deficiencies.
Rans, Im not saying your valves dont operate but Im saying that being in the business I see them all winter long. I bet less than 1% of them will actually turn. ........but I'll take that $120,000 the OP wants to give up. :-) Bubba
It shouldnt be more than an hour to replace a bad valve. [ isnt there a nut that can be loosened to free it up] Maybe the thermostat type air vents do work. I have not liked them because of cost and I believe any tennant can adjust the heat up. I dont like adjustable Dole for that reason also, I had a lady last week saying she was cold, it was
75 in the apt and I laughed, so she got an electric heater and keeps it near 80. Last year I had a tennant removing his vent for humidity, my experiance is tennants like it 73-76 even though the law here is
68, but I feel 70 is good. Gorton are good because the landlord controls the heat, its alot of work getting it done, it can take a week, but then it lasts for years, the vents are about 18$
You're asking me? I thought you knew all that. The problem isnt the nut so much although Ive distorted and split those messing with them. The problem is the stem down in the valve that is attached to the handle. Being in a steam environment tends to rust it in place to the walls of the valve, sometimes better than a welder could weld it.
Adjustables are less than $20 at the radiator.
Seen all that many times over. Ive seen tennants run out in the hall to the stat hidden by a lock box stat cover and they stack ice cube trays on them.
Havent heard or seen Gorton around here. Dont have any temperature laws that I know of either. Bubba
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