Baseboard gives me a headache whn it heats up. Why?

Empire_2

Have your boiler checked for proper firing. Nothing that I know of as pertains to and radiant source will give you a head ache. CO is the main concern here. Have it checked Immediately!!! Don't Waite

Mike T.

Bob_115

baseboard

I converted my heating system from radiant in a concrete slab to baseboard convectors . The heating is ok but whenever it comes on I get a headache. I have cleaned the fins but i still get a headache? The return for the baseboard is in the enclosure above the fins.Any suggestions to remedy this would be appreciated.

Unknown

Mike T is right! Have it checked immediately!

There was a post on here the other day about a whole family in Colorado who died of Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning due to a bad heating system.

Frenchie

Shut it down

Yes, have it checked out immediately! But, I would take it a step further and shut it off NOW until you get it checked out. Your life is at stake, and anyone else in the building. You should use electric space heaters or something similar until you get your system fixed. If you get a headache when the heat comes on about the only thing it can be is carbon monoxide. This is nothing to play with. Please shut it down right now! There are a number of things that can cause a boiler to spill or leak CO into a building.

TimS

hello Bob , are you ok

please let us know how are you doing ???

Bob_115

baseboard headache

Thanks for the concern and the response. The boiler runs all the time for domestic hot water and i am fine with that. I also have a CO detector in the room and it reads 0 ppm. I only get a headache when the basebord heats up.The convectors are slant fin copper tube with aluminum fins installed on the outer walls over sheet rock.

Charlie from wmass

so sort of solvent or paint on the walls? were the covers painted at anytime? Cat activity, i.e. urine? That you can find with ultra violet light.

lee_7

New or old baseboards? new ones are coated with oil in the manufacturing process. Some people have adverse reactions to smoke/smell from this.

Bob_115

baseboard headache

The covectors were installed two years ago and were never painted. There was wall paper behind them so i pulled them away from the wall and stripped off the paper to try and eliminate the headaches but it didn't help.
How hot should the baseboard get to burn off the factory oil coating? I would think that by now it should be gone.The water temperature to the baseboards is about 150 degrees.I don't have a cat and the dog is well trained and never had an accident near the baseboards.

lee_7

The oil coating only lasts for an hour or two after new install. Sounds like something else is goiing on. Like the others have said, get a Pro in there to look system over and try and find a cause.

Unknown

I'd take look at anything that was new/changed. You mentioned an enclosure. I'd check the material out. Some of these pressed board/particle board (new and old)will give off fumes when heated. Most people it doesn't bother but some people it does. The only other thing might be paint or a coating of some kind that when heated is giving off fumes.

realolman

I painted

a radiator this summer, been heating with it all fall and winter, and it still stinks. It's getting better though.

Any body else bothered by this baseboard? Make darn sure your CO detector is accurate.

Bob_115

baseboard headache.

I am going to pull the convectors away from the wall and see if they are still giving me a headache. I might try insulating behind them if that works. Failing that I will look into replacing them with convectors with black iron instead of copper and aluminum. I hear they are available for steam systems.I also might try increasing the aquastat to 200 degrees to try and burn off whatever is causing the problem. After it is solved i want to put a mixing valve from the return line to heat at a lower temperature. Is that feasable? It doesn't bother the rest of the family so it is something I am sensitized to.