Would you hire this guy to balance 1-pipe steam?

narcaparbebra

We're dealing with uneven heating, increasing heating bills in 6 unit, 3 story, condo building. The board received the following proposal from a local plumbing-heating company.

There are several small things that are contributing to the heating system irregularities but you all must know that balancing all the units connected to a steam system is very difficult due to so many factors. I told you that I would make suggestions that I know will help the general operation but there is no guarantee that the units will all be within 2-3 degrees of one another.

<b>Return Line Vents</b>—Vents are failing. These are Dole #5 air vents and I normally would sell them for 179.00 each but if you replace all 4 of them, I will reduce the price to $165.00 each.

<b>The Boiler</b>—With a quick look over, everything seems to be normal but I did hear it cycle off and then back on within about 30-seconds, which can be attributed to several things but I would like to make sure the piping to both pressure controls are clean since this can cause the controls to think there is pressure and turn off.

<b>Boiler Cleaning</b>—If you have not had the boiler cleaned, it may be a good time to do this as well. If there is a thermocouple and it appears worn, that would be replaced with a cleaning.

<b>Vari-Vents</b>—You already have these on hand and they should be used by anyone who has radiators that are not heating all the way or for those that are heating too much.

<b>Radiator Valves</b>—These should be in proper operating order so that you can turn them on or off or even leave them in a middle position, which would help adjust or control the heating. Some may have to be repacked so they don’t leak in the middle position and some may even need replacing.

<b>Thermostat</b>—We found that the area around the stat was approximately 66 degrees with the stat set for 68, which can cause the boiler to run longer cycles and overheat areas where you cannot control the heat to the radiators. One thing that can be tried is to set the temperature down 1-degree to see if that controls some of the overheating.