Bathroom heat is unbearable. Looking for solutions.

Merigouldi

I have a steam heat vent in the bathroom that is out of control. Another forum told me that I could simply seal over the holes either with tape or something like cardboard or a foam sheet.

I asked if it was safe and they said it was. I just wanted to get a second opinion on the matter to make sure it won't cause a fire hazard. I've attached a picture of the vent. If I can tape over the holes, is there a particular type of tape that works best?

Also if anyone has a better idea altogether please let me know. I'm open to all suggestions.

Thanks for any help!

Big Ed_4

Most likely that vent is shot . You can replace the vent with a adjustable vent like a Hoffman 1A . To shut off completely replace the vent with a 1/8" NPT plug .. The steam vent really should be installed in the lower tap , but good luck removing the plug ..

caywltz

Well, you're not ready to remove it, I guess there is nothing dangerous in covering those holes. My aunt has something similar looking with the holes covered by previous residents, 3 years - no accidents. But just in case, you can consult a professional, I don't think it's expensive

HVACNUT

Are you sure you have steam heat? Because that looks like a coin vent for a hydronic radiator on a mono flo system.

Can you post some pics of the boiler, controls, and connected piping?

BillyO

Like HVAC said, that may be a hot water system. don't remove anything just yet

ChrisJ

Doesn't look like any vent for a steam radiator I've ever seen. It's way too small..

Do you have actual steam coming out?

Jamie Hall

As the guys have said -- that's not a steam vent. You have hot water. Yes, you can cover the holes; use something which will take the heat, though. You may also find a valve somewhere on the pipes going to that radiator which you can close.

STEVEusaPA

Merigouldi said:

...Another forum told me that I could simply...

You already received bad advice.
This is the only forum that you need to visit , where you find the experts.

JohnNY

I live in a steam heated NYC apartment and the heat is out of control. I have a radiator similar to yours and I covered those heat-outlet holes with blue gaffers tape to help cool my apartment down. It works fine, not fantastically because the radiator still gets hot, but it's fine to reduce the heat output by some percentage. That's the easiest thing to do and it's safe. If you don't have access to a valve or thermostat or don't want to fiddle with the building's stuff, do what I did which seems to be exactly what you've been previously advised to do by others.

Big Ed_4

That brand valve ,stated it can be used for steam and hot water . They used expandable felt like disks to seal it up. The layers of disks expands when they get wet . , I forgot the manufactures name

HVACNUT

> @Big Ed_4 said:
> That brand valve ,stated it can be used for steam and hot water . They used expandable felt like disks to seal it up. The layers of disks expands when they get wet . , I forgot the manufactures name

That's pretty cool.
I've never seen that type. Granted 95% of my work is in the basement.

If its anything like the opening on a hydronic coin vent, there's 12 coats of paint blocking the hole anyway.

I guess in this case the felt discs are stuck and not able to stop the air flow?

Merigouldi

Thanks so much for all the advice!

Big Ed_4 said:

Most likely that vent is shot . You can replace the vent with a adjustable vent like a Hoffman 1A . To shut off completely replace the vent with a 1/8" NPT plug .. The steam vent really should be installed in the lower tap , but good luck removing the plug ..

Is the vent the thing sticking out and sealed off with paint? Or is it located underneath the cover with the holes?

Merigouldi

HVACNUT said:

Are you sure you have steam heat? Because that looks like a coin vent for a hydronic radiator on a mono flo system.



Can you post some pics of the boiler, controls, and connected piping?

Unfortunately I can't because the LL is in Florida (we are in NY) and the boiler is in her basement which we don't have access to. We live on the second floor. You may be right, though. I just assumed it's steam heat but it may not be.

Merigouldi

BillyO said:

Like HVAC said, that may be a hot water system. don't remove anything just yet

I won't. We rent and I don't want to do anything that would cause hundreds (or thousands) of dollars worth of repairs.

ChrisJ said:

Doesn't look like any vent for a steam radiator I've ever seen. It's way too small..

Do you have actual steam coming out?

No steam, just unbelievable amounts of heat.

STEVEusaPA said:

Merigouldi said:

...Another forum told me that I could simply...

You already received bad advice.
This is the only forum that you need to visit , where you find the experts.

Duly noted. The advice I've received here so far has been great!

JohnNY said:

I live in a steam heated NYC apartment and the heat is out of control. I have a radiator similar to yours and I covered those heat-outlet holes with blue gaffers tape to help cool my apartment down. It works fine, not fantastically because the radiator still gets hot, but it's fine to reduce the heat output by some percentage. That's the easiest thing to do and it's safe. If you don't have access to a valve or thermostat or don't want to fiddle with the building's stuff, do what I did which seems to be exactly what you've been previously advised to do by others.

I'll probably go this route since it seems like it won't cause a fire hazard and is pretty simple to do. Thanks a lot for the insight!

Merigouldi

Additionally, if I do cover the holes to prevent the heat from coming in, what happens to the heat? Where does it go? I think I should mention that this is the second floor of a 2 family house.

Merigouldi

Jamie Hall said:

As the guys have said -- that's not a steam vent. You have hot water. Yes, you can cover the holes; use something which will take the heat, though. You may also find a valve somewhere on the pipes going to that radiator which you can close.

The issue there is getting the cover off. Besides trying to figure out how to get it off, there is only about 8" of space in between the vent and the vanity. Tight quarters for sure.

hot_rod

HVACNUT said:

> @Big Ed_4 said:

> That brand valve ,stated it can be used for steam and hot water . They used expandable felt like disks to seal it up. The layers of disks expands when they get wet . , I forgot the manufactures name



That's pretty cool.

I've never seen that type. Granted 95% of my work is in the basement.



If its anything like the opening on a hydronic coin vent, there's 12 coats of paint blocking the hole anyway.



I guess in this case the felt discs are stuck and not able to stop the air flow?

Here you go, called Hydroscopic vents or caps. We sell an 1/8" which is both a manual and automatic vent, and a cap for regular vents. The discs do need occasional replacement they are organic cellous material.

The 1/8 has a small ball check so you can replace the cap without losing pressure or fluid.

JUGHNE

Could you post some pictures of other radiators in the apartment that are not enclosed?

HVACNUT

That is the vent protruding on the upper right. Just leave it until a pro or building maintenance can replace it.
If it's a hot water boiler and not steam, the vent is not the problem. It could be a faulty flow check or valve in the boiler room.

For now, do like @JohnNY wrote. Cover the upper and lower air tunnels. Cardboard and masking tape.

Big Ed_4

If it were steam heat it would be leaking steam ..If its a hot water system check under the lower cover , there should be a butter fly valve on one of the two pipes you can shut off . Looking at your photo it looks like stuff was built around the radiator ? Is this a Appartment ? In a pinch a sheet Styrofoam would work ....

mattmia2

If you can show us the piping that connects in to the bottom we can tell you if it is hot water or steam. Like others said, there is likely a valve inside the access panel at the bottom.

Looks like they built a wall in the middle of it and if it is hot water or 2 pipe steam there may be connections in 2 rooms.

Merigouldi

JUGHNE said:

Could you post some pictures of other radiators in the apartment that are not enclosed?

All of the other radiators in the house look like this. The cover was painted shut but I was able to get through the paint with a utility knife to get the cover off.






I also took some blind shots of the radiator in the bathroom through the little slots in the bottom. Not sure if they're useful or not.

Merigouldi

HVACNUT said:

That is the vent protruding on the upper right. Just leave it until a pro or building maintenance can replace it.

If it's a hot water boiler and not steam, the vent is not the problem. It could be a faulty flow check or valve in the boiler room.



For now, do like @JohnNY wrote. Cover the upper and lower air tunnels. Cardboard and masking tape.

Thanks a lot. I'll probably just do the cardboard and tape and see how it goes. If it's still too hot then I'll take next steps. I ended up being able to move the bottom cover to get some better pics just in case you or someone else in this thread wanted to check them out.

Merigouldi

Also, would duct tape work? I don't have any masking tape in the house...

SuperTech

Duct tape will leave the adhesive all over whatever it's used on after you take it off. Painters tape and masking tape would be a better way to go.

JUGHNE

Looking at the picture of the "radiator" with the cover off, that is a hot water convector. The control valve is on the right end and the left end has an air vent.

Convectors put out heat by the air flow from bottom to top.
If you block the air flow thru the bottom that will drop the heat delivered. Also block the top if still too much heat.

Ideally closing down the supply valve somewhat would be the best way.

Even if you stop the convection of air the front will still be considered a radiator and continue to heat.

Don't mess with the air vent. If there was air in the unit then the water flow would be less.....what you want.

Merigouldi

SuperTech said:

Duct tape will leave the adhesive all over whatever it's used on after you take it off. Painters tape and masking tape would be a better way to go.

Thanks, never thought of that. I actually have some blue painters tape that I can use.

Merigouldi

HVACNUT said:

That is the vent protruding on the upper right. Just leave it until a pro or building maintenance can replace it.

If it's a hot water boiler and not steam, the vent is not the problem. It could be a faulty flow check or valve in the boiler room.



For now, do like @JohnNY wrote. Cover the upper and lower air tunnels. Cardboard and masking tape.

Here's the final product. Not sure how long it will stick but if it comes undone I'll just redo it. Thanks again for the advice, I hope this works out.

SuperTech

I would think that it would definitely help.

mattmia2

So there's no valve down there?

If i'm not mistaken, which i could be, that cast iron recessed radiator is going to have a lot more output than those convectors.

HVACNUT

Now check the radiators in the adjacent rooms.

If radiators are heating when the heat is not on, then there is a problem in the boiler room.
Either a flow check valve or motorized zone valve is open.

Chances are another rad is getting hot right now.

Merigouldi

HVACNUT said:

Now check the radiators in the adjacent rooms.



If radiators are heating when the heat is not on, then there is a problem in the boiler room.

Either a flow check valve or motorized zone valve is open.



Chances are another rad is getting hot right now.

Problem is that we have no control over the heat. The controls and boiler are on the first floor with the boiler in the basement so we don't know when it's supposed to be on or not. That said, the heat is usually on when it's supposed to be so I assume the controls are working as they should. The 2 radiators in the back of the house sometimes don't get as hot as the 4 but nothing gets as hot as it does in the bathroom.

mattmia2 said:

So there's no valve down there?

If i'm not mistaken, which i could be, that cast iron recessed radiator is going to have a lot more output than those convectors.

Here is a video. I was able to get the bottom cover off to get a better view of the inside. I think it'll give you a better idea of what it is.https://youtu.be/K9txCUaUIFE

Merigouldi

Update: The heat is currently on and the cardboard/masking tape solution is working but perhaps a little too well. I think I'm going to start making holes in the cardboard to adjust the heat a little.

If this is a bad idea please let me know.

ratio

Merigouldi said:

Update: The heat is currently on and the cardboard/masking tape solution is working but perhaps a little too well. I think I'm going to start making holes in the cardboard to adjust the heat a little.

If this is a bad idea please let me know.

It's a fine idea.

mattmia2

It is one of these or another manufacturer's version

https://www.usboiler.net/product/radiant-baseboard-radiator.html

unfortunately I don't see a valve down there. i don't even see any unions.

nicholas bonham-carter

Looks like a valve to me:
https://us.v-cdn.net/5021738/uploads/editor/zr/7bv1ga5r2jwj.jpg