Steam Radiator Leaking

mrwhiskers

Hello. The heat came on in my NYC apartment last night. Everything is great apart from in the main room there is this guy who is making a ton of noise and leaking visible steam and water. The threading on the thing on top to shut or open everything is busted and it just spins round and round. It appears to be leaking from the top and it’s pretty clear from the wood this has been going on for a few tenants...is this a call the super and replace job?

Lard

That looks to be an abandoned valve- and it sounds like the packing nut has bit the dust.  Someone tried ptfe tape on it the way it looks....

your super just needs to take that valve off and cap the line properly.  That cap on the radiator union threads can’t be sealing well either.

Jamie Hall

And the good news is that if the super does it right, it will take about 15 minutes. One wrench on the pipe coming up from the floor, another on the hex on the valve body, and it should come right off. Clean up the threads, put some tape on it, screw the cap on. Done. Do it with the steam off in the building, though...

EdTheHeaterMan

If you get no response from the building supervisor, you can start pouring a quart of water down the hole 2 times a day until the tenant below calls the super for the leak in their ceiling.

Don't tell anyone I told you to do this, I'll deny everything, Say my computer was hacked and move to South Carolina.

JUGHNE

Or put a heavy metal can over the top of it, maybe weighted down with a brick.
Then maybe a heavy throw Rug over that.

Only after reporting the problem to the super.