60 year old base board boiler system runs intermittently Warm in Hotter months:

alanalorie

Hello, I live on the 3rd floor (I know that could be part of why my unit gets so warm in the summer), and I noticed a pattern that it could be 69 F outside in temperature and 87 F inside my apartment. It seems that warmth passes through the baseboard units intermittently during the hot months. I have a thermostat that is off when this happens.

It is fine in the winter; the system will slowly make it warmer, and I just need a small space heater near me during quick cold snaps.

The problem is that an outside contractor had to replace the boiler and other parts about two years ago. Since then, I have had to dress like I am on the equator in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, and I am not blasting my air conditioning 24/7 from April through November. I asked the landlord's maintenance manager what could be occurring, and he dismissed me and said he didn't know. He said I could even put my hand on the baseboard heater if it were on (which was not true for that system; you can have furniture right next to it, but it will mess with efficiency). He did not contact the original contractors who had fixed it, nor did he plan to.

Could someone guess what might be happening so I can bring the complaint to my Landlord? (BTW, I live in the Midwest of the U.S., and take medications where I should not be in temps over 81 F - 82 F for long periods),

Jamie Hall

There are any number of things which could be amiss. First off, this is hot water heat, not steam?

Unfortunately for you, almost all of the things which could be wrong involve the installation of the boiler, or the way the controls are arranged — neither of which you can do much about as a tenant.

One thing you could do, though. Are there valves on your baseboards? If so, do they work? That may seem obvious, but… worth looking into.

EdTheHeaterMan

if you have copper tube with aluminum fin type baseboard radiators, there may be dampers on them. They will cut down on the amount of heat that comes out of those baseboard radiators. If the dampers are old and don’t work properly, you can stuff a piece of pipe insulation between the front cover and the floor to block air flow through the radiators.

Intplm.

One thing that comes to mind is the absence of a flow control valve or it's not adjusted properly. Many other issues could be at fault as well.

Can you post some pictures from far away and up close? Might be able to offer a few suggestions.