General Steam Radiator Help

Jim Pfaendtner

Hi everyone,

I am on a condo board for a 12 unit condo building heated by a steam boiler. Anyway, we have just taken over control from the developer and are now responsible for maintaining the and operating the boiler.

My question is about general boiler operation. People in my building (myself included) don't have a lot of sound knowledge about how to operate properly a boiler and right now we are degraded to a state where people who are cold or hot go adjust the pressure regulators on the boiler. This is not good.

Here are a few questions that will help me be a good manager of the system. Other advice is greatly appreciated.

1) Can you harm the boiler by overcontrolling and fiddling with the pressure setting too much?

2) If people in their units are opening and closing their valves on their radiators, can that disturb/harm the system by causing the pressure to fluctuate? (I had an old apartment where the landlord posted signs saying that adjusting the steam radiators in my unit could damage the system?)

3) We have one boiler with two steam heads leaving it (one for each side of the building). There is a pressure control actuator on each head and both lead back to the boiler. People seem to believe that it is possible to have two different pressures in the boiler, thus making one side of the building hotter or colder. This is false, correct?


Thanks so much!

Mark Wolff

Too many cooks in the kitchen

Don't let ANY of the condo owners even into the mechanical room. Purchase a quality lock and USE IT. The next step would be to search the Find a Professional database on this website to locate a reputable heating professional that will then

A) Walk you through preventative maintenance that a homeowner or maintenance person can do.

Tell you what not to touch ever.

Heating systems are complicated for individuals not accustommed to their quirks. Some things are acceptable to adjust (not many, not often) but most really should be left to a heating professional, especially with that many homes being affected; and really, in a properly adjusted system, there should be no need for changing the pressure in the system all the time.

Mad Dog

The Wolfmann is right

keep them outta there. Someone's going to get hurt. Get a pro in there to evaluate the system, and set you up with a maintenance program. Mad Dog

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Jim Pfaendtner

Can I lock just the controls?

The problem is the boiler and hot water heater are located adjacent to three of storage lockers for units in our buildings. Can I get a lockbox to put over the pressure regulators, that would probably be sufficient.

Thanks