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Help w/ Regulating Overheating in basement of Commercial building

Chris_51
Chris_51 Member Posts: 64
in Strictly Steam

I'm renting shop space in a commercial building. It gets way too hot in the winter. They don't have a good system for finding the sweet spot. The maintenance guys turn it up and down manually. They need to go pretty hot to get floor to the third and fourth floors.

I'm more of a hot water guy based on my old house. Everything had a valve. But this setup seems tricky.

I took the pictured from the source to the return. The 8 pipes are a huge radiator.

In the next shop on the other side of the first picture, the pipes do a 90, the have a big source manifold type thing. There is a single valve on that. I tried adjusting that last winter to have enough heat, but not super hot. It is almost impossible. The pipes heat before the bend if it's turned down. Or they overheat. When I say overheat the room goes to 80 in the winter.

My thought was to shut off 6 of the 8 pipes. That would cut the heat way down. I guess by adding valves.

I'm concerned that at the end of my 8 pipes, the maniford feeds the next guys room. The last picture shows how he has a 4 pipe radiator going to his room.

Does this plan make sense?

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Comments

  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,599
    edited August 10

    Hi, How about insulating some of the pipes? 🤔

    Yours, Larry

    Mad Dog_2bburd
  • retiredguy
    retiredguy Member Posts: 977

    If those pipe radiators overhead are to heat your space, you could cover them with a piece of plywood. or similar item. By covering them you would stop or reduce the convected air thus reducing the temperature in your space. Cover only what you have to to control the temperature. This would be a cheap fix.

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,387

    That looks like a Vapor system, which is designed to run on very low pressures- less than a pound. Air is vented at a central point in the basement, usually near the boiler. If the air venting is slow, the steam will not distribute well, and it will be hard to heat the upper floors.

    Where are you located? We might know someone who can help. The owners would benefit too since fixing this should reduce fuel consumption.

    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Chris_51
    Chris_51 Member Posts: 64
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1807750#Comment_1807750

    I didn't get notifications on this one. I thought it was strange that nobody responded. Lol.

    The pipes go the length of the space, so 30 feet or so. That was one thought. It would not be cheap. The pipes are thick too, so the easy wrap at home depot is way to small.

  • Chris_51
    Chris_51 Member Posts: 64

    That is a good idea. If it stays under 80, I guess that is ok. I'd rather have it 65-70.

    So when we close the valve in the other room, I can keep it cooler. But when we get the artic blast, it needs to be opened. If I'm in Florida, I need to rely on someone else, which is tough. I do have a wi-fi temp monitor I set up for this year.

  • Chris_51
    Chris_51 Member Posts: 64
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1807793#Comment_1807793

    Chicagoland. Bridgeport to be exact. They waste so much energy. It makes me sick. I'm just a tenant though. I can suggest.

    Would closing 2/3 of the pipes work?

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,387
    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1808905#Comment_1808905

    Better yet- call @The Steam Whisperer .

    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting

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