Again, it is happening. Or not happening.

[maytagbear]

Closed the last window, turned up the thermostat. Undershirt, shirt, cotton sweater, and blanket.

48F/9C outside, "rather chilly" inside

NOTHING. No "clunk" from the basement. No "click" from the Honeywell Round.

I am more disappointed than angry. I have lived here since October 2002. Since then, I have never known my landlord to call for PROFESSIONAL inspection and maintenance of the furnace. When we had our house, we had a professional inspection and servicing of our forced air gas furnace every fall-early winter. Best 60 or so dollars we ever spent.

I know some of you are landlords. I can understand (sort of), the appeal of doing your own maintenance, but...... This furnace has been randomly troublesome for YEARS.

I have a (polite, professional-type) call into my landlord.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[ronhic]

No....

.....I can't understand why anyone would be so miserable for the sake of $60.

Playing with a combination of gas and electricity is just stupid to me....ok, fair enough to hoover the ducts and dust off what you can see, but there is more to servicing a furnace than that.....

 

[volvoguy87]

Switch.

Is your system forced air?
Is it gas?
Most furnaces and boilers have a kill switch nearby (looks like a light switch and may or may not be labeled for its function). Find it and make sure it's switched on. Make sure the breaker is switched on too. Also, all the Honeywell Round thermostats I've seen are silent. It's actually one of the most reliable thermostats I've come across.

Lately I've been in charge of a 85-year-old steam heating system and I've got to say I LOVE STEAM! With a few minor tweaks and some good old fashioned maintenance, it's silent and efficient. I wish I had one-pipe steam heat back in Cincinnati.

Good luck on your heat,
Dave

 

[yogitunes]

Next step would be to call the Board of Health.....they will make him service it and have it up and running....

any access to the heater room?, I'd open a window, if it gets cold enough, maybe the pipes will freeze and break, that will teach him a very good lesson

theres being polite.....and then you have to call for heavy artillary

let us know how you make out

 

[wvkenmore]

My " 2 cents worth"

I have rental property and I had a call that the heat was out, so I went to check and see what was up. When I arrived they were foaming at the mouth and threating me with a call to anybody and everybody. I went in and no piloit light, and could not get any gas smell. I started home to call our heating contracor when I decided to look at the gas meter. The gas company had shut the gas off for non payment, I told the tenate to pay his gas bill and he could have heat.

 

[ronhic]

pay his gas bill and he could have heat.

Quite....

...and there is nothing wrong with going to check these things and if you can, get them working. But if there is a history of breakdowns, there comes a point where the tenant should expect a modicum of reliability from an appliance, and an essential appliance when a heater, they are paying for use of....

 

[stevet]

Steam, Glorious Steam

Oh how I miss the comfort and secure, warm and fuzzy feeling of steam heat too! This scorched air heat we have in Florida via our Heat pumps and supplemental electric heaters really sucks.
But there isnt much choice to be had here in the Sunshine State.

I really just wanted to let the members in on a great author on the subject of Steam Heat as well as Hydronic heating. He is truly a master and his books are eye-opening to say the least.

His name is Dan Holohan..some of you may have heard of him already.
His most famous book would have to be "The Lost Art of Steam Heating.
He explores steam heating from its beginnings up to the present and I can personally guarantee everyone here that whatever you may have thought you knew about steam heat is probably somewhat wrong and could be costing you lots of money if you have a steam system.
Also, he throws in some stuff on Hydronic and radiant systems and also has separate books on them.

The book is large but easy reading and it will help you analyze your own systems and troubleshoot problems.

I cannot tell you how many myths he debunks and how much better my own system performed once I tweaked it the way he said to. The best advice he gave was to get rid of the "pressuretrol" and replace it with a vaporostat. Yes they make them and a properly designed steam system will blast you with heat and save you lots of heating dollars if you install one and set it for no more that 14 OUNCES of pressure..Pounds are not needed per se and just think about how many systems are out there running on 4-5 pounds and the house is still cold or unevenly heated.

I used to look forward to winter just so I could play with my heating system in Valley Stream, NY. And I loved to hear all the air valves happily clicking away with those 14 or less ounces of pressure!

And if you should oibtain the book, I want you to know that I have spioken to Dan himself many times and he is one of the most down to earth regular guys you will ever talk to.
He would fit into this group like a glove! So don't be afraid to contact him by email or phone.

About HeatingHelp.com

HeatingHelp.com is your source for information about heating systems. Whether you’re a contractor with questions about heating equipment or a homeowner wondering how heating systems work, you’re sure to find answers here.

www.heatinghelp.com

 

[volvoguy87]

Dan Holohan

Stevet, you hit the nail right on the head. I started a new thread about steam heat (linked below) so this thread can stay on track.

Happy Steaming,
Dave

Steam Heat

This is an offshoot of another Super Forum thread. To recap: the discussion started with a mention of Mr. Dan Holohan and his website www.heatinghelp.com. He has also written several books including the following: The Lost Art of Steam Heating A Pocketful of Steam Problems (With Solutions)...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[maytagbear]

EXCUSE ME, WVKENMORE!

My utilities are CURRENT.

The furnace is in a LOCKED basement.

My landlord came over not quite an hour ago, and the heat is now on.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[a440]

It really sucks when you don't own your own property, and can't make your own rules.
It is just stuff that you have to put up with when you rent. We have all been there and put up with the landlord crap.
Hope you are toasty warm for the time being.
Brent

 

[toggleswitch]

What are the chances of getting thyself a key?

 

[launderess]

Steam Heat

Our building has it and while it may be the bee's knees to some, the thing, at least this system is slow to react to changes in outdoor temperatures.

Since last night NYC temps actually increased, with yesterday and today in the 50's. Does our heating system adjust? No it does not. Had every single window open and a fan going, still indoor temps were >70F. Why? Darn steam heat is going at full blast. Closed off all the radiators, but still. Hallways are like an oven.

Find in general steam heated large buildings, at least those in our area are some of the most inefficently run heating wise. Even in deep winter with temps <20F, walk down any street or avenue and you will see scores of windows wide open. Common complaint is that those living on the lower floors are roasting, whilst those on the highest floor range from "comfortable" to "cold".

Such a waste of petrol.

Personally one is known as "Queen Victoria" when it comes to indoor temps. I like things, well "chilly" to say the least. At night in winter, all heating is closed off and windows opened. You can wake-up some mornings and actually "see" one's own breath! *LOL* Can't see the point of sleeping in an overly heated bedroom; that is what eiderdowns are for.

 

[whirlcool]

This is the time of year that the landlords are just getting around to turn the heat on. That's probably what happened in your case, he just hadn't turned it on for the winter yet. A lot of landlords wait until the complaints start coming in before they turn it on.
Maybe you could have a locksmith come and make you a key?

 

[maytagbear]

A key would not work,

seeing as how it is a combination lock.

Furthermore, since I pay for the gas, and have a thermostat in my apartment, it should not have anything to do with my landlord.

I asked him NOT to turn off the pilot light....

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[westie2]

Heat this winter

Lawrence I sure do hope your land loard gives you better service this heating season than he did this past year. I remember your furnace was out some when it was so bitter cold.

 

[tolivac]

I would think a locked utility room or furnace room would be a CODE VIOLATION in the area where the home is located-the tenant not having access to the equipment-Can you shut it down in an emergency?Are the breaker or fuse panels in that locked area-if so get with your local building inspector-you would have a code violation on the landlords part.Breaker and fuse boxes MUST be accessable to the householder.Same with main utility cutoffs.

 

[thomasortega]

You can just move to Iguassu... At least you wouldn't have this problem here.

Here not even a single house has a furnace and 90% of the population have never seen a furnace or a water heater. They probably don't know what is that.

When you leave the plane, you'll understand how a turkey would feel it left in oven during the cleaning cycle. LOL