How does my dorm room radiator work?

March 5, 2006 9:26 PM

HVAC Filter: Can someone describe how the radiator in my dorm room works? Or, how to fix it when it stops working in the middle of the night? (Pictures included!)

I understand the basic principle: I turn the knob, and somehow, the capillary tubing turns on the heat. But how does it work, exactly? What kind of liquid is in the capillary tubing? What's inside the control knob? Can I remove the nut from the end of the pipe and turn something manually?

I know that it can be fixed remotely, because all I have to do is call the facilities department, and within five minutes, I hear a whoosing sound in my pipes, but I'd be curious to know if I can fix it in the middle of the night when it suddenly gets cold?

Here are a few pictures of the setup... one overview, and one closeup. The sock is there because, every once in a while, the thing starts bubbling out some liquid, and it's noisy without it.

Thanks!

posted by fvox13 to Technology (7 answers total)

Does it stop working every night in the middle of the night? My school had remote control over our thermostats and basically turned them down every night at a certain time. Maybe if you complain they turn yours back up?
posted by drewbeck at 9:55 PM on March 5, 2006

I'm no HVAC expert, but, if it's like my heating system, they work because hot water circulates through the pipes, radiating heat into the room. That knob probably just controls the flow of water into the radiator; you have on and you have off and that's pretty much it.

Seems to me like what's happening is that you place a call, whoever is on the other end sets the thermostat a little warmer so that the boiler kicks in and delivers hot water to your room.
posted by MegoSteve at 9:55 PM on March 5, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for the replies thus far...

It doesn't appear to turn off at any particular time... in fact it generally stays on throughout the night except when it's broken....

I was looking for a more specific answer, as technical and nerdy as someone can make it... I'm curious as to the specifics of how it works.
posted by fvox13 at 10:20 PM on March 5, 2006

You generally don't want to mess with radiators, particularly when you don't have control over the furnace. You can get badly burnt.
posted by fshgrl at 11:43 PM on March 5, 2006

Best answer: See
http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/31050
http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/25056
http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/12892

and the 77 other Ask.Me Yahoo returns on the search term "radiator" for further elucidating details. Lots of technical and nerdy stuff in all that.

From your photos, you've got a condensing steam system, and the lower pipe is the water return. Open the valve, leave it open, and the steam will rise and the water should return to the boiler automatically. If it doesn't, there isn't anything you can do here that will help. Your boiler operator needs to be informed that you aren't getting heat. Sometimes, the trap needs to be cleaned or replaced.

Don't be screwing with the valve, as it is there mainly in case the radiator needs to be removed for service.
posted by paulsc at 2:18 AM on March 6, 2006

Best answer: I'm betting the reason this is fixed remotely but not immediately is you have one or more drains or valves in your feed loop that are misbehaving. You phone, power plant send the low guy on the totem pole to manually drain the line or free up the valve and Whoosh, Heat. In other words, not something you can effect.
posted by Mitheral at 7:16 AM on March 6, 2006

On some systems, particularly, circulating hot water systems, there are adjustable thremostatic valves, but you don't have one of those, so, what they said ^^^^^
posted by Good Brain at 10:34 AM on March 6, 2006