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Heating baseboard (C) Daniel Friedman Heating Baseboard Repair FAQs

Diagnose & fix heating baseboards #2

Hot water baseboard heat repair tips & troubleshooting FAQs Set#2:

Frequently-asked "cold heating baseboard" questions and answers help diagnose and fix hot water heating baseboard troubles in your building.

This article series provides common hot water heating baseboard questions and answers that will help diagnose & repair most common heating baseboard troubles including no-heat or leaks or other problems.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

- Daniel Friedman, Publisher/Editor/Author - See WHO ARE WE?

Baseboard Heat Diagnosis & Repair Questions & Answers #2

Below is our index to questions and answers about troubleshooting or installing baseboard heat.

Article Contents

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Baseboard Heater Parts Repair or Replacement

Where can I find a heating baseboard end cap?

Heating baseboard testing (C) Daniel FriedmanI need to replace a missing endcap on a hot water baseboard heater. I am trying to identify the manufacturer of the baseboard. It looks almost exactly like the one in the first picture associated with this article

Do you happen to know who the manufacturer of this baseboard is? If not, where can I look for identifying marks to try to find a replacement? On 2016-07-09 by Sharon:

Reply: take another end cap to your heating supplier for a good match

Sharon I have a brilliant idea:

Take off another end cap from somewhere else on your baseboards - they just slide off and if you work with care you won't gouge anything.

Take that to your HVAC supplier and ask for a match.

 

I would like to remove the endcap on the baseboard heater to get more door swing space

My 81 year old mom has a modest size bathroom and I am trying to free up as much space in there for her bathroom equipment needs.

One thing that could help give a few inches in the door opening a little wider is if I could remove the left endcap on the baseboard heater which prevents the door from opening all the way.

I might gain 1-2" on the door swing. For some reason (not sure why) there is no endcap on the other (right end).

This is a nonelectric baseboard installed in 1970, i dont know the brand name, it has a dark brown aluminum cover. It does a good job of heating the bathroom, but takes up space,.

Is there a downside to removing it? Thanks very much for your assistance! Sandy V010298@aol.com (May 14, 2014)

Reply:

Non-electric?

Watch out: if the swinging door is going to bang into heating pipes you risk a leak, loss of heat, water damage.

Watch out: If you remove all bathroom heat the risk is frozen pipes.

You could replace it with a kick-space heater located in the bottom of a vanity cabinet.

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Baseboard Heat Output Adjustment & Balancing

Will closing baseboards in one room make others warmer?

If I close the vent in another room, will it be warmer further down to other rooms that are not as warm? - On 2015-02-04 by Anonymous

Reply by mod: How to adjust or balance baseboard heat in different rooms

Definitely yes, providing that those rooms are all on the same heating zone or loop of hot water baseboard piping.

In an opposite example, at a home where the occupants want their bedroom to be cool (for sleeping) at night but they want their bathroom and other areas to remain warmer, we simply closed the top outlet louver of the heating baseboard runs in their bedroom.

That kept the bedroom cooler while allowing that hot water to carry heat along to other rooms in the same heating zone.

I think baseboard heat is hotter if you close the louvered covers

Hope someone can answer Joe and Doreen's questions (and mine). Here's mine: My mom thinks if you open the movable cover on her baseboard hot water radiators she'll get more heat.

I figure they were made such that when you keep the cover as it should be (practically closed, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch open from the side piece), this allows heat to build, and so more heat is generated. Any confirmation/thoughts on this? Thanks! (Mar 14, 2015) Mark said:

Reply by mod: closing the louvers transfers less heat into the room so the baseboard covers themselves may feel hotter

Mark:

Opening the hinged louver along the top of a heating baseboard increases the heat output by permitting more air to circulate through the unit, entering at the bottom, exiting at the top, moved by convection.

Closing the louvers along the top outlet of a heating baseboard will reduce the heat output as it slows convective air movement across the finned tubing of the baseboard.

Your mom is right.

The heat is generated at the boiler, not in the baseboards.

You are right that if you closed the louver the baseboard piping would feel hotter.

But that's because you are no longer cooling it by moving room air across it. It's cooler because it's not sending heat into the room.

Can louver position on a hydronic heating baseboard block the heat transfer

Would the louver on a hot water baseboard prevent the room from heating over 61 degrees when the thermostat was set at 70?

Just wondering how much the louver will suppress the heat. -On 2022-04-13 by Lisa

Reply by InspectApedia Com Moderator

Thanks that's an interesting question.

The ability of the louver position on a hydronic heating baseboard to block the heat transfer into the room varies as it works in concert with other factors, but in general it's certainly the case the closing the louvers on heating baseboards in one room in a building can substantially lower the temperature in that room provided that the wall thermostat is located somewhere else.

My OPINION is that closing the louver at the outlet top of a conventional hot water heating baseboard reduces the heat by roughly 75% because it blocks most of the convective air flow up through the finned tubing of the baseboard heater.

It's not possible to completely turn off heat by this method as there will still be some radiant heat generated out of the baseboard tubing and its fins and through the metal baseboard covers themselves.

Keep in mind that there are other factors such as the building's heat loss rate or the room's heat loss rate and of course the operating temperature in velocity of the water flowing through the heating baseboard.

Those are examples of why there's no single correct answer that fits all buildings when you ask the effect of the baseboard Louver on temperatures in a given room.

 

Is there some way to even out the heat between two floors on the same zone?

We have an old (1900's) two story house with hydronic hot water baseboard heating.

The thermostat is on the first floor and when it is set at 60 or so the first floor rooms are about 60.

However, the rooms on the second floor are 10-15 degrees warmer.

Is there some way to even out the heat? Right now we open a window on the second floor but that seems to be not ideal. On 2015-02-20 by Lex

Reply by (mod) -

Lex,

As the whole house is on one heating zone you may simply want to reduce the heat output of the upstairs baseboards by closing their output louvers.

Opening the windows not only increases your heating bills, it actually speeds the movement of warm air from downstairs to the upper floor.

 

Baseboard top is hot but I don't feel heat coming out

Baseboard is hot on top but can't feel the heat coming out of it. On 2017-12-05 by Sue

Reply by (mod) -

Check for the louvered top opening is in the open position

 

Baseboard vents close on their own

Some of our baseboard vents keep closing on their own. Are there clips I can use to keep them open? (Jan 29, 2016) Gerry said:

Reply:

Gerry,

If you refer to the louvered vent along the top of a baseboard, try bending the hinge opening at the end of the vent to tighten it on its rotating pin

If you are referring to air purging vents on the heating piping,

There are two types of vents; automatic ones that include a float and vent if air is present, and manual ones that are manually opened to bleed air. The latter are normally left screwed shut. The former open and close automatically.

The screw cap on the automatic air vent should be left loose. If the screw cap is clogging with debris the vent may need replacement.

 

How to reduce too-hot baseboard sections & send more heat to other rooms

We live in a building with heating loops, but no individual controls. While a loop can be shut down, if it is, no heat can be forwarded to remaining apartments.

Each apartment has fin-based heat. Some apartments are way too hot in the winter, while others are just right, cool, or cold.

It seems to us that we need to reduce the heat in the "too hot" apartments.

What is your advice? Cut fins off the system? Or somehow wrap the fins so they don't radiate heat (if this is correct, how would it be done?) (Nov 11, 2012) Reduce heat from fin-baseboards

Reply: close louvers; more extreme: replace finned tubing with straight copper tubing

Typically people replace some of the finned copper baseboard with solid copper piping without fins to reduce heat output.

First be sure you've also tried just closing the hinged louvers at the upper or outlet side of the wall-mounted baseboard covers.


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Baseboard Heat Won't Turn Off

We Get Baseboard Heat in Summer!

Informative site - thank you!

I live in a condo with a hot water heating baseboards. Heat in the summer months is always a big problem in the unit, getting roasting hot, and I notice that the heating baseboards are quite warm to the touch (although not scaldingly so - like traditional radiators can be).

The heat is on the middle section of the baseboad unit that has the radiator apparatus (metal sheets), and the baseboard is not hot where the copper piping is on either side of that.

This situation exists despite the fact that the thermometor is set to its lowest, and the baseboards are admittedly not pushing air out when the thermometer is set at its coldest.

Is this normal? Is there a way for me to cool down the baseboards further, so that they're cool to the touch, at least in summer ? On 2016-04-10 by Robert:

Reply

Robert:

If your thermostat is not calling for heat but the baseboards are hot, then either there is a control snafu or

- there is a valve or control at the boiler that's manually open or stuck in open;

it could be a zone valve or a check valve at the boiler that is allowing hot water to circulate by natural convection even when the circulator pump itself is OFF. Your condo association is wasting heating fuel if this is the case. No it's not normal.

But cooling down the baseboards at your end is not a good approach as the underlying problems of energy cost and waste continue.

Ask your condo association to get help from an experienced heating service tech to find which control or valve is open that should be closed.

Detailed diagnostic and repair advice is

at HEAT WON'T TURN OFF

Keep me posted. - Daniel F

 

Baseboards are always hot - heat never stops - shouldn't the thermostat control the baseboard heat?

The hot water baseboard registers are staying hot eventhough the thermostat is turned off. New thermostat installed but problem still exsists. Usually you can head the water flow in and out but now you can't. (Jan 16, 2016) Anonymous

I have an apartment with baseboard water heat, only the heat won't turn off. I turned the thermostat off but you can still heat the water rushing through the pipes which are hot. I was told to check the wire running from the thermostat to the baseboard but I don't know what to look for. (Feb 23, 2016) New maintaince man

Should heat be coming from the baseboard if the thermostat is turned all the way down.( Jan 22, 2016) Anonymous

I live in a condo with a hot water heating baseboards. Heat in the summer months is always a big problem in the unit, getting roasting hot, and I notice that the heating baseboards are quite warm to the touch (although not scaldingly so - like traditional radiators can be).

The heat is on the middle section of the baseboad unit that has the radiator apparatus (metal sheets), and the baseboard is not hot where the copper piping is on either side of that.

This situation exists despite the fact that the thermometor is set to its lowest, and the baseboards are admittedly not pushing air out when the thermometer is set at its coldest.

Is this normal? Is there a way for me to cool down the baseboards further, so that they're cool to the touch, at least in summer ?

Reply: what to look at if the heating baseboards stay hot when you are not calling for heat

Anon,

If you are sure that the circulator pump itself is not running, then the most likely explanation of the problem you describe is that a flow control valve or check valve above or near your boiler has been manually left in the open position or has been stuck open. The results of this condition is that hot water will circulate out of the boiler by convection even if the circulator pump itself is not running.

If the thermostat is set below room temperature, the heating system should stop sending heat - you may need to wait for the baseboard to cool down; if after 30 minutes it's still hot then heat is still circulating: there is then probably a problem with the zone control, thermostat wiring, or a check valve in the system.

See CHECK VALVES, HEATING SYSTEM

New M. Please search InspectApedia.com for HEAT WON'T TURN OFF to see some specific diagnostic suggestions.

To check for a bad thermostat, just disconnect the thermostat wires at the boiler end of the thermostat circuit. That'd be at a main aquastat control or at a circulator relay. You'll recognize the thermostat wires. Follow them. Disconnecting them at the boiler end will eliminate possibilities of a bad thermostat or shorted thermostat wires. If the heat keeps running the problem is at the boiler controls.

Heat can also circulate when the circulator is off if the FLOW CONTROL VALVE (Search InspectApedia for CHECK VALVES, HEATING SYSTEM) is stuck open but that will usually give a much slower flow rate that wouldn't be likely to sound like water rushing.

Robert:

If your thermostat is not calling for heat but the baseboards are hot, then either there is a control snafu or

- there is a valve or control at the boiler that's manually open or stuck in open; it could be a zone valve or a check valve at the boiler that is allowing hot water to circulate by natural convection even when the circulator pump itself is OFF. Your condo association is wasting heating fuel if this is the case. No it's not normal. But cooling down the baseboards at your end is not a good approach as the underlying problems of energy cost and waste continue.

Ask your condo association to get help from an experienced heating service tech to find which control or valve is open that should be closed.

Also see HEAT WON'T TURN OFF

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Unwanted Baseboard Heat

Heating baseboard gets hot even when the thermostat is not calling for heat

Hello,Having a problem in my basement heating system.Circulaing hot water with seperate t stat and pump for this area. Baseboard. so the problem is that the system piping gets hot and the basement remains warm even though the basement stat is off or set very low.

There are 2 other zones(pumps) on the boiler.My thinking id that there might be some kind of flow though this area from one of the other zones.Rhanks in advance for your help Rob rssolomon@aol.com (Dec 8, 2014) Rob said:

Reply:

Rob,

Check if the circulator is a separate pump for this zone then you don't have a zone valve.

There may be a flow-control valve that is stuck open or manually opened, letting hot water circulate by convection or when other pumps are running.

See CHECK VALVES, HEATING SYSTEM 

Anonymous said:

Thanks for your quick response.Yes the circulator only serves this area.There are no zone control valves in the system.There are no check valves either

 

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Baseboard Heat Too Hot

Baseboard heat won't turn off

The baseboards never stop running and it turned down to 1 on the knob and it’s still way too hot in the apartment.

Are the baseboards not suppose to stop running once theyt gets to a certain temperature? - On 2018-10-14 by Gayle

Reply by (mod): how to fix the problem of too much heat

Gale

Hot water baseboards don't themselves turn off, but they are indeed controlled by a room thermostat, one for each heating zone.

If you turn down the thermostat to well below room temperature and the baseboards are still warm, then

see these two diagnosis and repair articles. They address the two likely causes of the problem when your heat doesn't turn off when the thermostat is satisfied:

Can I install shutoffs in NYC apartment on heating system baseboards?

I am on the board of a six-story co-op in NYC. The Board requires anyone doing renovations involving their plumbing system to install shut-offs at all entry points to the apartment in order to allow servicing without impacting other share-owners.

Some Board members want to extend this to include manual shut-offs on entry and exit points for the hot-water baseboard radiator system. Is this a common practice? Are there any potential operational or maintenance issues? (Jan 22, 2016) Ray said:

Reply:

I do not think that's a common practice. Also, depending on how the heating piping and zones are installed shutting off a units heat could shut off that of others too. Opinion,
I wouldn't bother.

 

I want to remove a section of baseboard

I have a hot water heating system with vents that run through the entire floor of the house. I want to remove a section so that I can install new kitchen cabinets (a completely different and more efficient layout) in its place.

Can i remove just one section and expect that the rest will run? Or can I cover them with something heat proof and place cabinets in front of them (built in, so to speak)? Also, this part of the house sits on concrete slab so digging out pipes to re-route would be very difficult and pricey. (Feb 14, 2012) Stacia

Reply:

You can cover over part of a heating distribution system with heat resistant materials without expecting damage, though you'll lose some heat output in the area.

 

How do I fix heat that's always too high? I'm too hot!

I live in an apartment building and the heat is always kept up to high, which our thermostats do not control.

How can i safely cover my hot water registers to block out the heat? - (Dec 13, 2015) Sharon

Reply:

First talk with building management as heating costs are involved.

Then awe details found n
by searching inspectapedia.com for the article titled RADIATOR BASEBOARD or CONVECTOR COVERS

Christopher said: Wrap baseboard fins in foil?

To Sharon, wrap parts of the fins in aluminum foil. DON'T DAMAGE THE FINS. Do it bit by bit until you get the desired result. The foil stops the circulation of air through the fins. (Jan 4, 2016)

Moderator replies:

Christopher & Sharon:

Christopher's idea is attractive but unless your heating baseboards have a removable front panel you won't have access to wrap the fins to reduce air movement through them and thus cut the heat output.

On a standard heating baseboard the convection current (warm air rises) that occurs up through the baseboard draws cool air from the floor up through the finned copper tubing where it is warmed before exiting at the top opening of the baseboard.

To reduce baseboard heat output in a room or area within a heating zone, a standard step that is effective to simply close the hinged top cover along the baseboard. By interrupting the air movement you significantly reduce heat output.

Blocking air air entry at the bottom opening of the baseboard ( such as by carpeting ) has the same effect.

 

One cast iron baseboard zone is too hot

I have old cast iron baseboard heaters in my house. Zone 1 takes care of the first floor and upstairs bathroom, everything good there.

My problem is zone 2 takes care of the three bedrooms but one bedroom gets extremely hot while other two are comfy or cooler.

I'd like to know how to turn down or even completely cut the heat off to the very hot room.

I checked at both ends in each room and there are no shut off knobs, just bleeders. What can I do ? On 2017-12-14 by Deniece

by (mod) - reduce the airflow at the hot baseboard zone, improve the heat in the other zones

Denice,

Since baseboard in a single zone is normally run as one serial loop of piping, it's not possible to turn one of the baseboards off because that would turn off everything in the loop.

However what you can do is to reduce the air flow through the baseboard in the room that's too hot.

That can be done by closing movers at the outlet or top of the baseboard if there are any.

For most cast iron baseboards that do not have louvers you can block the air entry at the bottom for example with carpeting.

Or you could experiment just with some towels to see if that has the desired heat reduction you want.

Also if the other baseboards are never getting hot it maybe that your system is partly air bound - that's a condition that your heating service tech can correct.

That re-balancing by getting all the heating baseboards working might also help your "too hot" heating zone problem.

 

How do we shorten the baseboard input and return pipes to get less heat?

I have a baseboard water heating system installed in the 1960s when my bungalow was built ...just like the photo (ours in grey exterior though). How do we shorten the flow and return pipes?

clive suzieandclive45@gmail.com On 2019-01-24 by Clive Gutteridge

Reply by (mod) -

Clive, it's standard copper plumbing (except thinner copper) - cut and solder. If you are trying to reduce heat output there are better alternatives

First: close the baseboard top louver

More trouble: remove some of the fins from the tubing to reduce its radiation

 

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