Starting Home Search; Questions About Radiators

[omieluv]

In every apartment I have rented, I have had radiated heat, which I have loved. As FI and I have been looking at homes, we have been drawn to older homes, which tend to have radiators as their heat source. While I have liked radiated heat, I am not sure how much it would cost to maintain the boiler, nor do I have any clue as to how much the cost would be on a monthly basis. I live in the Chicago area, so would be using this heat source for a good portion of the year.

Thanks!

 

[somethingshiny]

I''ve always loved radiated heat myself. We had it for years. Our current house is forced heat and it irritates me.

Maintenance~ little to none. Check your pipes yearly for any leaks and bleed your radiator. There''s a little key and a valve at each radiator. Bleed the one that''s farthest from the furnace to remove any air buildup. You just release the valve until only water comes out of it, you will usually have some air first. That''s it. Don''t ever turn off the furnace completely. Leave the pilot light on because re-ignighting it can cause damage. It uses very little energy to just run the pilot light.


Because all you''re using is gas and water, you don''t have any electrical systems or ductwork or anything to keep in check.

Some companies suggest draining the boiler and refreshing the water but I''ve been told not to do this because it causes stress on the boiler. The water that''s been in there is already conditioned, the fresh water would have to go through several boiling cycles to condition it and could cause damage to the boiler.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Hi Omieluv,

I had steam radiator heat in my 1930''s Colonial. I absolutely loved it. The steam radiators are the ones that let out a little ''ssssppp'' noise when steam starts to pass through them. Love, love, love those steams radiators, but we no longer live in that house and are renting it out.

Anyway, so radiators can be either steam or hot water. I don''t know enough about them to know which is better or for what reasons, but steam runs through the steam ones and actual hot water runs through the other. I have no idea if one is more efficient than the other.

There are two common fuel sources for these. Oil or natural gas. After many many years of use, oil tanks can deteriorate and leak and require replacement. In my area, people are tending to replace their oil tanks with natural gas, when the need to replace the tank arises. This past winter, we had to replace the boiler in my little colonial and although the tank was not leaking, it would be soon, so we opted to switch over to gas. I believe that was around 6500, for the boiler and the conversion.

When you find a house and have an inspection, I would recommend finding a good plumber who will come out and take a look at your boiler and oil tank (if applicable). Licensed home inspectors are not well-versed in the mechanics of these systems. I had no reason to believe there was anything wrong with either my boiler or my oil tank, and both were near end of life when I purchased the home two years prior. Having that knowledge would not have stopped me from buying the house, but it would have given me additional negotiating power when dealing with sellers.

As to cost of maintenance, a boiler should be serviced by a plumber every year. If you have oil, the oil company may have a plan that you sign up for that includes a yearly service of the boiler. This is very important. You will also want to talk to the plumber about anything you should be doing throughout the year with the boiler, like emptying water, etc.

As to the cost of fuel (not sure if you were asking this specifically), this is going to depend on the size of your home, the cost of fuel (which can vary dramatically year by year), the temp you prefer, etc. I''d guess I was paying around $300 per month during the winter for oil for a 1500 square foot home.

Hope that helps!

 

[omieluv]

Date: 7/23/2009 3:10:12 PM
Author: somethingshiny
I''ve always loved radiated heat myself. We had it for years. Our current house is forced heat and it irritates me.

Thank you for the information & I like there is little maintenance involved!

 

[omieluv]

Loves Vintage -

My first apartment must have been a steam radiator because I would hear that ssssp sound you mention quite frequently. My current apartment must have a hot water system, as they are very quiet. Both buildings I have lived in were build in the 1920 - 1920''s range and I just love them!

Thanks for the tip on having a plumber come out for the home inspection, as I would have not thought of that. I had no idea that radiators could be gas or oil, so I suppose the plumber could tell me that and advise me further, as you have suggested. Plus, my dad instilled the importance of mainting a home, so I am happy a qualified plumber will be able to provide details relating to the care of the system.

Thank you also for addressing cost, as this is of course a consideration when considering a home purchase. I suppose we would be looking at homes in the 1300 - 1500 square ft range. You mention the cost for oil, but what was the cost after switching to gas, if you do not mind me asking? $6500 seems reasonable for the new boiler + conversion. Of course, I know pricing would depend on the type. Although, I keep hearing people tell me that boiler''s are very expensive, perhaps they were speaking more of those in condo''s / apartment buildings.

Thank you for this information, as I now am not as concerned about costs to maintain a boiler system.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Omiluv,

Unfortunately, I don''t know how the gas cost compared to the oil cost because the conversion took place after we moved out. I have a tenant there now.

You will know whether your heating system is gas or oil when you look at the property listing. It will list a fuel source, for example, on a realtor.com listing. Also, we already had a natural gas line running to the house because the hot water heater and stove are fueled by gas, so that kept the expense somewhat lower. I believe we would have had to pay to have the gas line brought from the street to the house, but since it was already there, the plumber just linked into the existing line to the house.

Also, I wanted to mention that sometimes people will convert to gas if they are finishing off their basement. The oil tank takes up a bit of room, plus you can sometimes smell the oil when you are in the basement. My real estate agent had converted for this reason (in addition to the fact that her oil tank would also have been very old.)

With that said, we now have baseboard radiators (not nearly as nice

), and we have oil heat because the town where we live now does not have gas!!! So now, we do have oil (newer tank) and a newer boiler.

I don''t know for certain, but I do not think that one source of heat is remarkably more expensive that the other. I would not shy away from oil. I guess the type of fuel wouldn''t really come into my decision making process (so long as it''s not electric!) I would, however, put those radiators as a strong plus!!!

Good luck with your home search! Have you started looking already?