Cold heating risers in an apartment, what to do

Quite often in residential apartment buildings during the heating season you can encounter the following problem: the riser is hot, but the radiators are cold. This applies to both new buildings and old houses. Residents in most cases do not know how to cope with such a situation. That is why their attempts to repair the heating system on their own do not lead to the desired result. In this matter, you definitely need help or advice from a specialist. After all, only a person who has the necessary knowledge and experience can solve the problem of why the pipes are hot and the radiators are cold.

Causes

One of the reasons for insufficient heating of the battery is pipe corrosion

In fact, the sewer riser is a finicky thing. Therefore, there may be several reasons why the water supply risers are hot, although the radiator itself is cold. Let's look at the most common ones.

The water supply valves are out of order or simply blocked in the basement. Through this valve, water flows through the main line to the apartments. Therefore, since it is blocked there, it means that heat is not flowing.
There is an option in which the pipe was damaged during the process of welding the riser to the main line.
It also happens that when installing the heating system riser, the technician left some foreign object in the pipe. Rags, mittens, and sometimes even stones and animals were often pulled out from there.
An option with incorrect installation of heating pipes in other rooms, in the kitchen, due to which water does not enter the radiator, but passes by.
A small amount of coolant, that is, water, can pass through the water supply risers. This situation may concern the entire house or a separate entrance.
It is possible that the water supply risers, like the entire heating system, were simply adjusted and configured incorrectly, which is why the required amount of water does not flow to the heating radiators in the apartment building.

Quick check

Step 1: call the management company (or HOA, DEZ, etc.)

Find out if there are any heating outages. If they are not there, go straight to the next step.

Step 2: Ask your neighbors

If an apartment building has a one-pipe heating system (one heating pipe comes out of the ceiling and one pipe goes into the floor) and the neighbors do not have bypasses (jumpers between the pipes) on the radiators, then by shutting off the radiator, they will deprive the neighbors in the riser of heat. Therefore, check whether the residents' battery is not blocked from above and below (in some houses the coolant is supplied from above, in others - from below).

Step 3: Check Your Battery

Check if your battery is blocked. When the battery is closed, the valve is located perpendicular to the pipe; when open, it is parallel. See it clearly here.

So, we have looked at the “banal” reasons why radiators do not heat up. If they are not the problem, then there is a problem with the heating system. A plumber will help identify them. Below we will talk about the main faults that cause radiators in apartments and private houses to remain cold.

How to eliminate air locks in radiators ↑

Air lock is the most common cause of cold radiators. The appearance of air is a natural process caused by heating the water, sudden filling of the system, and a violation of the tightness. Fixing this problem is not difficult if the system is equipped with bleed valves. On modern radiators they are located at the top of the product and operate without intervention, periodically bleeding air from the batteries. If automation is not provided, then the valve is opened manually and air is released until water appears.

Older type heating appliances do not have such taps. In this case, you will have to work a little and remove the plug. Before you start unscrewing, be sure to place the basin on the floor. Under no circumstances should the lid be completely unscrewed; it should only be unscrewed slightly until a barely audible hiss appears. At this point, you need to put the key aside and wait until all the excess air comes out of the system and water begins to ooze out. After this, the plug must be carefully tightened. Just in case, you can leave the basin for a while to make sure that water does not drip.

It is not allowed to completely unscrew the plug! This may cause the apartment to flood!

Why are the batteries in the apartment cold? Let’s find out the reasons

First you need to make sure that the heating is really turned on, and the heating system of the apartment receives coolant at the required temperature. You should start worrying if:

the risers are hot, but the radiators are not,
the neighbors have heat, but you don’t,
the battery does not warm up completely (only from the bottom or top, or from one side),
the radiator is slightly warm, and the riser is boiling water,
the pipes made a lot of noise for more than two days, but heat still did not enter the apartment,
The housing office told you that heating was installed in your house more than a week ago, but the radiators and risers are cold.

If your risers are making noise but not warming up, it means the heating is just starting up. Perhaps the plumbers are removing air from the system, or a leak has been discovered in someone's house. In this case, they can repeatedly pour water into the system and drain it. If there is no noise in the pipes for more than two days, and no heat has arrived, you can already call the management company and tell them about your situation.

In the absence of problems with the central network, the causes of cold radiators include:

USEFUL INFORMATION: Who must change batteries in a privatized apartment by law

presence of air pockets in the system;
clogged batteries;
Incorrect connection of heating network elements.

In each situation, a certain amount of work will need to be done to make cold radiators hot.

Clogged water filter of the heating system

Sometimes there is an arbitrary decrease in the temperature of the “last” battery in the row. Then it is possible to cascade shutdown of other batteries in front of it. Typically, the reason for such an “abnormal” decrease in temperature is the filters of the heating system. This filter must be removed and cleaned thoroughly. During the first start-up, there may be debris in the water that is pumped into the heating system. To prevent this debris from entering the heating boiler heat exchanger, a filter is installed on the return pipe in front of the boiler. Usually one such filter is installed, but sometimes you can see several installed almost in front of each battery. This setup doesn't make any sense. After cleaning, the radiators in the house will no longer be cold.

You can't understand why the radiator doesn't heat up?

]thermal imaging inspection[/anchor] of heating systems allows you to accurately determine the quality of operation of all heating devices in the house and find the reasons for ineffective heating, and also helps to find all errors made during the installation of the heating system and check the efficiency of the heat exchanger.

You can diagnose the condition of the heating system using thermal imaging monitoring without stopping its operation! This is a significant plus!

By contacting us for such a service, you will never regret your choice! We will try to fully justify your trust and return warmth and comfort to your home as quickly as possible!

Connection errors

Another reason why batteries may remain cold is incorrect connection of heating system elements. The biggest mistake is connecting radiators to pipes, in which water is supplied from below. In this case, the sections are heated unevenly, and part of it remains cold. This is most often typical for side connections. What should I do to ensure that the surface of the radiators heats up evenly and the apartment becomes warm? To do this, you need to correctly connect them to the system.

USEFUL INFORMATION: How to install a tap on a radiator

Too many sections can also contribute to uneven heating, since coolant circulation is difficult. A special extension cord connected to the pipe that supplies hot water to the battery will help improve it.

Expert opinionAnton Tsugunov Expert builder. Entrepreneur. 17 years of experience. More than 100 completed objects.

Heat losses in private houses

Poor wall insulation

One of the reasons for poor-quality insulation is the use of slab insulation and their improper installation.
The thermogram obtained by checking with a thermal imager shows in colors of varying intensities that the walls are heated unevenly. Bright colors show that heat loss in this place is much higher, which is not true for high-quality insulation. This means that the foam or mineral wool is damaged, improperly installed, or missing entirely. Our construction company offers owners of cottages and apartments insulation with cellulose ecowool material, which does not create cavities, cold bridges and caking areas.

Poor roof insulation

If a thermal insulation inspection of buildings, the price of which is quite acceptable for any owner of a private house, shows a similar picture, then it may be improperly laid roofing material, cold bridges in the attic when using slab materials, holes in roofing sheets formed due to corrosion processes.

Clogged radiators

Some sections of the radiators are clogged, as a result of which they do not heat up. The reasons are construction debris, air locks, and manufacturing defects. As a result of clogged radiators, they release much less heat into the rooms. Defects in heating batteries are also detected by a thermal imaging inspection of a house or a thermal imaging inspection of an apartment.

Heating radiators give off their heat to the street

The radiators are installed too close to the walls, and examining the wall from the outside with a thermal imager will show it to be overheating. Heat loss and high fuel consumption in this case are inevitable.

Incorrect installation of heated floors

The outermost pipes of heated floors are laid too close to the outer walls, causing the coolant in them to cool much faster than required. The heating boiler works much faster, fuel consumption increases. This malfunction is also detected when working with a thermal imager.

The cold enters the cracks in the windows

Gaps in windows appear in the following cases:

– loose pressing of windows to frames;

– wear of the window seal;

– poor quality window installation.

Cold air enters the rooms through window slits and extremely harmful drafts appear. Cold air also enters through cracks in the doors.

Bridges of cold

Cold bridges are sections of walls or roofs with low thermal resistance compared to other parts of the walls. These can be corners, areas above windows, junctions of house structures and many others.

When cold bridges form, the loss of thermal energy increases, and fungus and mold may appear. Cold bridges are also easily identified during thermal monitoring with a thermal imager.

Heat loss through the ventilation system

During the construction of the house, the ventilation was installed incorrectly, as a result of which it draws in a large amount of cold air from the street, instead of removing cold air from the premises. This ensures the formation of drafts and lowers the temperature in the house.

Cold air entering through the sunroof or air conditioner mounting hole

The air first enters the attic, and only then into the rooms of the building. If thermal insulation is poor, air from the street easily enters the house through the cracks left behind.

Losses through walls

Thermograms clearly show heat leaks through poorly insulated walls. If cellulose ecowool insulation was used, this problem does not occur.

Heat loss through the foundation

When building a house, this important point is often forgotten, although heat is lost through it in large quantities, especially if there is a basement.

Heat loss through poor-quality masonry

Unfilled masonry joints form numerous cold bridges, which increase heat loss even with well-executed insulation.

14 Airborne heat leaks

Due to poor sealing and poor-quality insulation of the joints between roofing sheets, walls and floor slabs, rooms are cooled and drafts appear.

Here were listed typical errors in the construction and decoration of private houses, which are easily identified during thermal monitoring of the building with a thermal imager. In the future, they are quite easy to eliminate.

Incorrect connection

Incorrect pipe connection is one of the possible reasons for reduced radiator efficiency. This is a gross mistake; experienced craftsmen do not make such mistakes; most often they arise after the work is performed by amateurs.

Incorrect radiator installation

The return pipe is connected to the upper pipe, the supply pipe is connected to the lower pipe. As a result, a range of related problems arise:

The circulation of water and the full operation of the heating system are completely disrupted.
The efficiency of the radiator and its heat transfer decrease; water is unable to completely fill all sections.
The process of draining liquid from the battery is disrupted.

What to do if the batteries are cold and the housing office does nothing?

Cold batteries in an apartment in an apartment building? Why do radiators heat poorly?

Based on the law, after drawing up a report, the housing maintenance office is obliged to respond and fix the problem within 7–10 days. If this does not happen, residents have the right to file a complaint with higher authorities.

This can be done by means of a registered letter, a document sent with a notification, or, best of all, by delivering it yourself.

General conditions for writing an application

An important condition is that the complaint must be written in 2 copies. Employees accepting the document are required to put a stamp, signature, date and assign an incoming number. The country's legislation does not provide for a uniform template for statements of this kind, so it is written arbitrarily.

What should be included in a complaint against the housing office and its annexes:

the essence of the claim is clearly defined;
evidence of poor-quality heat supply - your copy of the application, a drawn up act, etc.;
reason for lack of heating;
response from housing and communal services in writing indicating the reason for inaction;
photocopies of heating receipts - it is important that payments are made on time;
information about the owner - address, personal data, phone number, etc.;
name, contacts and address of the housing office;
the timing of the problem.

Appeal to Rospotrebnadzor and FAS

The organization specializes in protecting consumer rights (for goods and services). The consideration of the claim by the government agency is carried out on the basis of the Law of the Russian Federation No. 2300-1 of 02/07/1992.

Rospotrebnadzor employees consider citizen complaints within no more than 5 days. Then they take measures to influence the housing office.

The application may require an unscheduled inspection of the body against which the complaint is being made. In this case, the review process takes 10 days (no more).

The Federal Antimonopoly Service exercises effective influence not only on management bodies (like Rospotrebnadzor), but also on heat supply suppliers. No special samples are required for the application. The period for considering a problem in practice is about 15 days.

Local or district authorities

Most often this is the city administration, mayor's office, regional or district authority. They are also obliged to consider the claim and influence the speed and quality of troubleshooting

Involvement in administrative liability is carried out on the basis of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, Art. 7.23, which indicates a violation of compliance with standards for providing the population with public utilities. The method has a significant drawback - in rare cases, authorities deal with such minor problems.

Application to the prosecutor's office

Most often used if complaints to other authorities have not brought a positive result. A complaint filed with the prosecutor’s office is considered a significant basis for the proceedings, since the government agency is the supervisory authority for compliance with Russian legislation.

To submit an application, follow the same steps as described above, but you can additionally use the State Services website. Review time is 30–60 days.

The complaint must be filed on the basis of Federal Law No. 59 of May 2, 2006. The sample is here.

Statement of claim to court

This is an extreme measure of influence on inactive organizations. Just like the proceedings at the prosecutor's office, it is considered a highly effective method. The maximum period for consideration is 60 days. The statement of claim must correspond to the sample.

Peculiarities:

the court may request a number of other documents;
sometimes the state duty is collected from the plaintiff, but mainly from the defendant;
It is better to hire a lawyer, since the building management authorities have a lawyer on staff who can turn the situation against the applicant.

Complaint to the housing inspection

What to do if there are cold radiators in the apartment?

This is a supervisory agency responsible for the provision of public services and their quality by management companies. It is the housing inspection that controls the work of the Management Company, Housing Office, and Housing and Communal Services.

You can also request an unscheduled inspection here. It is regulated by Federal Law No. 294 of December 26, 2008. The processing time for a claim is a maximum of 30 days.

mass media

If the housing office does not respond in any way to the application and does not eliminate the problem of lack of heating, after filing a complaint with a higher authority, the residents of the apartment building unite and involve the media in the process. It is recommended to contact various print publications and television.

This is a real and effective method to achieve justice, since the dissemination of information attracts enormous attention to the problem of even higher authorities.

Government officials, in turn, begin to realize the scale of the new problem due to their own inaction, which usually results in the dismissal of major officials. This is the main reason for speeding up work and improving the quality of service on their part.

Common mistakes

If a new radiator is installed and it does not heat, the reason for this may be an incorrect connection to the riser. If you connect the top and bottom pipes on the same side, the circulation of hot water will be difficult. This situation is typical for apartment buildings with insufficient pressure in the system.

When doing repairs yourself, it is important to remember that the coolant is supplied to the system under high pressure. Even one mistake can cause a major accident with flooding of your own and neighboring apartments. The best option, when the battery does not heat up when the riser is hot, and your own experience is not enough, is to seek qualified help.

What causes the battery to heat up unevenly?

Let us repeat once again that each case is individual; only a specialist can correctly determine the cause through a visual examination.

We will give the main reasons for this problem:

the radiator is clogged;

With this “diagnosis” it is recommended to clean the battery from the inside.

low quality coolant;
presence of air in the circuit.

Shut-off valves

Its main purpose is to regulate the movement of the coolant and block it. If any component of this system fails, then a disruption of the normal flow of fluid will not take long to occur.

Which mechanisms are more susceptible to failure?

Tap.
Damper.
Ball valve.
Sealing washer.

The causes of breakdowns can be either wear or incorrect installation.

Lack of pressure in the circuit

To identify this problem, special instruments are required, therefore, it is hardly possible to cope without the help of a plumber.

The main reasons for this problem:

“jambs” of utility workers (coolant leak on the line);
unsuitable radiators;
the circuit has a battery equipped with a bypass with a tap;
adding several sections to an existing battery.

Installation problems

When the radiator was initially installed in violation of the rules and regulations, or it was connected incorrectly, then only the homeowner himself is to blame. And not a plumber who decided to save on technology.

To get rid of the problem, it is better to start by officially calling a plumber, and after eliminating the problem, you can turn to an experienced plumber on a commercial basis, but who knows his business well.

The coolant is moving at insufficient speed

There are two reasons for this problem: worn-out public heating networks, or narrowing of the lumen of pipes approaching the house.

To eliminate this defect, you need to make sure that the circulation pump installed in your house or cottage is working at full capacity. If it is working, you will have to look for the reason further.