Radiator Fins in Hot Water Baseboard - Basic Question

[Stack Man]

Hello All. Pretty basic question. I moved into an apartment that I love but have discovered the hot water baseboard is not providing enough heat. FYI, I am on the second floor of a two story building. There are two apartments (including mine) above a restaurant. From what I can glean, the two apartments share a Navien 'instant hot water' type of system. Last year when I moved in, mid-winter I said the heat was bad and they sent a plumber to check the Navien. When that was deemed ok, they closed the case and I just didn't have the energy to fight them. But here we are again....winter officially starts on Monday! Anyway the boys next door share the same problem so I have volunteered to lead the efforts. So before I contact management again I want to feel like I have a handle on the issue - which is why I am here. The windows are shot; no question. I can feel the cold when I stand next to them. But the landlord ain't going to drop $$$ this year into those I'm quite sure, so I am left with boosting the heat from the baseboards.

So when I investigated further I noticed that slightly less than 50% of the pipe in the baseboard was surrounded by 'fins' - just bare pipe. (The apartment has been here for decades and while the Navien system is new,I have know idea when the baseboards(fins) were installed. Looks like one can buy 2' sections of fins from Home Depot (see link below?) for ~ $55 each.

Here is the question: My living room has 28' of baseboard but 14' of fin coverage. If I suggest that we buy (7) 2' sections (~$400 with self-install) - is that the best solution? It would seem obvious that it should help but how much? I am definitely no engineer. Both me and the boys next door are pretty hardy but on cold nights it sucks to come home to an apartment that maxes out at ~ 65 degrees; both our thermostats are set to ~ 80 degrees but it has no effect. The windows are the real answer but the fins are probably more $$$ doable but is it the right move?
Sorry for the long write up. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Best, Peter

https://www.homedepot.com/p/FabTek-...ard-Piping-2-ft-Section-FCL-75CX2FT/300679025

 

[Jadnashua]

Do you have access to the boiler? What temperature is it set for? The output of fin tube varies by quite a bit based on the incoming water temperature. IF you can raise the incoming water temperature, you can get a lot more heat out of the existing radiators. https://www.pmmag.com/articles/100469-how-to-properly-size-finned-tube-baseboard-heat-emitterse

Adding more length becomes somewhat of a losing proposition, as the water passes by, it becomes cooler, and the downstream lengths won't produce as much heat. The pump may not be pushing that much water through the system, either. That could be because it is not properly sized, there's air blocking some of the flow, or it's worn out. If there's not enough flow, the boiler may be shutting down as the water inside it gets too hot, then, turns back on once it gets cooler, but in the meantime, there's not much sustained hot water leaving it.

You may not want to go this route, but in most places, not being able to heat the apartment could get the landlord into big problems.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Sylvan]

NYC code states

"During the day, the inside temperature must be at least 68 F everywhere in your apartment from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. if the outside temperature falls below 55 F. At night, the temperature must be at least 62 F everywhere in your apartment from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m."

If you do any work on someone else's property without written permission you can be held liable

Check with your local building department on their heating requirements

 

[Sylvan]

Good luck

 

[Sylvan]

The picture is a child who was burned from the heating lines being "too hot" so before you arbitrarily decide to play with the aquastat on the boiler you just may want to call the landlord and explain the situation