The STUPIDEST apartment design ever...

[Rick Vestal]

Few years ago, I moved into a brand new apartment complex. I loved everything about it... Nine foot ceilings, open concept, white cabinets, crown molding, etc. Inside is beautiful and you can tell a lot of thought went into the layout. The only problem tho was that my utility bills were through the roof. Like $200 a month. So I went on an energy saving spree. LED light bulbs, energy saving washer and dryer, etc. But then I discovered the source of my issues one winter... and quite possibly the most dangerous thing I have EVER SEEN (which I will bold in a sec...)

Every apartment has an outdoor utility closet. inside of said closet is the water heater, water filtration, shutoffs, etc. In the door of this closet are some vents. When the wind blows hard, (which is quite often here,) it can blow out the pilot light on the water heater.

Want to know why my utilities are so high?

They have a SPACE HEATER installed in every utility closet to keep the pipes from freezing that runs 24/7. Care to venture how much electricity a 1500 watt space heater uses if left on 24/7?

And here's the dangerous part. What happens when you mix a blown out pilot light on a water heater with a 1500watt space heater located 3 feet away in an enclosed space? I don't give a shit if there ARE safety systems to cut the gas if the pilot goes out, you just DON'T do that.

Needless to say, I disabled the heater. That's my wintertime home DIY rant for the day...

 

[dosmalo]

I don't blame you for disconnecting the heater but the maintenance guy will probably connect it back up (you know how they are).
BTW...did you ever find your kitchen base board?

 

[Montycat]

That's an incredibly stupid design.

 

[davidb1]

Wonder if that meets fire code? Based on what I have seen, I wouldn't put it past apartment management to put something in after passing inspection.

 

[Hajidub]

Hey Vestal. Where are these apt's located, so I know not to recommend them? I'd call CS Utilities or your local Fire Marshal if the apt manager's do not rectify the problem.

 

[bshorey]

I'd second the recommendation to call the local fire marshall.

Otherwise, why not use electrical pipe wrap? I think it's only like leaving a 100 watt bulb on.

bs

 

[slpcorner]

I don't blame you for disconnecting the heater but the maintenance guy will probably connect it back up (you know how they are).
BTW...did you ever find your kitchen base board?

Yeah! what ever happened with that base board?

 

[cubby01]

Ignoring the gas proximity concern for a moment...

Are you saying that the space heater wasn't controlled by any kind of thermostat on the unit and that it ran full time through the summer as well? If so might consider suing the apt complex for the losses. Could probably get all the residents on board with that one.

 

[Rick Vestal]

NO! I never found the baseboard... It literally just poofed. I got so paranoid that I changed the locks again...

@Haj - Sagebrook in Briargate

@Bshor - None of the pipes are wrapped, just bare copper exposed to outside air. Year before last, they lost water to 7 buildings due to frozen pipes. It was a mess.

 

[Rick Vestal]

Ignoring the gas proximity concern for a moment...

Are you saying that the space heater wasn't controlled by any kind of thermostat on the unit and that it ran full time through the summer as well?

Yes sir. It 's a wall mounted unit that has three settings... Off, Low and High. It ran 24/7. I actually disconnected it during the summer so they don't even turn it off during the warm months... It must have been a skillion degrees in there when I opened the door...

 

[Omegaman]

The gas water heater has an intrinsic fail safe device (remember that movie) that shuts down the flow of gas when the pilot light goes out and the gizmo cools

but the space heater is ridiculous

skillion?, i doubt it, more like a Brazilian degrees

 

[ra7c7er]

Wonder if that meets fire code? Based on what I have seen, I wouldn't put it past apartment management to put something in after passing inspection.

That's what it sounds like to me. They probably had a bunch of empty apartments and installed the space heaters. The apartments must roast in the summer.

 

[Rick Vestal]

I suspect they installed them after the first winter when they realized their mistake... And had to pay out the ass to fix frozen pipes...

 

[cubby01]

Gee, Let's see. We could spend money on insulation and a more effective design for the outdoor utility closet....Or we can spend the residents hard earned money dumping energy into the atmosphere. There's a suit there waiting to happen.

Average lows for Colo Springs is what, mid teens maybe? I would imagine that if the utility room was properly built and insulated the heat from the water heater would keep the pipes in there from freezing. Of course I know you guys get the occasional sub-zero freeze.

 

[dosmalo]

Years ago I worked apartment maintenance and there wasn't a natural gas appliance on the property (about 350 units). I never asked but kind of figured the reason was to keep some pissed-off resident from blowing the whole place up. Either that or sticking their head in the oven.

 

[whitey]

Sounds like they ran out of paper clips and band-aids..

 

[Rick Vestal]

Well what pisses me off... and why I kinda explained what the place looked like is that interior-wise, the apt is gorgeous... I'm no home improvement expert but I do watch Holmes on Holmes and even *I* know putting copper pipes outside is asking for trouble... And I hafta wonder how many people in this place are paying $200/mo for utilities and don't know why?

 

[chinacave]

Geez- at least they could put some weatherstripping on the door frame!

Shoddy and dim-witted....

Good luck w/ it!

 

[Solid_State]

Years ago I worked apartment maintenance and there wasn't a natural gas appliance on the property (about 350 units). I never asked but kind of figured the reason was to keep some pissed-off resident from blowing the whole place up. Either that or sticking their head in the oven.

Actually I think the reasoning about that is that it is cheaper to run bigger wires to each unit (I live in an all electric appliance apartment complex) then to run a natural gas line and the associated piping to each unit along with the meters and other NG related things

 

[westend]

I've heated smaller spaces than that closet with a 100w light bulb. If it was my place, I'd buy my own foil faced foam board, install it, and add the requisite light bulb. Might even spring for the receptacle thermostat to make sure it comes on at 34f and off at 40f.