How to safely moderate my radiator that has no knobs?
Thermal blanket, interesting idea, duct tape might help in rigging up a cover. Wear a mask and long sleeves when cutting it, fiberglass is not healthy to breathe and no fun on one’s skin.
If your landlord won’t install a thermostatic valve then consider building a radiator cover. Instead of a screened front you could do a partially screened front to cut down on the radiator’s ability to heat the room. If you completely enclose it it will provide very little heat. If you build it as shown it will probably only knock down the heat 15% or so. Somewhere in between would likely be optimal for you. You can experiment a bit until you get it right and then paint it. A blanket will work too, really, I have done it. The idea is to prevent air from directly flowing over the radiator so you cover it front and back, down to the floor, and you probably need multiple layers. Although I don’t think 200 degrees on a blanket is a fire hazard, I was never comfortable leaving the blanket when I was out of the apartment. The radiator cover will also look much nicer than a blanket.
I’m kind of in a similar situation. I rent out the basement of a friend’s house as my “apartment”. The heating system is a separate one down here, but since warm air rises, if I don’t keep my heater on a fairly high temp, the other 2 levels in the house get really cold. The only window I have in my room is a tiny one. Maybe only a few inches high? I can open it but it’s already underground, with half of a oil drum around it, plus a half-round plastic cover on top of that to keep out rain and snow. So opening my window isn’t really an option. As far as the heater vent itself, it runs the entire length of one wall and has no dials or switches to turn it off or down except at the thermostat, which I won’t do because then my roommates would freeze. It gets really stifling hot in my bedroom and I’m just out of ideas on how to make it better.
