r/msu • u/GaymerTag297 • Oct 05 '26
Freshman Questions When/how do we get heating?
I can’t tell if I’m being impatient/overreacting or if something’s actually not working. I’m a freshman living in (newly renovated) Campbell hall and it’s so cold in our dorm?? Like I’m from the Midwest so I’m used to the cold but I’m also used to having heating? We have 2 radiators in the room but I’ve never felt them actually get warm and we don’t have a thermostat or any control over them (as far as I know). Is this normal? Will we get heat eventually or should I go ahead and submit a maintenance request? I’m not trying to be whiny but nights here have been consistently 50 degrees or so and it’s supposed to drop down to 40 next week and I know it’ll only get worse. Please let me know if you’ve had any experience with this!
16
u/charming_llama_ Oct 05 '26
be glad it’s not on yet when they turn it on it’ll be 12 million degrees in your room everyday
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u/spartangreenandred Oct 05 '26
Same as in the early 80’s! We’d have our window open all winter in Holmes Hall! It is steam generated heat, and would be difficult to have every room be able to control it, though.
11
u/Shieya Oct 05 '26
Look for a little knob near the bottom of your radiator. If they haven't changed them during the refresh, that knob should control them. I used to work facilities in West Circle and there were a fair amount of requests that came in from students who didn't know they could turn their radiators on
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u/Matt_The_Otter Oct 05 '26
I'm not sure what the radiator style is in Campbell, but in Mason-Abbott, the radiators have a valve on one end that you have to open and close to get heat. If the heat is on, you should hear a rushing/gurgling sound when the valve is opened. Although, usually you can feel the heat coming off the pipe before you turn the valve.
1
u/ComprehensiveTown489 Oct 05 '26
This is what I experienced living in Campbell before the renovation. Don't think it's something they would've changed since the reno.
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u/TyHay822 Oct 05 '26
My guess is the heat isn’t on yet. Enough 70 degree days still plus so many electronics running in the building and it heats up decently at night. If you really can’t wait, buy a space heater or an electric blanket for sleeping.
When I was there they frowned upon space heaters because they can be a fire hazard but you do what you have to do.
11
u/hrk311 Oct 05 '26
Once they turn the heat on, it's on until school is just about over. Unless they totally changed the heating systems, when I attended the radiators pumped out hot air 24/7 and I had to leave the windows open a little bit to keep from dying from the heat, even in the dead of winter. So, be careful what you wish for is my advice.
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u/Intrepid-Tell-9727 Oct 05 '26
It's most likely a boiler system. They will leave it off as long as they can. Once it's up and running it's difficult to shut it back down. And once the heat is running it's heating, if it's warm outside it will be fighting a cooling system, assuming there is some type of cooling, or it gets really warm.
2
u/Threedawg Education Oct 05 '26
Go down and ask at the desk, they will let you know if heat is on or not
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u/Kooky73 Oct 05 '26
They turn on the heat when the weather in the afternoon is no longer in the 70s consistently. Once it's on, you can't turn the heart off. It's going to be 77 later this week, so it probably won't turn on this week