Heating with wood only, protecting pipes

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by ITD

Hmmmm, do you have a steam system or a forced hot water system?

Hot water. I can hear the water gurgling and rising in the pipes (not shaking) when the furnace is turned on and the bathroom radiator is open.

[John Mercier]

That would be air.
The system should have an air separator on it to remove that on the return to the boiler.

So you would need to drain those lines if you are seriously shutting down enough of the heat that they may drop below freezing.

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by John Mercier

That would be air.
The system should have an air separator on it to remove that on the return to the boiler.

So you would need to drain those lines if you are seriously shutting down enough of the heat that they may drop below freezing.

I feel quite sure it's water. It makes a gurgling sound. I won't let the upstairs fall below freezing.

[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

I feel quite sure it's water. It makes a gurgling sound. I won't let the upstairs fall below freezing.

It is water. But when the system is fully charged - no air in it - it can't gurgle.
Air in the system allows it to emit a gurgle... and the separator when the circulator is active allows for the air to be removed from the system protecting the boiler.

If it has a real strong gurgle, almost sounding like water flowing, there may be a problem with the fill valve. It replaces the volume of air removed by the separator with additional water keeping the system charged.

[TheProfessor]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

I won't let the upstairs fall below freezing.

Note:

A relative closed the door on a bedroom upstairs to save from heating that vacant room.

Came home one cold winter day and water was running down the wall on first floor from that upstairs room. And the hardwood floors in both upstairs and downstairs rooms were buckled.

Very, very, expensive repairs required.

You have been warned.

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by TheProfessor

Note:

A relative closed the door on a bedroom upstairs to save from heating that vacant room.

Came home one cold winter day and water was running down the wall on first floor from that upstairs room. And the hardwood floors in both upstairs and downstairs rooms were buckled.

Very, very, expensive repairs required.

You have been warned.

Oy, ye doomsayers. Some years ago I hired a young man to remove the ceiling and the insulation in one attic bedroom after a roof leak. Seeing the wonderful open space, I decided to put a vaulted ceiling in that room. It took me 6 months to find a carpenter to do that. I went through the whole winter with that open ceiling and no insulation above. I kept the door closed to avoid cooling the rest of the house. No frozen pipes all winter.

In normal times with oil heat, I set the thermostat to about 62 during the day and 50 at night. I've NEVER heated the upstairs bedrooms unless I had company. I do keep the radiator in the bathroom open. Never a frozen pipe in three decades. The house is well insulated. Whether the wood stove can duplicate those results remains to be seen. It appears we are now in an invincible summer,* so the test is delayed.

*Albert Camus, "Au milieu de l'hiver, j'apprenais enfin qu'il y avait en moi un été invincible."

Of course, sometimes it gets too hot in the house and I'm forced to do this:

[TheProfessor]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

Oy, ye doomsayers.

Do be sure to check you homeowners insurance.

Check to see if any words are in policy about negligence of the homeowner.

Good homeowners policies cover everything wilst others may not.

Does policy state "fair market value" or "replacement cost" ?

[John Mercier]

So your upstairs is on a separate zone?
If not, whenever the thermostat read below 62 during the day or 50 during the night, it would call for heat and circulate it through those upstair bedrooms.

The wood stove will not do that.
It will radiate to keep the room that it is in warm, and have to use convection to carry it to those bedrooms... and since not directly into the pipes like the boiler, the pipe temperature may be lower than the room ambient air.

[Susie Cougar]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

Oy, ye doomsayers. Some years ago I hired a young man to remove the ceiling and the insulation in one attic bedroom after a roof leak. Seeing the wonderful open space, I decided to put a vaulted ceiling in that room. It took me 6 months to find a carpenter to do that. I went through the whole winter with that open ceiling and no insulation above. I kept the door closed to avoid cooling the rest of the house. No frozen pipes all winter.

In normal times with oil heat, I set the thermostat to about 62 during the day and 50 at night. I've NEVER heated the upstairs bedrooms unless I had company. I do keep the radiator in the bathroom open. Never a frozen pipe in three decades. The house is well insulated. Whether the wood stove can duplicate those results remains to be seen. It appears we are now in an invincible summer,* so the test is delayed.

*Albert Camus, "Au milieu de l'hiver, j'apprenais enfin qu'il y avait en moi un été invincible."

Of course, sometimes it gets too hot in the house and I'm forced to do this:

Attachment 17878

Comme disait Camus, “La vie est la somme de tous vos choix.”

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by Susie Cougar

Comme disait Camus, “La vie est la somme de tous vos choix.”

Je ne suis point d'accord avec cela. Nos choix comptent pour beaucoup, il est vrai. Mais il y a au moins 10 ou 15 autres influences qui déterminent notre chemin à travers la vie. Camus lui-même était le produit de plusieurs influences historiques et culturelles remarkables: né en Algérie pendant la colonisation française, il habitait Paris lors de l'invasion allemande, etc. Tout ne dépendait pas de ses choix personnels mais aussi de ces grands événements qu'il n'a pas du tout choisis.

[ITD]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

Hot water. I can hear the water gurgling and rising in the pipes (not shaking) when the furnace is turned on and the bathroom radiator is open.

Forced hot water system then. I'm a little confused as to how you turn off the radiators, but it doesn't really matter. There will always be water in a forced hot water radiator unless you specifically have the system or a particular zone shut down at the source and blown out.

I'm worried about what you are doing freezing your pipes and wreaking havoc and damage on your house. Radiators are typically located on outside walls (makes sense because that generally the coldest part of a room. Not letting the room get below freezing will not be enough. I would keep those rooms at at least 50F on the cold days. Otherwise those outside walls may get cold enough to freeze the pipes. Even if the interior of the room is "above freezing".

Usually when a pipe freezes it doesn't leak. The frozen part expands and splits the pipe or joint, but the ice prevents water flowing. So the owner checks the rooms every day during a cold snap, but the ice prevents any leaks. As the temps gradually warms out side the pipe starts leaking. This could be days or even weeks after the initial cold snap. Once the leaks start, if you don't notice them in time, the damage is done. Even a little damage will quickly exceed any money you've saved turning the heat way down. Be careful.

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by ITD

I'm worried about what you are doing freezing your pipes and wreaking havoc and damage on your house.

I know. Hard to believe I've lived here 28 years and haven't destroyed the house yet, eh? ;-) The only frozen pipe was the town inlet pipe in the road that really cold winter a few years ago. Since y'all seem to agree, I'll set the thermostat at 50.

[RUGMAN]

ITD
you are exactly correct, when pipes freeze, the homeowner is not even aware that the pipe has frozen. Sometimes in cold windy weather it does not take long to get that quick freeze, then it is too late. The heat stops flowing and the pipe splits. Once the weather gets warmer, the water starts to flow, causing much damage,I was in the flooring business for over 30 years and saw many frozen pipe floods, nothing worse as far as damage. Keep the heat at 50 and pay a few more bucks than risk the damage frozen pipes cause.