Should I get a Thermguard?

[jslinger]

Thanks to the help of everyone here, I have purchased an XXV. We have not had it installed yet, but are very excited to do so.
We currently heat with oil baseboard heat. We only turn the heat on, on the first floor. We keep the finished basement and second floor thermostats off. Even on the coldest days, the temperature in the closed off guest rooms on the second floor never get below 45*.
Giving that I have no experience heating with a pellet stove, I was wondering if there is any reason that I should expect the pipes to be more apt to freeze?
I will keep the stove heating the main floor 5* warmer than we did using oil, so I thought that would help make up any difference in the evenness of the heating method.
I had considered getting a thermguard for the second level, but wasn't sure it would be necessary.
Thanks for the help.

 

[imacman]

I would be very careful about shutting the zones off completely. A frozen pipe(s) can make you have a VERY bad day.

The ThermGuard is a very nice unit, and eliminates the worry about frozen pipes completely. I have one, but only turn it on when the outside temp gets below 25. 3 minutes of burner run after every 3 hours does the trick for me.

If you're going to shut those zones off completely, I would have a Thermguard to use during the really cold days.

 

[mepellet]

How about shutting those zones off and draining them so you don't have to buy the thermguard AND you don't have to use any oil whatsoever for those zones.

I have often thought about doing this. And if the stove ever is out of service for an extended period just open the valves back up to fill them up again.

 

[MacP]

Does anyone have any pics of thermguard installed?

 

[jslinger]

How about shutting those zones off and draining them so you don't have to buy the thermguard AND you don't have to use any oil whatsoever for those zones. I have often thought about doing this. And if the stove ever is out of service for an extended period just open the valves back up to fill them up again.

I guess it just depends on how difficult it is to refill them. I would hate to have the stove die, and have nothing to easily turn on and heat the house with. If it is simple and quick, I will definitely consider this.

 

[imacman]

 

[moey]

You may want to evaluate where your pipes run. Do they go through interior walls? A crawlspace? Near a basement wall? Are you house walls insulated very well.

Ive left mine off all year my pipes go through interior walls and I have been fine even on the coldest days. You can always run it once a day when its really cold it may provide some relief if your really worried.

I dont think I would drain them, I did drain one section in my house over my garage that is not inhabited. I suspect if I tried to fill it again something would go wrong and it would take me a couple hours to resolve (Murphy's Law).

 

[Chain]

View attachment 93653

Thanks for this photo....That programmable thermostat is exactly the model I have. Any chance you can pop the cover open to show where the wiring from the Thermguard is hooked into the Luxpro? Or even describe how you did it? Also, how do you program the Thermguard once it's hooked into the Luxpro? Does it display on the Luxpro while using the press and hold button on the Thermguard?

 

[mepellet]

You may want to evaluate where your pipes run. Do they go through interior walls? A crawlspace? Near a basement wall? Are you house walls insulated very well.

Ive left mine off all year my pipes go through interior walls and I have been fine even on the coldest days. You can always run it once a day when its really cold it may provide some relief if your really worried.

I dont think I would drain them, I did drain one section in my house over my garage that is not inhabited. I suspect if I tried to fill it again something would go wrong and it would take me a couple hours to resolve (Murphy's Law).

What could go wrong? Besides turning a couple valves and bleeding the air out, is there really anything else to it?

 

[imacman]

Thanks for this photo....That programmable thermostat is exactly the model I have. Any chance you can pop the cover open to show where the wiring from the Thermguard is hooked into the Luxpro? Or even describe how you did it? Also, how do you program the Thermguard once it's hooked into the Luxpro? Does it display on the Luxpro while using the press and hold button on the Thermguard?

The wires go to the same connections as you'd have for the boiler connections.....should be R & W. The instructions to program come with it....it's pretty easy but I don't remember off the top of my head....I did it 3 yrs ago. And no, nothing shows up on the stat while programming or using it. It displays the time between cycles and number of minutes running with a series of blinks on the ThermGuard.
Here's a pic:

 

[Chain]

Thanks imacman, I appreciate you posting this. Sounds like even I could hook a Thermguard up.

 

[jslinger]

I guess I will just leave it as is. I have not had a problem yet. Even when the temp is around -20. I will just run the upstairs heat on the really cold nights, or open all the guest room doors and crank the stove up.
Thanks for the help.