Oil or Pellets this weekend? I don't want the pipes to freeze!!

You could use both. Nothing to prevent that.

I manually fire so I can tell the pellet stove to use a setting that doesn't quite handle the heating load and have the boiler handle the rest.

There is also a device you can buy that will run hot water through your hot water base board system so it doesn't freeze.

See here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/61998/

BARTSFAM said:

So....when I go to Weatherbug.com, it says that central Mass. could get down to -50 F this weekend with the wind chill.
I was thinking of shutting down the pellet stove and using oil heat for the weekend so the heating pipes don't freeze. I have heard of hot water heating pipes freezing from lack of use in the winter. I never use the oil, except for hot water.

If I leave the pellet stove on, the heat may never come on. I don't know what to do, as I hate to use oil, only as a last resort.


Any opinions or experience with this scenario???

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When it gets down well below zero I will kick the zones on for a bit a couple of times a day to make sure they don't freeze.

When the temp gets down close to 0* I have to open the faucets to let the water trickle. If I don't, well, good by pipes.

I'm afraid the pellet stove will be down for a couple of days until the "Big Freeze" passes by. Good time to clean it out.

House will be heated exclusively with oil much as I hate to do so.

In the 34 years we have lived here I can't recall temps getting down to 0* much less lower. (Danbury, CT area north of I-84).

SmokeyTheBear said:

There is also a device you can buy that will run hot water through your hot water base board system so it doesn't freeze.

See here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/61998/

Click to expand...

Yep, the ThermGuard is just the device for keeping pipes from freezing....I'll be using mine this weekend for the upstairs bedroom heat pipes.

It works great, and if you have pipe freezing problems, it the simplest way to go.

Going totally pellets, I want to see what this baby can do ;-)

Though I do have a steam system, not water pipes for heating.

Well we've been pretty cool lately and I only have the pellet stove. We have an unheated basement that isn't air tight and I do leave the water dripping to keep the pipes from freezing.

I have a programmable thermostat on the oil heat. Especially in this COLD weather I like to heat up the corners and outer walls twice a day with the oil fired hot water heat.

the people that built my house put the water pipes that go into the kitchen on the outside wall and when I used the furance ( house @ 68) the pipes would freeze when the temps got low. Now with the pellet stove ( house @ 73) and a warmer house all I need to do is open the cabnets and all it well. Now watch I just cursed myself.

I have a old gas hot air deal.I hooked up a simple battery powered thermostat down in the basement and set it at anywhere from 45-50 and it kicks on and keeps the basement warm enough. For good measure I cut a hole in a duct close to most of my pipes and put in a damper this heats up the basement even faster.

I'm going to attempt a pellet-only run at this weekend. The house was cold (56*F) all day while we were gone. I have been home with the stove running for 2 Hours and the first floor is 74/72*F (stove room/opposite corner), and 2nd floor is 67*F and still rising. OAT is +9*F and dropping. Probably won't be shutting her down at night like I have been though, at least until next week.

I'm putting my trust in the Vermonts because I think they can handle it. I know the Okies will, so I will switch over if I have to. My boiler will still run for my domestic tank, so I'm not too worried about it.

To the OP- While the wind will play a part in your heating ability, remember that inanimate objects don;t feel wind chill. Even an efficient house is harder to heat when its windy, but -50*F is unrealistic. Not to down-play the 0* to -10*F that we will all probably experience, but it won;t be bad. By all means, be prepared, but realistically its not going to be so uncommonly, unseasonably or unreasonably cold that we won't be able to handle it.

-15 here for tonight
my pellet stove heats my pipes so I am ok

Let the P68 run on Room Temp mode with the igniter in manual. Put the wall thermostat in override and set the stove to 4.5 (72.5*F) Feed trim to #2, dist. blower on high. And just let her run. All oil tstats were set at 52*F just in case.

The OAT low last night was 0*F and the house stayed nice and warm. Stove room/Living Room/Upstairs was 73/71/68 when I woke up this morning. A hopper FULL of Vermont pellets (72 lbs; 8lbs left in bag) with all settings being constant lasted for 29 hours. Usually I roll back the stove at night to 65*F-ish, but didn't want the upstairs to cool off to the point of the oil boiler kicking on, so I just let her run hard.

I am very impressed and very warm!

Tonight we are looking at a low of -18 with a little more wind, so that will be the real test! We kept the house warm all day so it should be a good jumping-off point!