plumbing Shut off to backup circuit question

[Thom Griffin]

I'm not using my backup oil boiler this year (no oil). It has it's own circulator. I just went out to put some heat tape on the lowest pipe, and they are all hot. The temp in the boiler is 140! I guess I've been heating that circuit since I ran out of oil last March.

Question: I can shut off the valve so that water doesn't flow through the boiler, can't I? I suppose I can leave just a little flow to prevent it from freezing. Darned if I can remember what I did in the past few years since I installed it.

 

[PassionForFire&Water]

One possibility is this:
You probably tied in your wood boiler (I assume) into the return line of the oil boiler.
This is the easiest way but not the most efficient way to tie in a wood boiler into an existing system.
This way there is always flow to the oil boiler.
You probably will need to make some changes in the piping so you are able to bypass the oil boiler

 

[Bob Rohr]

One possibility is this:
You probably tied in your wood boiler (I assume) into the return line of the oil boiler.
This is the easiest way but not the most efficient way to tie in a wood boiler into an existing system.
This way there is always flow to the oil boiler.
You probably will need to make some changes in the piping so you are able to bypass the oil boiler

Best to pipe them in parallel to eliminate flow when and where you don't want it.

Where is the boiler located that it could freeze? Can you tighten and insulate that space instead of heating an unused boiler? Wood or electric heat tape is money right up the flue pipe!

 

[Thom Griffin]

Best to pipe them in parallel to eliminate flow when and where you don't want it.

Where is the boiler located that it could freeze? Can you tighten and insulate that space instead of heating an unused boiler? Wood or electric heat tape is money right up the flue pipe!

The boiler is located in an old ground floor milkroom from when this was a dairy farm. The milkroom was (is) located in one end of the house. It is insulated to a degree, but definitely does freeze on extremely cold nights such as what we're having now.

I am able to completely bypass the oil boiler. I just wanted to make certain that I could shut that valve. It seems logical that I should be able to, as the power to the oil boiler circulator is shut off. I've gone ahead and shut off the valve and all seems to be fine. I'll keep an eye on the temp in the oil boiler. When it gets down around 40 -50, I'll crack open the valve just to keep it warm on these very cold nights.

Thanks for the advice and opinions.