If we get the ice as expected that could mean prolonged power outages and renders the wood boiler useless. I can burn a woodstove but that does nothing for my upstairs pipes. My thought would be to drain that zone if necessary and disconnect the stat until power is restored - sound to aggresive?
preventing frozen pipes?
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It sounds unnecessary to me, but I don't know how vulnerable your plumbing is. You'll usually get some thermosyphon to keep the water from freezing in one small spot, but you could still check the temps of the pipes as it gets colder inside. Even if the zone is drained you might have water trapped that could burst a pipe. Plus the hassle of air when you start up again.
soupy1957
Minister of Fire
Keep the wood stove crankin, and if you have a forced hot air system or fans, keep the air circulating. I find that I can maintain 65ºF in the coldest spots in the house, as long as I can keep the air moving.
Heat goes up......you should get good flow upstairs just because of that, unless you live in a 5,000 sq. ft. home. It's the basement that "I'd" be thinkin about.
You could always buy a gas generator.
-Soupy1957
Heat goes up......you should get good flow upstairs just because of that, unless you live in a 5,000 sq. ft. home. It's the basement that "I'd" be thinkin about.
You could always buy a gas generator.
-Soupy1957
semipro
Minister of Fire
benjamin said:
+1 Its hard to imagine things getting that cold with an operating wood stove below.
Opening cabinets where pipes are routed may also help prevent freezing.
thanks for the reply, semipro I do have the ability to open some doors, hope the weatherman is wrong.
midwestcoast
Minister of Fire
IF you happen to be on city water you could also leave the tap dribbling if you get really nervous.
velvetfoot
Minister of Fire
Usually it's not that cold when it snows, around here. They're not calling for below zero temps, I think.
A really small generator or inverter even would run that circulator.
A really small generator or inverter even would run that circulator.
i agree with semipro with open doors and such. we froze a pipe in the house growing up that was a hot line to a tub on the second floor on the north side of the house. cut a vent into the ceiling space in the room below and never had the problem again.
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