AVOIDING FROZEN PIPES

[BXTF]

Installing a wood stove and I'm concern about my base board heat freezing in spots. Any ides or products that could help me avoid frozen pipes this winter?

I have a peerless boiler with two zones, and the boiler is used for our hot water.
Thanks

 

[steam man]

Besides insulating the pipes I would probably try installing a single stage controller (Tekmar) with a thermistor strapped to the pipe. Wire it in parallel with the room thermostat and set the temp above freezing. It should turn on the circulator when it reaches set point. I suppose there are timers, heat tapes, etc. that would work. Even a programmable thermostsat would help to run the zone briefly. As someone who has had busted pipes in the winter I would say knowing exactly when things are getting close to freezing it would be reassuring. I did put a hot water recirc pump on one line to a problem bathroom that was on a timer. I only use it in the winter but it worked. Hopefully others will help out here.

Mike

 

[BXTF]

Mike,
Thanks for the input. I like the idea of having the circulater come on briefly to warm the pipes and space under the floors. I read about a product called Terma Guard (spelling) want to do more research through.
Chris

 

[bridgerman]

Mike,
Thanks for the input. I like the idea of having the circulater come on briefly to warm the pipes and space under the floors. I read about a product called Terma Guard (spelling) want to do more research through.
Chris

Hi Chris,

The product is called ThermGuard and your can find it my Googleing ThermGuard or going to the web site: www.bearmountaindesign.com

It is designed to solve this exact problem. It is basically a timer that connects to your thermostat and circulates a small amount of water periodically throught your heating pipes to keep them from freezing. You can program it to send 5 minutes of hot water every 2-3 hours and the pipes should never freeze up. I have a hot water heat system in my home and when it got really cold and wind blew, my heating pipes froze because my wood stove kept the room with the thermostat at 70 degrees. The thermostat never called for hot water and in an unheated area of my home (over my garage) my heating pipes froze and burst. That was a very expensive problem to fix. Another time, my mother was staying at my house while I was out of town and a pipe along an outside wall burst. It leaked water until my well went dry trying to re-charge the pressure in heating lines. The whole downstairs area needed to have the carpet replaced and lots of drywall work.

I designed ThermGuard to solve this problem. It is a microprocessor controlled timer that needs no maintenance since it has no batteries. Just switch it on when the weather is cold and switch it off when you don’t need it. It remembers your program even when the power is off. The web site offers information as well as a FAQ section: http://www.bearmountaindesign.com or your can just google ThermGuard.

You can search this forum for many folks that are using it and were very happy with the results. There is a 10% discount for hearth.com members and free shipping. It comes to $62.99 with the discount and that is a small price to pay for peace of mind, let alone repairing all the damage that a broken pipe can cause.

I hope that helps! I would be happy to answer any questions and work with individuals on specific problems.

Cheers,
John

 

[BXTF]

John,
Thanks for all the information. I checked out what some of the other members thought, and it was all good. Will be placing an order soon.
Thanks,
Chris

 

[rphurley]

I have a new Low Mass boiler that only contains 4-7 gallons of water and from what I understand the water is not in the pipes with it is not circulating. Am I at risk for a frozen pipe if water only periodically flows through and empties from the pipes back into the furnace?

 

[bridgerman]

I have a new Low Mass boiler that only contains 4-7 gallons of water and from what I understand the water is not in the pipes with it is not circulating. Am I at risk for a frozen pipe if water only periodically flows through and empties from the pipes back into the furnace?

I've not heard of a system that drains into the boilder when not running....I am not expert on low mass boilers but from what I have researched, it seems that the "low mass" refers to the amount of water in the boiler itself, not in the heating pipes. A low mass boiler has a multi-pass design to heat the water more efficiently. Sometimes there is a hot water storage tank as well.

Draining a zone would also be pretty noisy as it refills and the air is somehow purged. It would be a bubble-fest...that is a technical term of art

If you can point me to a link that describes how your system works, I'b be glad to take a look, otherwise, if the system doesn't drain, you are in danger of having your pipes freeze when you don't run water through them periodically when the weather gets cold.

Cheers,
John

 

[rphurley]

THanks alot John,
What you said makes perfect sense. Of course the pipes must have water in them at all times. I'll take a look at some of those cycling devices I seen on similar posts as mine. Or I could look into having antifreeze installed in the pipes. Any opinions on those options?
Thanks again,

Rich

 

[lecomte38]

DR - how about automobile anti freeze?

 

[bridgerman]

THanks alot John,
What you said makes perfect sense. Of course the pipes must have water in them at all times. I'll take a look at some of those cycling devices I seen on similar posts as mine. Or I could look into having antifreeze installed in the pipes. Any opinions on those options?
Thanks again,

Rich

Antifreeze usually costs $200 or more and breaks down over time. After breakdown, it needs to be disposed of correctly and then the system needs to be recharged with water and antifreeze again. Basically it is a recurring cost and kind of a pain.

You could put a ThermGuard on your thermostat which you can program to put a couple of minutes of hot water through the pipes every few hours. It needs no maintenance...no batteries to replace...and you just switch it off when you are done with it. You can find information by searching this forum for ThermGuard or going to the web site: www.bearmountaindesign.com

There is a 10% discount for hearth.com members and free shipping.

Cheers,
John

 

[bridgerman]

DR - how about automobile anti freeze?

I think there are a few posts on this web site regarding automobile antifreeze. It will corrode the components in the heating system and risks poisoning the home since most hot water system have a connection to the potable water system. This connection is used to fill the boiler and to maintain pressure. It usually has a back-flow preventer on it, but if that somhow fails, you have a poison in your drinking water system.....generally not a good thing.

Cheers,
John

 

[rowerwet]

the best price I found on antifreeze was 11.50/ gal at HD.

 

[Vtgent49]

Boilers use propylene glycol, not ethelene glycol(auto antifreeze). They are completely different chemicals.

 

[Hydronics]

Two types of anti freeze are manufactured for hydronic heating: ethylene glycol which is toxic and propylene glycol which is non toxic, it's actually in some foods such as salad dressing and make up products.
The chemical isn't corrosive unless the ph is not kept around 7, the major cause of this is not flushing contaminants such as flux (acid) before filling the system and mixing it with hard water (water with a high mineral content). The ph can be raised by adding inhibitor.
Propylene glycol is most commonly used and is about $8 per gallon, mixed with 50% water it will provide adequate protection in most cases.

The ideal solution for you would be to install a wood boiler instead of the stove -consistent, controlable temp. in all rooms & no risk of frozen pipes.