So with the crazy low temps lately looks like I'll be burning oil. Was hoping to get through the winter on one tank but thats not going to happen. I had a pipe burst last night in my garage. The pipe was a heating pipe for my daughters room. Stove was keeping the thermostats happy but not the radiators. I have the heat up to 70 to make sure the radiators get used. Im really bumbed about this and now have to deal with repairs and my home insurance company. Im addicted to my pellet stove but looks like it will supplement and not heat the house when temps get too cold. Hopefully others don't run into this issue!
Burning oil = not happy
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John Fortier
Feeling the Heat
- Sep 29, 2013
- 450
Sorry to hear this. Our first season and hoping the same. Run the oil only to exercise the furnace and warm the basement on the worst nites. We should make it through using less than 1/4 tank. Would electric heat wraps for your pipes be a consideration?
Friday night with the coldest temps in 5 years I lost my nerve and shut down the Harmon and ran the hydronic baseboard system. I had a minor blockage last year and caught it before the pipe burst. I have anti freeze (glycol) in the system, but I need to up the percentage to -20. I saw a post about this a few days back and it freaked me out just a bit. I have a fully finished basement and just don't wan't to take a chance. Is there a timer or some other device I can install to send a charge of hot water into the system periodically? I have a raised ranch, sometimes called a split level with a garage under a third of the space. I run the boiler to heat the three other finished rooms downstairs to 60 f. and the domestic hot water needs. I use less than 300 gallons of #2 fuel oil a year. Three and a half tons of pellets keeps the upstairs space a toasty 72-74 in the stove room and 67-68 in the bedrooms at the other end of the house. I haven't seen any posts about the antifreeze in the boiler system anywhere in the forum. Is this not commonly used anywhere else in North America?
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Yep. Burning propane here. It's currently -15 with a windchill approaching -50. I'm 33 and I don't remember any weather like this ever before. The 10-cpm tries, but it's too cold and windy. I also have some air infiltration issues, and that's causing some problems. No frozen pipes (yet?) but there was literally ice in the bathtub in the daughter's bathroom. Yikes. I think there is an air leak somewhere back there!
RCCARPS
Member
GeHmTS
Feeling the Heat
My pellet stove burns 24/7 all day every day during the winter season. Electric heating is controls by digital thermostat to keep the minimum temperature in the house at 70F in all the other rooms. The temperature where the pellet is located can rise above 90F, but I keep it at around 78F. Everyone knows where to find heat and it's not in the electric base board. I looked at installing oil, but not at a $7K price tag.
We have a frozen cold water pipe in the kitchen right now.
Running the furnace would not have prevented it. It is in an unheated crawl space 20 feet away from the basement.
These pipes froze every year with the furnace running.
We put heat tape on them 3 years ago, but I think it is just too cold or the heat tape is shot
Running the furnace would not have prevented it. It is in an unheated crawl space 20 feet away from the basement.
These pipes froze every year with the furnace running.
We put heat tape on them 3 years ago, but I think it is just too cold or the heat tape is shot
RKS130
Minister of Fire
Hey Joshua - I am just across Rt. 129 in Croton and face the same issues. I find that when we have multiple cold days I am OK if, after 3 or 4 days at 20 or below, I run the oil burner for just 45 minutes in the morning and again late at night. Otherwise my Accentra FS carries our house at between 68 and 70, running 24/7. This morning it was 5 outside and 70 inside.
You gotta spend some time under there with spray foam come spring. If you need ventilation for warm months you can always control access using foam sheets. As a general rule, pipes just don't belong in unconditioned space.
iceguy4
Minister of Fire
I use the bearmountaindesign product on my forced hot water system to keep the pipes from freezing. It works great. The system is basically a timer that fools the system into thinking heat is needed.
The purpose of the product is to prevent frozen heating pipes.
Rick.............
The purpose of the product is to prevent frozen heating pipes.
Rick.............
iceguy4
Minister of Fire
Works on a hot water system too...read "frequently asked questions...need one unit per zone
Looks like I will be running the boiler when temps get below freezing. I am not dealing with this again. I also found my electrc bill was $70 higher this month using my stove and fan 24/7 pretty much on blast. Ill be doing some serious insulating and hopefully I get off the oil but this winter it's not happening. My 1st floor has heat pipes running through the slab and the last thing I need is a leak there! Love my Stove and I have no regrets. I have learned alot this year using this thing.
BigJohnfromCT
Feeling the Heat
I clearly understand the desire to get off fossil fuels but it's not worth the risk if your pipes are going to freeze or parts of your castle are going to be uninhabitable. I'm happy if, at the end of the heating season, I've saved some money.
iceguy4
Minister of Fire
In a related development, I had to go into my main office on business today in a state building here in New Hampshire. A pipe burst in the heating/cooling system on the roof. The result was half a million dollars in damage. This includes three floors of flooding including the folks responsible for the instalation of the system two years ago flooded out. We are also talking a basement full of servers and a print shop. Paper files going back decades are ruined along with computers, furniture electrical fixtures, and everything else. The drywall was cut of at 36" from the floor. I will not take any chances. I'm going to give the baseboards some love in the next few nights in this cold spell!
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chillyjillinmaine
Member
Sadly I had the same thing happen on Saturday night. Definitely learned a lesson to keep the heat on very low in the upstairs when it is that cold. I am also going to look into getting extra insulation in my exterior walls. Thankfully the damage appears minimal.
Looks like insurance is going to handle all the damage and new insulation will be installed making the house warmer and more efficient. Apparently this was very common this week and the adjuster did not even come out to see the damage. Got a quote on the repairs and they will handle it minus my deductible. Lesson learned, got keep the heat on when below freezing. My house is from 1968 so the insulation is thin, not there or deteriorated.
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