Forgive Me, I Am about To Sin .......

[Dix]

100 gallons of heating oil coming into the 550 gallon tank coming in Monday, and the tune up / overhaul of the oil burner happening Tuesday.

I thought I had 1 broken base board pipe, turns out I had 4 All a result of the bad winter 5 years ago. My former co workers / HVAC / plumbing guys came in, and saved the day. They spent 3 hours here, cutting, soldering, adding water to the system, shutting it down as we found more leaks / broken pipes, and never charged me a dime.

Burner valves opened, system is not leaking, and burner is not leaking. We did not fire it, as I stuck the tank and it's E.M.P.T.Y. I'll fill it a bit at a time, and keep it full, so as to be ready for the next Apocalypse

Tired of running on wood alone, and all the work all by myself. *Stress on all by myself*

T stats will be set at 62, and will run the wood stoves as much as possible to off set the oil, but with the cost of oil currently, this makes sense to me. Also turning off the electric HWH, and draining it. Will keep in in reserve and at the ready if needed (turning off the valve, and throwing the breaker, as well as draining it).

I have 6 cord ready to roll, and another 6 that needs to season and / or be split / cut / stacked. I can take my time with this, and still be ahead when things go south, which they will

Actually looking forward to the break, it's been a rough 5 years!

 

[Lake Girl]

I don't consider that sinning just taking a well earned break since oil prices are low. Enjoy cause you earned it Why do you think we switched to pellets instead of keeping the outside boiler or the oil fired heat? Easier and cheaper...

 

[begreen]

Far from sinning it's smart to keep the central heating system in good tune and exercise it once in awhile. Take a rest, it may be a long winter.

 

[CheapBassTurd]

Rest on indeed.
Practically killed my body getting ready for a whole winter and both shoulders
with a July surgery date / cutoff for being ready.

Relax, and enjoy a good (whatever you like) to drink, read, watch, etc.

CheapMark

 

[firefighterjake]

You are forgiven my daughter . . . now go say three Hail Englanders and two Our Pacific Energys Who Art in Our Home and all will be right in the world.

And on a serious side . . . seems rather smart and forward thinking to me. I predominantly run wood and cringe every time I hear the oil boiler kick on, but I still topped up on oil this Fall with prices so low and as much as I hate the sound of the oil boiler running I do appreciate having it in operation when I'm too sick to run the woodstove, I'm on vacation in a sunnier and warmer climate or on those sub-zero days when I just want a little extra help to keep the house (and water pipes) up to temp.

 

[Smoked]

I like knowing I have backup. I try not to let it run because when the boiler fires, the pipes pop and rattle so much it wakes everyone up. Enjoy the break on whatever days you decide to take it!

 

[MaintenanceMan]

Heck, that's just smart. I have a gas furnace, a heat pump PTAC unit, two LP buddy heaters, several backup electric heaters and two wood stoves with about three years worth of wood waiting. I like options and not putting all my eggs in one basket. You never know when your going to break a leg.

 

[Batman]

No sin there. #2 oil is close to parity with cordwood in my area. I'll be burning for sure, because I love it, but those dead dinosaurs do have a certain allure.

 

[kennyp2339]

No sin, just a smart move, I think that's one of the biggest mistakes made here, not exercising central heating, especially when its really cold, broken pipes are no joke.

 

[Texas123]

I agree with all of the other members. The older we get the more we need more then one method of heating the house. I have a propane furnace for the central heat and on the coldest days do use it.

 

[prezes13]

I will be running my stove on weekends and on days off only if heating oil will be under $2 a gallon

 

[Dieselhead]

It's raw and rainy today, and I'm running the heat pump. Not even close to thinking about the first Fire yet

 

[bjkjoseph]

You can put a special anti freeze in your boiler,so that won't happen again.

 

[jatoxico]

Glad you were able to get the system fixed Dix. I'm not one to try to replace oil entirely and run the burner as needed/desired. Agree w/ the above. You can charge the system w/ glycol to avoid frozen baseboard pipes. Remember it doesn't help the domestic water pipes though.

 

[jscs.moore]

No sin, just a smart move, I think that's one of the biggest mistakes made here, not exercising central heating, especially when its really cold, broken pipes are no joke.

Good point. I'll be starting my second burning season this fall/winter and look forward to getting much more efficiency out of my insert (HI300) since having a block off plate installed and truly seasoned wood on hand. However, I haven't even come close yet to the idea of shutting down the heat pump during the winter and burning wood only. Last winter (my first season) I learned a lot about burning more efficiently by reading this great website almost daily, but also realized that burning wood all the time is a lot of work!! One thing is for sure...when temps really plummet into the 20's and below, it absolutely makes to keep the central heat system on even if wood heat is basically maintaining your home and a reasonable temperature. I guess even though my insert is rated for 2,000 Sq.ft, it just doesn't have the burn times to keep the whole house toasty from say midnight to 6:00AM when it gets really frigid outside. It's a great insert and I'm hoping truly seasoned wood and the newly installed block off plate will make for more efficient wood heating...but I'm not sure it's realistic to think I can maintain the whole house at around 70 degrees overnight without having to get up at 2 or 3:00AM to load up the fire box again before morning. At least in my brief one season of experience, I've learned that trying to heat your house 24/7 on wood heat alone is a lot work So for now, I'll remember my own limitations and stick to wood burning as much as possible with central heat back up

 

[Dix]

I was kinda kidding about the sinning part

Been tough and one helluva lotta work with just the stoves.

BUT ... up & running today, burner done, tuned, vacced, etc.... oil in the tank, I'm good to go.

Interesting side note The burner tech checked the piping to the electric HWH, after I asked about shutting it down. His thoughts were that since the water to the electric HWH runs into it from the burner, that the EHWH would serve as a holding / storage tank, and would run minimally if left on. As the water going into it would be hot to begin with, instead of the cold I've been running into it. Decided to give it a go, and see what happens. Will report back on that issue.

Aside from that, I'm happy as a clam that the burner is up & running. Now to get used to the rumble when it does run, doubt it will take me long Doesn't take much to make me happy

 

[English BoB]

You are not alone.............Iam suffering from OOS right now.

OOS =original OPEC sin.

bob

 

[sante fe]

You have been obsolved. With Dino juice so cheap your making a good move. Now get ready for the rumble.....

 

[Dix]

Rumbling not that bad ..... I can barely hear it, and the den is over the boiler.

Hot water is hotter, will see what the electric bill brings next month

 

[Jags]

I have mostly been an 80/20 wood burner for the last few years. Being away from home for many hours during the typical work day really didn't allow for a 24/7, wood only solution. Even with my best efforts to teach my dog how to reload the stove, it just wasn't realistic. I find no shame in allowing the furnace to take up the slack.

In two weeks I will find myself in a different reality. Being home and the ability to put many more hours in the workshop, I fully expect to use more wood this winter than I ever have.

 

[Lake Girl]

Hope you retirement goes easier than the Hubby's. He thought he would do some training on a part time basis for ERT. That just got escalated... the Honey-Do list is on hold again

 

[Hogwildz]

Sin nothing, got the oil furnace heating up the place right now. In another month or so it will be on the bench as backup gain. At below $2.00 a gallon for oil, I will be topping the tank off this year.

 

[nola mike]

OTOH, natural gas up 50% since last year.

 

[Dix]

Hope you retirement goes easier than the Hubby's. He thought he would do some training on a part time basis for ERT. That just got escalated... the Honey-Do list is on hold again

All done Hogs, all done.... now shopping prices to get another 200 gallons in there in November

 

[Dix]

Another 200 gallons in, stuck the tank, up to 325 gallons

Did run into an issue with the OB, was running intermittently, and needed restarts..... turned out to be the pump.

I hear the OB running for heat on the lower level, but, as of yet, not a draw from upper level where the PE resides.

I won't get a electric meter reading until next month ( on budget, readings every 2 months), so I'll see about the electric. Water is a lot hotter than with just the EHWH, and yes, the OB has an aqua stat, set to 135F.