New stove insert...fears of frozen forced hot water pipes

[davenorthshorema]

Hi all,

Any suggestions or am I overly concerned about this situation.

I have my pipes for a forced hot water going to my two bedrooms which are above my uninsulated garage. i have about approximately a foot of pipe exposed in the garage that penetrates the ceiling which goes to the baseboard heater in bedroom one. From there it penetrates the floor and runs in between the floor and ceiling to the next bedroom then returns to the finished basement.

Will I be okay with just circulating the system every now and then or does this require more thought.

Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks

 

[rphurley]

Hello,
I had a Regency I3100 insert installed during the summer and I also have a bedroom above my garage. One option would be to install and new zone for that bedroom but the now boiler I have is a "low Mass" boiler, so there shouldn't be any water left in the pipe when it is not circulating. My neighbor has a similar situation and she has never has a problem with a pipe freezing above her garage. Ill be watching this thread for anything that I can learn on the situation myself.
Thanks for the interesting post

 

[begreen]

Insulate and box in the exposed pipe. You'll still need to run the system now and then when it's very cold, but it will be a lot less vulnerable with some protection.

 

[davenorthshorema]

Insulate and box in the exposed pipe. You'll still need to run the system now and then when it's very cold, but it will be a lot less vulnerable with some protection.

Thank you BeGreen. I will put my carpentry skills to the test this weekend with you recommendation. I am hopeful this is sufficient precautions.

 

[CT-Mike]

Another option is to pick up some electric heat trace tape from a plumbing supply house. The big box stores may also carry it. Our downstairs bathroom/laundry room bumps out into the garage and the plumbing is on the garage wall. The pipes would freeze when it got very cold, even though the garage is insulated. So I added the heat trace tape, and just plug it in when it is going to be extremely cold, works like a champ.

 

[Girl]

Another option is to pick up some electric heat trace tape from a plumbing supply house. The big box stores may also carry it. Our downstairs bathroom/laundry room bumps out into the garage and the plumbing is on the garage wall. The pipes would freeze when it got very cold, even though the garage is insulated. So I added the heat trace tape, and just plug it in when it is going to be extremely cold, works like a champ.

I have the electric heat tape too, as soon as it hits regular freezing temps, it's plugged in. 4 years & no frozen pipes.

 

[davenorthshorema]

Another option is to pick up some electric heat trace tape from a plumbing supply house. The big box stores may also carry it. Our downstairs bathroom/laundry room bumps out into the garage and the plumbing is on the garage wall. The pipes would freeze when it got very cold, even though the garage is insulated. So I added the heat trace tape, and just plug it in when it is going to be extremely cold, works like a champ.

Just wondering if you have already tried the turn the circulator on every know and then during the cold spells. That's if you have the forced hot water.

Please let me know.

Thanks

 

[wellbuilt home]

You could add antifreeze to the boiler instead of water .The plumbing supply could send you in the right direction. I think your pipes will freeze sooner or later if you don't use the heat .The plumbers don't worry about heat pipes in the walls like they wood water piping so you could have a freeze up any where . My pipes start to freeze at -14 below 0 in the basement I have hot air heat but haven't used it in years .

 

[bridgerman]

Hi all,

Any suggestions or am I overly concerned about this situation.

I have my pipes for a forced hot water going to my two bedrooms which are above my uninsulated garage. i have about approximately a foot of pipe exposed in the garage that penetrates the ceiling which goes to the baseboard heater in bedroom one. From there it penetrates the floor and runs in between the floor and ceiling to the next bedroom then returns to the finished basement.

Will I be okay with just circulating the system every now and then or does this require more thought.

Any advise would be helpful.

Thanks

You could add a ThermGuard to your thermostat. It will periodically circulate the water for you. I had frozen pipes in my house twice and it caused quite a mess and was very expensive to clean up.

ThermGuard can be programmed to send a small amount of water....say 3 minutes worth every couple of hours. Your pipes will never freeze. It is easy to connect as well. There are just 2 wires and it doesn't matter which wire connects to which terminals on your thermostat....assuming you have only 2 wires on your thermostat for a hot water system. When the weather is not as severe, you just switch it off. It remembers your setup and programming even if there is a power loss. It is easy to program and there is a 10% discount for hearth.com members.

You can check it out at www.bearmountaindesign.com

You can also search this forum for ThermGuard and see many instances where it was used successfully.

Cheers,
John

 

[CT-Mike]

Another option is to pick up some electric heat trace tape from a plumbing supply house. The big box stores may also carry it. Our downstairs bathroom/laundry room bumps out into the garage and the plumbing is on the garage wall. The pipes would freeze when it got very cold, even though the garage is insulated. So I added the heat trace tape, and just plug it in when it is going to be extremely cold, works like a champ.

Just wondering if you have already tried the turn the circulator on every know and then during the cold spells. That's if you have the forced hot water.

Please let me know.

Thanks

I have a FHA system so this isn't an option for me.