To Treat or Not To Treat?

[HeatFarmer]

Getting really close to filling the system. Another day of sweating fittings and then an air pressure test and then....and then..... do I just fill the system up & go? Or should I use the spiffy bottles of stuff Cozy Heat sent along with the EKO? I'm a little concerned as to how cold it is in regards to filling, running, draining and refilling the system. My slabs are very cold and so is the boiler room--33º right now....I don't want to be putting water in the system which could freeze if I don't get the thing going or something happens.

Also, as cold as it is I'm thinking I should just get the dag-blamed thing up & running & have a warm house & quit shooting through the propane like crazy.....It was a real insult seeing the truck come up the road a month & a half after I thought it was his last time here for winter fuel..... There should be plenty of time to treat the system in the spring....right? Do you all treat your systems or just run plain water—unless your using antifreeze?

 

[DaBackBurner]

I don't know about the treatment but you may have to for warranty issues??? As long as your pressure test confirmed no leaks I'd let 'er rip. You might get a leak or two once the system comes up to temperature, but hopefully you have enough shut-offs and such to correct those possibles. A couple months from now when its warmer if you needed to drain for some reason you could.
Another note... you talk about slab temperature being very cold...do you have in slab heat? If you do I would just caution to bring slabs up very slowly to prevent any possible cracking. Like 50-60 deg water max for a day or two and then gradually increasing up to design temps.

 

[bioman]

I'd do it like the mfg says. woudn't what to drop the ball now.

 

[tom in maine]

Fill it up and add in the treatment later.
I can lend you a hand pump to get it into the system.

 

[in hot water]

Is it a cleaner, conditioner, or both?

On a new system with oils and flux residue I like to run a cleaner first. You can purchase hydronic cleaners but some installers use TSP or even dishwashing liquid. Not dish soap it suds too much!

Run that for a week confirm you are leak free, dump, refill with good quality water (less than 25 ppm) then add the conditioner.

There are some conditioners that are both cleaners and conditioners that you can dump in and leave in, without flushing. Ask the dealer for his suggestions.

hr

 

[HeatFarmer]

@DaBackBurner & Bioman...the EKO is pretty sparse on warrantee info, etc. I'm pretty sure in there is says just use clean water. However, I'm not opposed to using the conditioner. I will be bringing the slab up to temp very slowly......

@InHotWater I have both a conditioner & a cleaner...it just seems that with the cold temps I can't screw around with the risk of freezing the system and filling & draining the system 3 times.

@TomInMaine...I'm with you....at the rate the weather is going this "winter" I probably won't be running the system that hard and can flush & clean it during a warm week in March.... Hope you're riding this storm out well.

 

[woodsmaster]

I filled and flushed mine last winter when it was below freezing out. Didn't even come close to having anything freeze.
I was worried about it but once every thing is hot it stays that way for a long time. even 50 degree F fill water would take a long time to freeze.

 

[bpirger]

I'd be a bit worried about the cold concrete....what if you have a problem? What if water ends up sitting in the floor while something else is fixed? Just have a plan for blowing it out from example where it might freeze. Pex should be OK, but I sure wouldn't want to let it freeze....

Also, I'd think you might want to fill with hot water if possible...just to give yourself a little extra time. Maybe run a bit to purge the air and try to get the boiler up to some temperature above 40! It's going to condense like mad for awhile starting off really cold!

I assume you are starting off without your storage online?

 

[taxidermist]

I filled mine with the cleaner and ran it till spring then drained it and put the treatment in it.

Rob