Decommissioning oil boiler

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Rick 386
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Location: Royersford, Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: AA 260 heating both sides of twin farmhouse
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Post by Rick 386 » Thu. Sep. 14, 2017 4:53 pm

Well not really totally decommissioning it but have a question.

Since my mother in law passed last December, she directed my sister in law to move from the "tenant house" into her side of our twin farm house. Original idea is to rent out the "tenant house" but that will be some time for that to happen.

So in order to cut expenses we are thinking that we could severely lower the thermostat on the "tenant house" The house has a history of the pipes to the sink and upstairs bathroom freezing during the brutal part of winter with the low temps and howling winds.

My thought is to drain the domestic water pipes, remove water from toilet and sink traps and add RV antifreeze to them as you would do when "winterizing" a summer vacation home. The current setup is the water enters the house and immediately goes through the boiler before heading in to the rest of the house. So putting in shutoff and drain piping is no issue. But what would that do to the tankless DHW coil in the boiler if there is no flow through it and just a small amount of water in the pipes before the shut off valves ??

The ultimate goal is to be able to just maintain a temp of around 40-50* in the house during the winter.


Any recommendations or thoughts ??



Rick

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Sep. 14, 2017 5:31 pm

Rick, there is no issue with leaving the domestic side of the tankless drained or depressurized. What you do not want to do is valve off a coil full of water....it won't be able to expand when the boiler gets hot.

How far apart are the two houses? Seems like the 260 would do well with that tenant house tied in.


 
User avatar
Rick 386
Member
Posts: 2508
Joined: Mon. Jan. 28, 2008 4:26 pm
Location: Royersford, Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: AA 260 heating both sides of twin farmhouse
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: LL Hyfire II w/ coaltrol in garage
Coal Size/Type: Pea in AA 260, Rice in LL Hyfire II
Other Heating: Gas fired infared at work
Contact:

Post by Rick 386 » Thu. Sep. 14, 2017 6:06 pm

Rob R. wrote:..... What you do not want to do is valve off a coil full of water....it won't be able to expand when the boiler gets hot.

How far apart are the two houses? Seems like the 260 would do well with that tenant house tied in.

That was my concern with no way for the coil to expand. I can leave the hot side of the coil open after draining.


The tenant house sits across the macadam driveway approx. 150 - 200 feet from the AA boiler. We used to supplement the tenant house with a Cast Console in the fireplace but really not sure if we want to fire it up or not since no one will be living in it this heating season. It would be a major issue to run pipe to it from the main house but not totally impossible. Just not this season.




Rick

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Sep. 15, 2017 6:04 am

Rick 386 wrote:That was my concern with no way for the coil to expand. I can leave the hot side of the coil open after draining.
That will work fine.

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