This is my first year with an OWB. I am leaving on vacation at the end of March. As we all know in Michigan, we can still have some cold weather. Any tips on shutting down boiler, if the temps are still cold? Keep pump running with no fire? My propane furnace would take over, but I am worried about water in pipes freezing? Thanks!
If you leave your pump running it will back feed heat to the OWB from your heat exchanger enough to keep it from freezing. My pump runs year round. Gary
Thanks. So if I am understanding correctly, the heat that will blow from the propane furnace across the OWB heat exchanger will keep from freezing? If the propane furnace didn't kick on, then it wouldn't keep the lines warm enough?
Yep as long as your pump is running and your furnace kicks on periodically to keep your house warm you shouldn't have any problems. Now with that said all bets are off if you lose power or your pump quits and it gets cold out!! You could also experiment with loading the OWB full and setting the aquastat down around 70 or so and leave it running. If I leave the draft off on mine it will fire up after 2 days when it kicks on. Is yours set up with the pump only running when the draft is or does your pump run all the time? Gary
Just how cold will the coldest temps get while you are gone? Sounds like what you are planning to do in your absence will be alright.
Too bad you don't have any good neighbors that could load the box a couple times a day. My good friend is running an OWB and he has a neighbor that walks over to feed his when he is gone.
I know of a former wood burner that wouldn't even have to fire up his stove during the night! His bro was working as a city cop in the next town over and worked nights. He would drive over and stop by, walk inside to the basement and fire up and then go back to his town!!
