running oil furnace & pellets

Don't have FHW here Tullytown , just FHA : and the furnace cycles every 45 mins. to 1.5 hrs. w/ pellet stove use, depending on outside temp.

Same min. temp. threshold for the basement/crawlspace as stuckinthemuck : 35F , or over, is ok.

5F or below temps, we will also keep the water trickling in the sink overnight to prevent (well) pipe freeze.

 

thanks.. i will check into the thermguard..

 

I have the same concern with frozen pipes and looked into the thermoguard, but realized I didn't need it: that zone of my oil HW heat is on a programmable thermostat. I set up the thermostat at a relatively low temperature (as a backup to the pellet stove), and then twice a day it goes to 80 degrees for just 15 minutes. So the oil heat will kick on for a total of 30 minutes a day to keep some warmth in the pipes. In mild weather, I can turn off the program and it'll "Hold" the low set-back temperature and the oil does not run at all.

 

The pipes in the garage are insulated. They have boxes built around them, filled with insulation and sheet rocked. The pipes in the basement are open to the air since I have the P61a down there keeping them warm. Plus, if I ever had to go back to using the boiler, they would help heat the basement some.

 

We have programmable thermostats that provide the same functionality, however we need the water to circulate much more frequently than the thermostat programming will allow. Initially I did not have the Thermguard circulating the water frequently enough. I don't remember the specific details, but after comparing notes with bogieb, we tweaked the interval and duration values so the water moves more often, however less duration each time - that solved the problem. I think the overall daily run time was very close, if not a wash in the end. It was something like instead of every 3 hours for 6 mins, we switched it to every 2 hours for 4 mins, for example.

 

Understand what you are saying but I would think once every four hours [ with a programable thermostat) is more than enough to keep any pipes from freezing unless I'm wrong here? You are firing up every 2 hours correct?

 

Hello
Would industrial heavy duty heat tape tied to a T-Stat that only comes on when the area is below a certain value. I found 19 degrees in my neighbors garage was 6 degrees outside on it’s own circuit breaker worked out quite nicely for my 2 neighbors They have been using it for years now with o adjustments ever needed! ????

 

Just checked it. It's configured to call for water circulation every 12 15-min intervals (3 hours) for 3 minutes duration each time. I think when I initially installed it, I had it configured for 4 hours at 5 minutes duration each time. That was not sufficient for my situation, the pipes still froze.

 

Just thought I would share, that even before my boiler was fixed last week, I had the Thermgaurd set up for a couple of days that it was 0* at night and the water still circulated even thought it wasn't hot. Should remember that this summer and see if I can use that as a type of air conditioning.

 

Understood... each situation is a bit different. In my case, 6 minutes would work but 4 wouldn't: it's 5 1/2 minutes before the return pipe feels warm. That zone is under-floor radiant heat for a large room.

 

Thats potentially a good idea but be on the lookout for condensation dripping from wherever the cold water is being circulated through.

 

I have a simpler situation with a garage under the house with plumbing in the ceiling. My oil furnace in in the garage also but I don’t use it.
Heat with a wood stove in the other part of the cellar. Temps in the wood heated section average over 80 degrees.
I cut a 6 inch round hole thru the wall an inserted a piece of 6 inch round duct with an in-line fan, called a duct air booster. An attic fan thermostat controls the fan to turn on at 80 degrees or so. It’s plugged in to a timer, runs 30 minutes, off for 60 minutes. Keeps my garage now at just over 50 degrees.

 

Not everyone has a wood stove in their basement, and that won't help with frozen pipes in upstairs areas. Thermguard is the answer to most situations.