Mothballing Old Zone

Gea Pea

I just bought a house and am replacing the ancient boiler. The garage is currently it's own zone with hot water. I dont need a heated garage all winter. Once and a while would be nice. I believe 'once and a while' would require a heat exchanger and "antifreeze" (I assume I dont want "antifreeze" in my whole house). It's an expense I dont want to tackle right now.

...so...What is the proper way to shut down a zone, but still have it usable in the future? Is simply draining enough or will it rust? Does it need to be re-filled with something?

The people I have had in for estimates so far, dont seem to know what to do.

g

Bruce M_2

More Information

It would be helpful if you stated the make and model of the present boiler and the intended replacement. You are doing this to save money and therefore the replacement boiler should be a high efficiency unit. Do you have separate circulors for each zone or do you have zone valves? Is the boiler in a lower level than the garage? What area do you live in? What is the coldest expected winter temperature? Posting some pictures would help.

Gea Pea

The current boiler is an Orr & Sembower (coal converted to gas). The replacement is still TBD. Since there are a lot of other renovation expenses right now, money is tight. I would like to put my money into a high efficiency boiler, instead of refurbishing a zone for my garage....but I would hate to rule out heating the garage in the future as sort of a 'on demand' zone. So I would like to keep the radiators (4) and piping in place...for future use....and not have them 'deteriorate' in any way.

There is a separate circulator for the garage, but it can not be reused (old, huge, bucket under it, and wires cut for some reason by previous owner). Boiler is lower than garage floor.

Location is ohio. So cold winters, coldest maybe -10F?.

Steamhead (in transit)

The easiest way

is to leave the zone hooked up and set the thermostat in the garage to 50 degrees or so. It shouldn't get that cold in there unless it gets REAL cold outside, especially if you insulate the garage walls.

"Steamhead"

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Bruce M_2

Garage

Since the garage zone is not operational is there a drain valve for that zone? If so, just drain the line and shut off the flow to the garage. When you get your new boiler you can again connect the garage. How low does the thermostat in the garage go? Converted coal boilers are often largely oversized. You need to do a heat loss calculation.

Gea Pea

I dont think there is a drain right now, but I will be cutting the pipes. So maybe my simplified question is: If I cut the pipes and drain it, will the pipes and radiators fill up with rust and become unusable in a couple years? If I cut the pipe, should I cap it somehow or leave it open to air?

(..and you are correct. According to my heat loss, the boiler is oversized.)