running boiler in a power outage

Bill_chicago

If an extended power outage hit in sub zero temperature how would you go about running a boiler to heat the house? I imagine you would have to manually open the damper, manually open the gas valve, and manually light the burners. I was just curious how it would be done and what precautions would have to be taken.

Jamie Hall

That, my friend...

is what the generator is for.  Also powers the water pump (even if I don't drink all that much water, the horses do).  A few lights.  The stove.



I don't use the thing all that often, and it does use a fair amount of gasoline, but... a few years back it kept us out of trouble for a week and a half.  And earlier this year, for three days.

Jean-David Beyer

Generators.

I used to work for an electronics company that had a lot of military and government contracts. One military contractor told us about a system they had with a large Diesel generator to cope with power failures. Once a month they started it up and ran it for 5 minutes to be sure it was working and could power the load. This went on for some time. Then they had a real power failure. The generator started up and ran for 5 minutes and quit. Murphy's Law. I cannot remember what the trouble was, but they were not pleased. Luckily, our company had nothing to do with that.

Steve_175

Generator

Apparently the generator did what it had always been asked to do and nothing more. It's not the generators fault they trained it to be a one trick pony.

Jshine

maybe a type of battery backup ?

I've been thinking of the same thing - We have a gas furnace and 1 pipe steam system - the temporary electric would be needed "only" for the thermostat and damper and pressuretrol and ignition ( I think).  I wonder if a backup power unit - same as is used for computers - might be available for that purpose?  Seems like a generator would be overkill to just handle the needs of the gas furnace...

haaljo

depends on your boiler

If you got oil you need generator or inverter.

You got gas you may get away with a UPS isolating the boiler branch circuit and providing power at least till batteries run out. but you have to know a little bit about electricity,

If you are putting in a new gas boiler it may be  possible to have a system that needs no power backup or manual opening of damper etc but sacrificing efficency.

That would be a great selling point after this awful winter.......

World Plumber

Steam and millivolt

I have a millivolt gas valve on the shelf next to the boiler. If it looks like the power will be off for a while. Disconnect one union, thermal coupling and 2 wires. Spin the valve off and replace with the millivolt valve on have a burner tube with the pilot and powerpile on it ready to go.

NJSteam

Manual opening of gas valve

My gas-fired boiler can be operated during a power failure by manually lifting the gas valve  Since it is an old system, it does not have a powered damper.  The danger is that the valve has to be manually closed once the desired temperature is reached since the thermostat, pressuretrol, and thermocouple are all bypassed.  I have done this once or twice and always remain in the cellar or kitchen to avoid forgetting to shut the valve off.

Dave in QCA

Running for 5 minutes is not a test

Running a generator for 5 minutes does nothing more than show that it will start.

A hospital where I once was in charge of maintenance, we started the generators once a week and ran them under load for 1 hour.  That way, you know on an ongoing basis that they can do what their supposed to do.

Dave in QCA

Had one of those once too....

It was an American Standard gas boiler, probably from the mid 60s.  It was a gravity hot water system, so other than the gas valve, electricity was not needed.  there was a knob on the gas valve that could be used for manual operation.  Instructions on the side of the boiler also instructed that this could be used in case of power outage. Additionally, it instructed you to turn down the firing rate by partially closing the shutoff valve.  It also said that the temperature should be closely monitored to make sure the boiler did not overheat. 

Of course, today, code would not allow such a set up, but I saw an identical valve for sale on ebay a while back.

Shalom

If it's the story I remember...

...the fuel pump was hooked up to mains power. Only.



So of course it ran when they didn't need it, and didn't run when they did...

haaljo

my buddy has a gravity system. Loves it when power

goes out, I think homeowners would be happy to be given the option of a utility power-free steamer when in need of a new boiler. But it has to be completely user friendly. Most folks are not going to do things like putting gas valve/damper in manual mode. And with the price of natural gas so low efficiency is not a big factor.

Darcer

Who to hire electrician or hvac?

If I wanted to hire someone to wire my boiler so that I could run it off a generator or a battery bank, do I need an electrician or someone that knows steam boilers?

Hap_Hazzard

Since I'm on natural gas I can run the generator on that.

It's a lot better than having to worry about how much gas is in the generator or how old the gas is. You can keep a tank of propane for backup, but if the gas service is interrupted the boiler won't work anyway.



Isn't it funny how the gas service never goes out in a storm.even though gas is a lot harder to distribute? Fortunately, no one ever thought hanging gas pipes from utility poles sounded like a good idea. Wonder how many times they're going to have to rebuild the power grid before they figure out it ain't so hot for power lines either.

Hap_Hazzard

Electrician

If you want a standby generator--the kind you get permanently installed, not the kind where you run an extension cord through the window--you need to have an electrician wire the transfer switch into your electric panel. You just pick the circuits you want backed up and get a switch that can handle that many, which means you might need to rearrange the wiring so the circuits you want are on the same breakers, and then get a generator that can handle the wattage those circuits require.



It's usually a good idea to include your refrigerator and a microwave as well as your boiler and your internet gateway. Or, if you don't like making those choices, get a big generator and a service rated switch and have it take over the whole panel.



A standby generator is typically connected to a natural gas line or a propane tank, so you don't need to fill it with gas. When the transfer switch detects a loss of power, it starts the generator; then, when it detects that the generator is up and running, it switches the circuits it controls from the service to the generator. This takes about 10-12 seconds, so a UPS for your electronic equipment is still a good idea.

Darcer

Which Brand?

Are you running a generac,or are there other brands to look at?



I agree about burying the power lines

Hap_Hazzard

Look at all of them.

Generacs are good, but take a look at Kohler, Briggs & Stratton, and anything else they sell in your area. Make sure you can get it serviced before you buy something online. Make sure you know what you're getting, i.e. with or without transfer switch, and if they're bundled, does the bundle work for you--are you going to settle for 8 circuits just because it comes with the right sized generator. If you want it to be able to use propane or natural gas, make sure it's dual fuel. Note that they provide less power running on natural gas and take this into account when determining size. Research!