Boiler shut-down, cons?

HeavyHauler

Been considering shutting down my 4 year old oil fired NY'er for the summer months.  The house is baseboard heated, and the boiler also has an internal coil for domestic hw supply.  I don't mind cold showers, and don't plan on running my dishwasher anyway.



A few questions come to mind:  with one person consuming average or less than average hw, how often in the boiler going to run, and how much oil would I save by shutting it off over the summer?



Is it going to be hard on the boiler to be out of commission for 6 months?



AND.... yes, before anyone brings it up, I'm completely aware that I'm a penny pinching tight wad.



Thanks.

sphen

same question

always wondered this myself. i dont even get domestic hot water off my boiler but have left it on through the summer. it turns on quite a bit but doesnt use much oil - didnt know if a shutdown would cause any issues either...

MAKev

what I did...

Bought a home with oil boiler last winter. First experience with oil.  I shut it down for the summer, then fired it back up in the fall. I have electric DHW so that wasn't an issue for me. I personally didn't have any problems with doing it. I guess I could have asked my service company if it was a wise/ok thing to do?  They didn't note any problems or concerns when the cleaning and inspection was done this Fall. But then again, like so many oil customers, I'm not so sure they did much in the way of "servicing" when they were here - overall none to impressed with the attitudes of oil folks I've dealt with so far...

Charlie from wmass

If you have a coil in your boiler

It can lead to lots of condensation in the flue passages as the coil will chill the boiler. Condensation means rust. Rust means closed flue passages. That means a hard clean in the fall and a short life on the boiler. If you install and indirect water heater and switch to cold fire it will use very little fuel during the summer months and will keep a bit of heat in the boiler to keep off the dampness. Penny wise Pound foolish to shut it down for the summer with a tankless coil in it.

Big Ed_4

Depends

It depends on the boiler ... Say you have a Buderus G115 in your basement , These boilers are designed to be shut off .. I recommend cleaning it out before it lays durning the summer like any boiler .. Sulfur deposits and condensation make a nice sulfuric acid ... The Buderus does not have any gasket plates either . Coil or blank plates with gaskets dry out , shrink and could leak ... No chamber either .. Chambers tend to soak up moisture .. The new softer chamber can dry out will less of a concern then a harder brick on first fire ... A harder brick needs to be candled ... Fire up in short time intervals . If not the in bedded moisture will explode into steam and crumble the brick chamber....



Shutting off a boiler which is not designed to be will cut its life in half ... But with the price of rising fuel , maybe you want to lower the boilers temperature down to 120 * which would help on system loss ... Or shut it down and save up for a Buderus or a like and save though out the year .. I think the time has past where we would like to keep a boiler for 50 years . Fuel was cheap per a house hold income in the past... I feel 20 year is long enough today, a oil burner gun alone running for 15 years is worn out and time to change out .. Insulation and efficient newer equipment will increase your tax free savings

sphen

great info-

would you suggest not going any lower than 120 in the boiler?

Big Ed_4

Combustion Condensation

Low boiler temperature creates low stack temperature. under low stack temperature combustion will condense to a sulfuric acid which is no good for the boiler or unlined chimney ... 120* is a safe call

mark schofield

tankless coil

Thanks Charlie; I never considered the effect of cold street water chilling/condensing the boiler as it flows to the DHW system. Possibly the original poster could install a bypass for the DHW during the summer months when the boiler is not needed for heat.

Charlie from wmass

We all want to save money

But we forget we get few pleasures in life as nice as a hot shower to wash away the day. What is that worth? Cheaper than paying a therapist.