Summer/Winter Hot Water Hookup

BCD64

Just bought a home with an oil burner with a summer/winter hookup.  I am not familiar with that type of system.  The house does not have a separate hot water heater, so the oil furnace provides the hot water.   I am not sure how to switch the system to just hot water only.  Currently there are some baseboards that get heat.

Is it as simple as valving the baseboards off at the furnace or do I need to do additional adjustments?

Thanks.

STEVEusaPA

You shouldn't get

any hot water migrating up to the baseboards when there is a call for domestic hot water.  You more then likely have hot water migrating past a flow check, which could be stuck open, or partially open.  If you can post a pic of your system we could help further.  I would contact your oil dealer (usually when you move in, the existing oil co. will sniff you out), and get him over there to check out your system/offer advice/fix the problem.  It's probably annual cleaning/tune up time.

BCD64

I Don't Think The System Has Been Put In Summer Mode

Steve,

I am not sure how to put the system in Summer mode.  I think it is generating heat based on the winter system and having heat available to the baseboard system.

What is the normal way to turn the system to summer mode?



Thanks.



(Working on getting a picture to make it easier).

STEVEusaPA

There really isn't

a summer mode. You didn't say if it was a hot water heating system or a steam system.  In either case, without pics, it sounds like you have a coil in your boiler to make your domestic hot water.  The boiler will run, based on the control settings to maintain (hopefully) a boiler water temperature so you can have domestic hot water.  While this is happening, and with no call from any thermostat for heat, your circulator(s) will not run, and your zone valves (if equipped) will not open.  Therefore, you shouldn't get any heat in your radiators.  Any heat in the piping should not migrate past the check valve, or flow check.

For starters, your oil burner tech will/should check the following:

1.  Are any thermostats calling for heat or defective (shorting, batteries).

2. Is there something going on in the control thats opening a zone valve/turning on a circulator.

3. Is the flow check, or check valve working properly.

4. Is there ghost flow going into your heating circuits.

Also, did you check all your thermostats, if you use them also to control AC, to make sure they are on "cool", or if on/for heat, at least turned down to a temperature 20 degrees lower then the ambient air temp.?

If you could, take a close up of your thermostats.