# What to do shutting down boiler for summer



## maplewoodshelby (Mar 2, 2010)

Definitely jumping the gun on this but cabin fever is to blame.  Just had a couple questions on shutting down boiler for summer.
Anything I need to do special.  I have a conventional wood boiler with hot water baseboard

I plan on cleaning everything and brushing the chimney a final time.

What about the water in the system???  Should I drain anything or leave as is.

On my dhw, it runs thru a coil in my boiler via pump thru about 100 feet of pex that is under the house.  Should I drain these lines or just cycle some water thru them periodically.  I dont want any funk growing in them


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## webie (Mar 2, 2010)

Leave the water in your system , dont change that . You want to keep the boiler from sweating that is the key factor .  clean all the ashes out as best you can no worries on creosote . The ashes mixed with any moisture are very acidic . If you are in a basement with a dehumidifier you should be ok . If you are in a damp area say old basement garage etc . I would disconnect the chimney pipe  get an old bulb type trouble light and say a 15 watt light bulb throw it threw the exhaust into the boiler and block the rest of the hole with unface fiberglass insulation . Plug the light in and say once every couple of weeks open the door and just make sure its still working , replace when it burns out .
 This little light will create enough heat inside to keep everything dry .
 Webie


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## Hunderliggur (Mar 2, 2010)

My DHW makeup water runs through my potable radiant underfloor before hitting the water heater.  This keeps the radiant "fresh" through the non heating system.  Is your boiler/PEX loop potable or boiler (to heat exchanger) water?  You may have to look out for condensation possibility at the boiler if your humidity is high.


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## twitch (Mar 2, 2010)

There was a pretty good thread on this subject from last spring

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/36571/P30/

Basically, I scraped of all the loose creosote in the firebox, cleaned all the ash out from both chambers, cleaned the heat exchangers, and put fiberglass insulation in the pipe where the stove pipe connects.


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## twitch (Mar 2, 2010)

You should also bypass the DHW coil in your boiler for the off season.  If you have cool water running through it, you will get condensation and possible corrosion.


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## Gooserider (Mar 3, 2010)

Another thing I've seen suggested is to spray the inside of the combustion chambers and HX tubes, etc. w/ preservative oil - possibly a heavy coat of WD-40, or one of the LPS products, etc.  Supposed to help keep the moisture off the metal.

Gooserider


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## logjammed (Mar 4, 2010)

Any thoughts on desiccants for high humidity areas ???


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## Gooserider (Mar 4, 2010)

logjammed said:
			
		

> Any thoughts on desiccants for high humidity areas ???



If they are properly maintained, (i.e. dried out periodically) and / or the thing they are in is tightly sealed, then they can be a good thing.  If not used properly, they can cause false confidence, and subsequent problems due to inadequate protection...

Gooserider


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## maplewoodshelby (Mar 4, 2010)

My DHW coil will be shut off and pump unplugged during the summer.  I have pex running to 2 seperate tanks with shutoff valves on either side of the water heater.  I unplug the pump and shut off the valve and turn the breaker back on to the water heater and I’m back to conventional.
My concern is the water sitting in those lines over the summer.  I dont have any easy way to drain them and not sure if I would anyway as this would introduce air and maybe cause funk to grow faster.  The lines are under the house out of any sunlight.  Just wandering if I should be concerned.  I thought every month or so I could flip the valves open and run the pump to move some water thru them.


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## Fred61 (Mar 4, 2010)

This conversation arose last spring and there were several good ideas presented. Although I personally didn't use it, I suggested this product.   http://www.bull-frog.com/products/#emitters


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