Radiator/hot water heat-freezing during power outage?

13 years ago

We have hot water radiators in our house. There's a power outage, so although gas is the energy source the heat isn't running because the electric pump can't run.

It's cold here and the house has gotten pretty chilly (50 deg). It's just below freezing outside, and dipping down to the mid-20s at night. I'm starting to worry that the pipes for the hot-water heat could freeze.

Is there anything I can do about it? It's not like I can let a faucet drip. Should I drain the system, which seems like a hassle, but better than replacing frozen pipes.

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Comments (8)

baymee
13 years ago
Google flow control valves. Open yours if you have them and let the water flow by gravity. Google gravity heat. If you have zone valves, manually open them too.

If your pipes are all inside and protected from direct cold, it's not likely that anything will freeze. We used to go to Florida in Feb and shut down the entire house in PA and never worried about the pipes.

Draining them is the very last thing I would do.
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warmfridge
13 years ago
Yes, the pipes can freeze where they run along an outside wall. Where I live, many people with hot water baseboard heat have antifreeze added to their system to prevent this problem. I don't know if you can do this with older radiators though.
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brickeyee
13 years ago
"I don't know if you can do this with older radiators though."

You can add antifreeze to just about any hot water system.

It will take a long time for the entire house to get to freezing.

Emptying the system when it is only in the 50s inside is overkill.

At least wait till you start to get near the forties.

The water in a sealed hydronic system has had most of the air already driven out, reducing opportunity for corrosion in the system.

Replacing it with new water should not be undertaken without good reason.

If you are going to leave the house vacant waiting for the power to come back on you might consider draining everything (including the water lines) and adding anti-freeze to the drain traps.
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drewguy
Original Author
13 years ago
FWIW, my worry is not the entire system freezing, but rather that some little piece of the radiator piping is exposed to enough cold air that it gets a little ice blockage in it, which ultimately cracks the copper piping.

Thanks for advice--as it turns out while I was posting this at work the electricity came on at home. But good to know for the next time I hope there isn't.
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baymee
13 years ago
If you would ever use anti-freeze, it's not the stuff you use in a car. It's special for heating equipment and rather expensive.
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brickeyee
13 years ago
It is usually polyethylene glycol instead of the auto stuff, ethylene glycol.

The car stuff is poisonous, and since many hydronic systems have connections to potable water for fill, using anything poisonous is NOT a good idea.

Polyethylene glycol is not a poison. (it is even added to some food).
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joe_mn
13 years ago
i used to design pop machines. we had a line of equipment for bars using long poly lines for each flavor. we had a loop with glycol that we ran thru a cooling unit to chill the entire lineset. we called the line the python. most pop/beer kegs were in basement or backroom. the lineset might be 50ft long. you have to keep the product in lines cold.
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User
13 years ago
If this is a frequent occurance, then purchasing a small generator that can run the pump, a microwave, coffee maker and maybe a TV would be a great idea. It's not expensive in the scheme of things, and will at least keep you comfortable until power is restored. Honda generators are the quietest on the market, although more expensive than their brethren. Our 5000 watt Honda is 25 years old, and it gets a workout at least a couple of times a year for power outages.
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Radiator/hot water heat-freezing during power outage?

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Radiator/hot water heat-freezing during power outage?

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baymee

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