outside oil boilers freezing

E

esox

Registered User
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:cool:Hey,

just a quick comment...should you have an outside oil fired boiler in my opinion its best to leave them timed on for 15 mins every 2hrs when you are not in the house. just until this deep freeze ends.

kind regards
 
Is that because the oil freezes? Our oil boiler is outside, so far so good, but then we do live in the sunny south east. :(
 
I don't think the oil freezes.
Our boiler is at the end of the garden, and the water pipe froze last night where it comes out of the ground to get into the house.
 
During this weather we have to leave our boiler on all the time, otherwise it just stops working until the thaw. We turn the thermostat down as low as it will go (60c) and the boiler burns less often.
 
kerosene freezing point -30 C,

it would possibily cost in the region of €200 to dose a central heating system of a 4 bed semi with antifreeze also will have to be replaced / refreshed every 4-5 years.
 
My boiler is a black box, to me. Where would I put anti-freeze? I'm really interested because at the moment there is a foot of snow sitting on top of the boiler (and the shed, clothes line, frozen clothes, garden benches and chairs etc....). The Boiler is a big thing in the back garden, which is covered by horrible steel stuff, or maybe that's part of the boiler. Would it help if I put a blanket around it?
 
its really good that you've snow on top of your boiler cause it means the boiler is not loosing any heat.

for example look for the house with the most snow on the roof, usually has the best insulation in the attic
 
esox said:
its really good that you've snow on top of your boiler cause it means the boiler is not loosing any heat.

for example look for the house with the most snow on the roof, usually has the best insulation in the attic
Click to expand...
That's a cool way of checking! love it!
 
This is being viewed backwards.....cost of antifreeze etc, a frost thermostat costs about 20 euro! and everytime as it needs it will override the boiler controls to prevent it freezing
 
yea frost stat is a must for any outside boiler usually comes pre installed in uptodate models, but what's happening is stat starts boiler working initially and runs up to required temperature then there is a residual heat in boiler casing long after boiler has stopped running meanwhile pipes going from boiler to house drop in temp and are freezing while the frost sits inside boiler casing oblivious to whats happening outside.

run boiler on time control costs nothing but your oil.
 
Fernox, should be available in hardware store​
ALPHI-11 PROTECTOR

  1. [*]Renders water non-corrosive to steel, cast iron, copper, brass and aluminium
    [*]Combined antifreeze and protector
    [*]Prevents limescale build-up
    [*]Compatible with all metals and materials commonly used in heating systems
    [*]Maintains efficiency so extending system life
    [*]Non-toxic, environmentally friendly
    [*]Protects heating and chilled water ter


Product Uses ​

[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]Fernox Alphi-11 Protector is a combined antifreeze and inhibitor, which gives long term protection against internal corrosion and limescale in commercial heating and chilled water systems. Fernox Alphi-11 Protector is compatible with all metals and materials commonly used in central heating systems, including aluminium.
For continued protection we recommend Protector levels are checked regularly (annually). The concentration of the product can be easily measured on site using a Fernox Protector test kit.​
[/FONT][/FONT]
Physical Properties​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
Fernox Protector Alphi-11 contains mono-propylene glycol.
Colour: Colourless
Odour: Mild
Form: Clear liquid
pH (conc) 5.7 – 6.1
pH (soln 25%): 7.0 – 7.5
SG: 1.04 at 20​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]°[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]C ​

[/FONT][/FONT]
Application and Dosage​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
The minimum recommended "in-use" concentration of the product is 25% in order to ensure adequate corrosion protection. This concentration will protect down to -11​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]°[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]C. A concentration of 40% will protect down to -22[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]°[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]C. Alphi-11 Protector can be introduced via the feed and expansion tank or injected directly into the system via a suitable point (e.g. dosing pot). Introduce into the system after having drained a quantity of water at least equal to the amount of Alphi-11 to be added. Engage the circulating pump and have the system online for a few hours in order to achieve an even distribution. [/FONT][/FONT]Concentration ​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
25%​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
30%​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
35%​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
40%​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT]​
Protection​
​
​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
-11°C​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
-15°C​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
-18°C​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT]​
[FONT=Arial,Arial][FONT=Arial,Arial]
-22°C​
[/FONT]​
[/FONT]​
 
Plenty of technical detail there on the anti-freeze but what would be the price on an avereage system?
 
Esox, fair point, but then place a 'pipe stat' on the flow or return pipe in the coldest part of the run and feed it back to the circulating pump to provide overrun (would usually fit this at the boiler to shift residual heat left in the boiler into the house)
 
Don't know price, I did previous reseach, the price of antifreeze is got to be less than having burst pipes. Try the Fernox website

Not much point in having a frost stat on the boiler to protect the tank and pipes in the attic which are not on the hotwater system
 
Roker, mute point you just made, as you can't add antifreeze to them either!
and th thread here was 'heating pipes'

Tank and pipework in the attic should be protected with insulation, and if you
are in fear of freezing, then open you attic hatch to allow some warm air the circulate up there for a while.

An out door frost stat (as in open air) could also be added to provide a permenant feed to the circulating pump
(moving water is much less likely to freeze)
 
Dgobs. I am not sure what you mean by mute point, but we are talking about two separate system here.
The primary circuit which goes from the small header tank circulates radiators and boiler can have anti freeze added. (some later houses now have a pressurised system without header tank)
Obviously this cannot be done to the hot water system for the taps, the thermostat mentioned was on the primary circuit and cannot help the pipes and tank in the loft this is a different problem best served by insulation.
Opening the attic hatch will allow warm moist in and cause condensation in the attic when thr air cools.
 
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