We have a boiler. When we are not home we would like to shut off the water in the house. We have had conflicting opinions about the boiler. We were told that if we shut off water to the boiler and there are any pin hole leaks in the system, eventually the boiler could "dry fire" and have extensive damage. Another opinion said that we could just shut off the valve by the boiler and the water would remain closed in the boiler system. I was wondering if there is another way to handle this issue. Is there a way that we can have a shut off that shuts off water to the entire house, but leaves the water accessible to the boiler, or would doing that cause too much pressure ? I know in doing that if the boiler failed and boiler pipes froze, we would have yet another mess. Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Marley

 

I plumbed my piping so I could, but a hot water boiler shouldn't need makeup water if everything is operating properly. For peace of mind, I added a Low Water Cutoff to protect my boiler from dry firing, it isn't required by code in my area but I figured it was cheap insurance. I'm not an expert, and I've seen it argued both ways. I leave my fill valve off. Pressure is determined by a regulator between the boiler and water supply--you shouldn't be able to over pressurize the boiler by leaving the supply on, unless something else is wrong. How long are you gone for? If extended trips, consider a Cottage Sitter home monitor system. It will autodial the telephone numbers you program into the device if the house temperature drops below a preset limit.

 

Shutting off the water to the boiler can be a double edged sword. A way around this is to install or have installed a low water cut-off. This control will shut off power to the burner if the water level drops. The cottage sitter sounds like a great idea.

Radioconnection: Do you have a manufacturer or link to the cottage sitter? Sounds like a great device.

 

http://www.cottage-sitter.com/

Hi Grady. Here it is. They also have at least 4 dry contact inputs for alarms other than room temperature. I added a slave relay to my LWCO that will fire one of the alarm inputs. Planning on another sensor to warn if a water leak floods the cellar for one of the other alarm inputs. The fancier models have up to 8 inputs, plus remote control outputs to let you change thermostats, etc. Pretty neat devices.

Pete

 

Thanks, Pete. Pretty neat device indeed. Something I might suggest some of my "winter vacation" customers look into. A less expensive option is Honeywell's Winter Watchman but it relys on a neighbor looking for a light in the window or similar. Thanks again.