Just a paragraph of background information: Purchased a home in Southern NJ last December, during which turned out to be one of the coldest winters in recent memory. When making one of 2-3 trips per month, we found out that the boiler had failed, and three radiators had busted, as well as some random pipes here and there. We spent months trying to find a HVAC company that would say "Yes, we replace radiators", and had to call about 30 of them (no lie!) before we found one, but when the job was finished, even they said, "Never again". Anyway, now that we have a new boiler, with winter striking early and hard this year, we want to get the place winterized, since we're paranoid about last year, and are still not living there yet. As part of the winterization, the same HVAC company wants to add glycol to the boiler with the reasoning: "You'll still be able to use the heat when you go". I did research on the Interweb about the topic, and read many posts and blogs (including one from this site) about the topic. It seems the biggest concerns are: [LIST] [*]Rads don't give off the same heat [*]Backflow valve can fail, causing glycol to enter potable water supply [*]Extra wear and tear on pump [/LIST] However, the one big PLUS for us is that if the power should fail, whether we are living there or not, we will never EVER have to worry about walking in, and finding a chunk of the radiator on the floor among a frozen sheet of black ice, and then trying to find another HVAC company (after skipping the first 30) that will take on the job. Which leads to the BONUS QUESTION: Let's say we don't winterize the boiler, and one day we're living there, and the power fails. Big storm, and it looks like we will not have power for several days. I know how to open the valves on the heating system to drain water out, but will it be enough to just open up and let gravity do the work, knowing there will still be a lot of water trapped in the rads? Or, is it pointless unless I'm going to get a pump or a compressor to blow out the system? Thanks for the input!

I've got the M&M model 67 that I see on webpages all over (e.g [url=http://inspectapedia.com/heat/LowWaterCutoff.htm]Low Water Cutoff Controls: Guide to LWCOs on hot water heating systems Troubleshooting & Repair Guide[/url] at the top). Though I have flushed it regularly, it is now sometimes sticking after I flush during a heating cycle. When I push the lever down, the burner stops. After raising the lever, the burner won't start again as it should until I lightly tap the end of the LWCO that houses the switch. Or else I loosen the cap that encloses the switch and use a screwdriver to lightly push the switch to the on position. The water is coming out fairly clear. [B]Will repeated flushings over the next days make it work right[/B] by itself? Or is there something else I can do today, short of removing and cleaning it? Thanks. [edit: I just flushed it another three times and all worked well each time, no rapping on it required. Still, there's always the frightening specter of flushing it one day in really frigid weather and finding that the burner won't work afterward. Is there some trick to cleaning it really, really good without dismantling? Btw, I only flush it at the end of a heating cycle, not cold... though I'm leery of flushing too much because of introducing lots of oxygen and hastening corrosion.]