Hello,

A friend is going away for a couple of months, and was wondering if it is worth winterizing the pipes.
He's planning on keeping the heating on, probably at around 45 F, but he's worried the furnace might go off if there are power shortages. Winters in the area can go to -20 F.

Does it make sense to empty the pipes, and in case, fill them with winterizing liquid?
And how would one go about doing it?
Or is it enough to empty the pipes as much as possible from water?

And what to do for the last part, from the outside to the meter in the basement?
Would it be enough just to cover it with insulating material?

Thank you

 

IMO, turning the heat that far down is creating this entire scenario of emptying pipes. Leave the heat set at a reasonable level, open cabinet doors and leave. If the power goes off, it won't be off for long.

You don't put any sort of antifreeze in potable water pipes!

 

I agree. The heat should be kept closer to 55° to keep the pipes from freezing in the walls. Any cabinet on an outside wall with a sink should be left open. If it's a furnace...... just shut the water off. If it's a boiler.... water can't be shut off.

 

Thank you for the replies.
Just to make sure I understood correctly:
- Keep the temperature at around 55-60F, just in case
- Shut the water main valve, since the house is heated by a regular forced air furnace.

By the way, what should he do with the water boiler? Does it need to be drained?
And also, is there no need to drain the house pipes, just as a precaution in case the furnace goes off?

Best

 

Whenever I leave my house for a week or two I:
* Set the temperature to 55
* Turn off the water main
* Turn on a faucet to relieve pressure, then turn it back off.

It doesn't solve every possible problem, but if the heat fails AND a pipe freezes and breaks, there won't be much water to deal with, only a broken pipe.

If leaving for a few months, it might be worth blowing out the supply pipes with compressed air and filling the toilet/sink traps with RV antifreeze. But then you also have to deal with the water in the boiler/heating system, which would be a pain to drain out and refill. I like my plan better.

 

Its called a water heater. if you've shut the water off, you do not need to do anything to it.

 

Check the specifications of RV antifreeze.