Leaving property vacant in winter
Discussion
Guys, I may need to vacate my property for 2 months minimum during the winter. Given recent winters I am concerned about the risks of burst pipes and although the obvious solution might be to leave the central heating on, this past winter I have had two power cuts which messed up the programmer and a failed motorised valve, all of which, on each occasion stopped the heating. These issues are no big deal if I`m here but clearly if the heating packs up when I`m not I could be in trouble. So, I need an alternative, safe and reliable way to heat a bungalow.......advice appreciated.
69 coupe said:
Why heat an empty building for 2 months.
Turn the water off at the main external stopcock and drain the heating/water/storage tanks. Could pull the main fuse if you think its secure enough.
This is what I do. I don't bother draining everything down, but I just turn the main water valve off so that if something does pop it can't run continuously for days on end.Turn the water off at the main external stopcock and drain the heating/water/storage tanks. Could pull the main fuse if you think its secure enough.
You could also think about switching your boiler to being on constantly but turn the thermostat down to a frost protection setting. It shouldn't matter then if the timer resets. If it's a digital timer which reverts to a different default setting you might be able to get someone to link out two electrical terminals in the boiler to turn it on constantly and take the timer out of the equation totally. I know on my boiler it's very straighforward to do.
69 coupe said:
Why heat an empty building for 2 months.
Turn the water off at the main external stopcock and drain the heating/water/storage tanks. Could pull the main fuse if you think its secure enough.
^^ This. Turn the water off at the main external stopcock and drain the heating/water/storage tanks. Could pull the main fuse if you think its secure enough.
I had a property which was empty for 3 months over the winter period last year, and turned off the water and drained the C/H system down.
You also should consider lights on a timer, so it doesn't appear empty. Ideally ask a friend/neighbour to come in once a week to move the post/junk mail as this can build up alarmingly quickly.
Thanks for all of that but definitely want to keep the property warm (damp free) during the period so draining the system not necessary although I will turn the main off. I`m not overly concerned about the cost of the heating just don`t want any damage so, this being the case, what is the best heat solution? Programmer is old style so when it loses power it`s a reset job and a need to key in the times again. Also, friendly neighbours/house sitting not an option.......it`s close the door, lock up and open again 2 months later!!! As for squatters.............they would be very silly!!!!!
I'd set the heating to come on twice a day for 30 minutes, and remove the loft hatch to allow the roof space some heat. I'd also have some lights on timers dotted around a few rooms too. It's only eight weeks. Whatever you choose to do, I'd find someone who you can trust to visit once a fortnight just to keep an eye on the place.
Okay. Turn mains water off at stopcock.
Heating programmer wise. Either turn to continuous and turn the room stat down to frost or slightly more.
Or keep it set on timed or once depending on how you want to play it. Most programmers will default to a factory set schedule in the case of power loss. So I'd have thought that it would still come on.
Heating programmer wise. Either turn to continuous and turn the room stat down to frost or slightly more.
Or keep it set on timed or once depending on how you want to play it. Most programmers will default to a factory set schedule in the case of power loss. So I'd have thought that it would still come on.
Guys, when you say "drain the system" do you mean just empty the cold water tank in the loft and the hot cylinder or are you referring to rads and associated pipes? If you think the oil filled rads` will do the job I`m going that route................suggestions please on size/power required (3 bed detached bungalow in winter) and models to consider....Thanks.
Rough guide, systems vary.
Turn off the incomming mains, open the hot and cold taps, this'll drain the cylinder and cold water tank. It'll also stop the central heating from filling up when you drain it.
If you aren't going to be using the wet central heating and you think the temperatures will go into the low figues, I'd drain in. Drain from your central heating drain off cock, either on the pipe work to a radiator, at your boiler (if floor standing, it'll probably be the lowest point), or sometimes there are drain off points outside, but this is a rare surprise.
Turn off the incomming mains, open the hot and cold taps, this'll drain the cylinder and cold water tank. It'll also stop the central heating from filling up when you drain it.
If you aren't going to be using the wet central heating and you think the temperatures will go into the low figues, I'd drain in. Drain from your central heating drain off cock, either on the pipe work to a radiator, at your boiler (if floor standing, it'll probably be the lowest point), or sometimes there are drain off points outside, but this is a rare surprise.
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