Question for those in cold climates...

[Nuzzy]

The short version is, my to be fiancee and I are closing on a house in Michigan in a few weeks. However, we won't be able to to live in it for prolly a few months while we tie up loose ends back out here in WA. It heats from propane by design but also comes with fireplaces with inserts upstairs and downstairs and has a wood burner plumbed in near the propane burner that can heat the house. Our goal is to heat predominantly with wood once we're living there, but in the meantime will need to keep the house heated off propane to keep the pipes from freezing.

So here's my question. For those of you who heat with wood and happen to leave for let's say a long trip, or maybe those of you who have cabins that you're not living at full time... What temperature do you set your thermostats for (assuming you have another way of heating) to avoid causing problems with frozen pipes?

40? 45? 50? 55? Obviously MI can be pretty cold this time of year and we don't want any problems with the house while we're across the country.

 

[tree md]

We keep our shop furnace at 55. We work and change our clothes to go hunting in there and it keeps it cozy enough. No problems with pipes freezing.

 

[Mike Van]

40's are too low, you're only a few degrees from stuff starting to freeze. Also, 40's can't overcome the below 0 trying to get into the pipes in the walls. Would be a good thing to have someone local check the house too, freezing up's bad enough, but when it eventually thaws & starts filling the house with water is worse I feel.

 

[Tesen]

55F sounds good if you're talking about this couple month period before you move in. Obviously when you move in, you will want to decide how much chill you can stand if the fire goes out and also if you have pets (gotta keep'em warm too!).

My advice is if you've never lived in an area that cold, get a local tradesmen to come in and check the place over (winterize it if you will). Seal up any air leaks close to your pipes to prevent low temp air from breaching and getting at your pipes. The local guy will also be able to suggest after inspection of your house, what to keep the temp at.

Good luck to you!

 

[Husky137]

No lower than 55.

 

[A. Stanton]

My advice would also be to call a tradesman, such as a plumber and have him winterize your house. I would recommend shutting off all tlhe water and draining the system. If you had to depend on your heat in any empty house, you could lose power due to a major winter storm. And if you lost power, your furnace wouldn't run and your pipes would freeze. It's better to take the threat off the table completely and drain the system. When you finally move in, you could reboot the whole system in no time. Water does more destructive damage to homes than any other thing, such as fire or termites, I would bet.

 

[Festus Haggen]

Yep, 50, 55 is better. My neighbor is a part-timer, I bought a device that turns an outlet on if the temp gets below a set point. Think it was around 20 dollars. We put a lamp with a red bulb in it in his front window- if I look over and see the red light on, the furnace is out or having problems. It has come on before, I ran over and found the problem before it got too serious. I also installed the boiler in their house a long time ago, so I'm kinda familiar with their heating system.

Also, most centrally-monitored alarm systems are capable of monitoring the temp in your house, also water flow and other conditions that you might want to know about. If you're going to be far enough away that you can't get right home, a trustworthy neighbor is your best defense.

 

[gtstang462002]

55 degrees gives you a fair amount of room on the temp scale in case the power goes out before it hits that dreaded number 32.

 

[boostnut]

+1 for what A.Stanton posted, make sure you shut the water off and drain the system. You're almost 100% guaranteed no water problems if you take this simple step.

 

[wdchuck]

If its on a well, turn the pump off, otherwise, if a pipe would freeze/crack, the pump will keep running.

Winterize the house, and have the propane delivery guy check your gauge monthly, at 55* a full 500gal tank should last more than a month. Before we bought our place, the LP driver would check on the house, make sure the furnace was running, and check the LP gauge, because it too was empty during the winter.

A neighbor or the homeowners insurance agent would be a good option to check on the house.

Good Luck,

 

[Hugenpoet]

+1 also for A. Stanton re draining pipes (both domestic water and heating water if applicable) and those who recommended consulting a tradesman. A lot depends on the type of heating system-hot air, hot water, etc. and whether your home has several zones with separate thermostats, and whether the water pipes and heating pipes are located on interier of exterior walls. Had a problem with my heating system water pipes on an exterior and third floor location near a circulating unit freezing-fortunately they did not bust-because the heat from the other zones was keeping the therostat for this zone (located on the second floor) from calling for heat because I had it set for 50.

Good luck with your move.

Regards,

Hugenpoet

 

[Deadman]

Drain the pipes.......My grammas house froze up because she was in the nursing home and it was a complete disaster. We had the heat set at 60 and the furnace malfunctioned an the place froze down completely in a few days because it was -20F outside and windy.

Its just not worth relying on a furnace that you know nothing about.

 

[kallaste]

The short version is, my to be fiancee and I are closing on a house in Michigan in a few weeks. However, we won't be able to to live in it for prolly a few months while we tie up loose ends back out here in WA. It heats from propane by design but also comes with fireplaces with inserts upstairs and downstairs and has a wood burner plumbed in near the propane burner that can heat the house. Our goal is to heat predominantly with wood once we're living there, but in the meantime will need to keep the house heated off propane to keep the pipes from freezing.

So here's my question. For those of you who heat with wood and happen to leave for let's say a long trip, or maybe those of you who have cabins that you're not living at full time... What temperature do you set your thermostats for (assuming you have another way of heating) to avoid causing problems with frozen pipes?

40? 45? 50? 55? Obviously MI can be pretty cold this time of year and we don't want any problems with the house while we're across the country.

I would recommend winterizing your home. It is easy to do and gives piece of mind. Or another option....
You could probably keep it around 50. I would however pour RV antifreeze in the drain p-traps and also wrap heat tape around the pipes closest to the outside wall. It is cheap insurance and would take no time at all. Every winter we hear about peoples water lines freezing even with the heat set at 68-70.

Thanks Steve

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Dont forget you could run out of propane too.

Where in Michigan are you moving to?

Does it have wooded acreage with it?

 

[Festus Haggen]

Yep, a house with burst pipes is a royal pain (and a royal expense) to clean up. I've seen houses with over 100 leaks after tenants move out and either turn the heat off or let it run out of fuel. If you take precautions and it still happens, you'll have a better time of it with the insurance claim. Check with your ins. agent, they may have recommendations for such an unoccupied home.

You can have a plumber/heating tech put antifreeze in the lines if you have hydronic heat, several hundred dollars but worth it if you won't be there all the time.

+1 on turning the water off and draining the lines. This is also a good thing to learn how to do yourself in case the need arises again.

Although it's way out of fashion in our society, get to know your neighbors. They will know your business whether or not you want them to anyway, might as well have them be able to contact you if there's a problem. A judiciously-placed case of adult beverage will almost certainly keep trouble at bay!

 

[rider93hawg]

OK, good info and right on time...neighbors moved and turned off their water. The realtor told them their pipes could burst. No kidding??? They called me last night and want me to check it. Is it easier to drain or pour in anti-freeze? Do I just run around the house and flush all toilets and turn on water facets to drain? Can I use regular anti-freeze? It is 17 here right now and I will be surprised if the pipes haven't already busted. By the way, as soon as my wife and kid leave for work I always turn the T-Stat down to 55. I just have to make sure I got it back up to 60-62 with a roaring fire in the stove before they get home! Thanks!

 

[cunrya]

I own several unoccupied houses (still trying to dump the rehabs) and have never had an issue with frozen pipes here in NW Ohio. I keep all the T-stats on 45. Shut the water off is possible and blow the lines out, plus drainthe water heater and there is no need for any heat at all. Use air to blow out lines BTW. In my hunting lodge (I own/operate a hunting preserve) I shut the fuel oil off and leave a couple cheap electric heaters running near the kitchen and bath. It has yet to freeze.

 

[JBinKC]

In your case I think winterizing the house by a qualified plumber probably would save you a few hundred in heating costs if you are not going to occupy the house for a few months. Not knowing the specific details of your house I would probably set it at 55 to be safe.

I set mine at 50 and leave cabinets under the sinks open on exposed walls.

 

[Festus Haggen]

OK, good info and right on time...neighbors moved and turned off their water. The realtor told them their pipes could burst. No kidding??? They called me last night and want me to check it. Is it easier to drain or pour in anti-freeze? Do I just run around the house and flush all toilets and turn on water facets to drain? Can I use regular anti-freeze? It is 17 here right now and I will be surprised if the pipes haven't already busted. By the way, as soon as my wife and kid leave for work I always turn the T-Stat down to 55. I just have to make sure I got it back up to 60-62 with a roaring fire in the stove before they get home! Thanks!

I shut off the pump/main, then go to the highest faucet and start opening from there, draining from the lowest poing/faucet, should be one at the shutoff/entry. Kind of suctions it all down through the house, hopefully your pipes are all pitched to drain. For toilets/traps, flush until tank is nearly empty, add some RV antifreeze to the tank and bowl, at least 50/50 with the water. Pour enough down each drain to make sure you've filled the traps. Make sure you turn the faucets off after draining, nothing like someone being helpful and turning the water on when everything is open!

Air is the best way to clear water lines, if you can do the connection. You need a good volume of air, so a 10 dollar "inflator" won't do it- you need a compressor with a tank. Think throgh the process logically, not that hard.

 

[rider93hawg]

Thanks, going over there now.