No Mains Water, OK To Turn On Heating?

squa

Hi,

I have a home heating system from circ. 2000/01. Pretty standard setup I expect, kerosine boiler with 2 settings on the wall panel - 1 which allows for just the water to be heated & the 2nd for both rads/water together. No option for just rads alone & no zoning.

I understand that the plumbing for the rads is a closed system, but what I'm not sure about is if it's safe to run the heating system when the mains water supply is turned off.

We live in an area where there have recently been a lot of interruptions with the mains water supply, burst pipes etc. Since I can't run the heating system (rads) without also heating the water for the tank upstairs, I'm wondering if it's safe to do so when the mains supply is interrupted? I don't want to risk burning out the pump for the hot water. Are their fail-safes in place on a normal heating system for an interruption to the mains supply or is my very basic understanding of how a home heating system works too ridiculous to comprehend!!

Thanks for any input on this.

Squa

Wearb

squa wrote: »

Hi,

I have a home heating system from circ. 2000/01. Pretty standard setup I expect, kerosine boiler with 2 settings on the wall panel - 1 which allows for just the water to be heated & the 2nd for both rads/water together. No option for just rads alone & no zoning.

I understand that the plumbing for the rads is a closed system, but what I'm not sure about is if it's safe to run the heating system when the mains water supply is turned off.

We live in an area where there have recently been a lot of interruptions with the mains water supply, burst pipes etc. Since I can't run the heating system (rads) without also heating the water for the tank upstairs, I'm wondering if it's safe to do so when the mains supply is interrupted? I don't want to risk burning out the pump for the hot water. Are their fail-safes in place on a normal heating system for an interruption to the mains supply or is my very basic understanding of how a home heating system works too ridiculous to comprehend!!

Thanks for any input on this.

Squa

Unless there is a leak in your heating system, then it’s ok to use the heating.

squa

Thanks for your reply Wearb.

Just so I understand correctly, running the "heating" includes running the pump for the hot water to the cylinder upstairs? Unfortunately I have no way to run only the pump for the rads & not the 2nd pump for the hot water at the same time.

Pete67

Yes, it's fine to heat the hot water cylinder using the oil fired boiler, there is no danger of overheating it as it cannot get any hotter than the water coming from the boiler.

If you can avoid emptying the cold water storage cistern in the attic you will not have any problems with airlocks when the mains water supply is restored.

pixbyjohn

Yes it is OK to run your heating system ( as the previous poster says as long as there is no leak in your heating system )

taylor3

I have oil central heating and when the county council turned the water off for the day about 2 months ago I had asked myself exactly the same question. I rang my local plumber and he said it's fine to switch the heating on. He told me it's not the first time someone had asked him that. I thought maybe it was just me with a daft question.....ðŸ˜ðŸ˜

Wearb

squa wrote: »

Thanks for your reply Wearb.

Just so I understand correctly, running the "heating" includes running the pump for the hot water to the cylinder upstairs? Unfortunately I have no way to run only the pump for the rads & not the 2nd pump for the hot water at the same time.

That's fine. You can use it...along with some other good advice on the thread.