Print

[NorthCounty]

So I'm shutting my unit down for the season and my question is should I bypass my heat exchanger and dhw and drain them? I know Portage and Main says to leave the pump on which I have no issues doing, but it seems like I'm going to be wasting all the money I saved this winter by circulating water through them. The hot water heater will be warming the water and the A/C unit will be trying to cool it back off.

The second part of my question is I have a lot of calcium or lime in my water. It leaves a white residue in my glasses and such. I added the recommended amount of boiler treatment and had the water tested, but I'm not sure if the boiler treatment neutralizes it or not. If I bypass the heat exchanger should I drain them or leave the water in them? I would hate to have the heat exchanger get plugged up with calcium.

[slimjim]

Where are you bypassing the heat exchanger at?

[NorthCounty]

I put a bypass in the main lines just before the filter. It bypasses everything in the house. I could then drain down everything from there with a drain valve I put in at the bottom of the dhw heater.

[slimjim]

I don't think I would leave them dry, perhaps flushing and refilling would be a good idea, if you are heating your water tank, be sure not to valve it off without a pressure relief valve ! As the water in the tank heats up, it must be allowed to expand or it gets very dangerous!

[NorthCounty]

That's a good point. I'm going to have to figure something out.