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[cartod]

I'm burning off my last piece of wood and have the stove cranked up to give it one final hot burn.  Being a 1st year newbie to this I'm wondering what, if anything, you do special to shut off your boiler.   I guess I should drain the water but nothing in the manual says to do so.   I've searched here on the forum but see nothing about emptying out the water during the summer???

[slimjim]

Please do not drain the boiler, leave the circs running for now, you could put them on a timer this summer to exercise them but for now let's be sure the lines or piping do not freeze!

[AirForcePOL]

I would recommend filling the stove all the way up after the water cools down also.  Make sure you get all of the ashes out of the firebox too.  You've got a lot of area with a 10k but scraping the entire firebox clean is recommended.  Cleaning the ash pan real good and putting a coat of rustoleum on it will help it last longer too. 

[cartod]

Ok!  I love the experience in this place! 

[CountryBoyJohn]

Yeah, you'll want to make provisions to prevent freezing WITHOUT draining it. If you top of your water, you'll have to add treatment and send in a sample. Any time you add water you have to send in a sample to keep your warranty.

Obviously you'll want to get ALL the ash out. Pull the ash pan and run a poker all the way to the back. There is a lip that collects ash back there.

Pull the fan and the rear air shaft and clean out where the site shaft connects to the back of the stove. Reach in that hole and pull out all the ash.

Check the nuts on the shaker grates and replace if necessary.

Clean out the bypasses completely. A shop vac is your best tool.  Chip away the buildup at the front and the back of the fire box. Probably some thick stuff in there areas.

Put a bucket over your chimney. Take an air compressor to your fan and get any residual dust out of there. If I think of anything else I'll post it. I've only fine one shutdown so far. I'm in season two.

Good luck and you won't be too thorough!!

[kommandokenny]

I was told to drain mine,,, but not till May .
Rust inhibitors break down .
I would not think, in one year, though ??
Might drain it every second year

And oil the fan motor [if possible]

[AirForcePOL]

If you drain your boiler and leave it empty, especially with mild steel, the entire thing will be rusted before you know it. 

[Jwood]

You can drain and refill with new water and treatment but never leave empty!

[cartod]

Yeah, you'll want to make provisions to prevent freezing WITHOUT draining it. If you top of your water, you'll have to add treatment and send in a sample. Any time you add water you have to send in a sample to keep your warranty.

Obviously you'll want to get ALL the ash out. Pull the ash pan and run a poker all the way to the back. There is a lip that collects ash back there.

Pull the fan and the rear air shaft and clean out where the site shaft connects to the back of the stove. Reach in that hole and pull out all the ash.

Check the nuts on the shaker grates and replace if necessary.

Clean out the bypasses completely. A shop vac is your best tool.  Chip away the buildup at the front and the back of the fire box. Probably some thick stuff in there areas.

Put a bucket over your chimney. Take an air compressor to your fan and get any residual dust out of there. If I think of anything else I'll post it. I've only fine one shutdown so far. I'm in season two.

Good luck and you won't be too thorough!!

Thanks for taking the time to post this!!!
...and thanks for all other reccomendations.

[LittleJohn]

DO NOT DRAIN BOILER

BTW, you should not have to drain a system unless it is glycol filled and it has soured and turned WAY acidic.  Also it is best to keep as much "dead" water in the system as possible; and when I mean dead I am refering to water that somewhat depleted of minerals and oxygen from being in a heating system for an extended period of time

[kommandokenny]

If you drain your boiler and leave it empty, especially with mild steel, the entire thing will be rusted before you know it.

Ok,, I was told to drain mine and refill with water and new treatment, as the treatment breaks down.
The reason you flush and fill the car radiator, is that the rust inhibitors break down, not the glycol
[And get all the accumulated crap out]

[kommandokenny]

I'm gonna split the diff.,,, and refill it every two years .
More input here would be great

[kommandokenny]

Generally, coolant degradation is accounted for in manufacturers’ “recommended use” intervals. Conventional coolants containing silicates degrade primarily due to rapid inhibitor depletion. This is because silicates lay down protective layers over the system components as part of their protection mechanism. Therefore, coolant inhibitors must be replenished or changed regularly to ensure the surfaces will remain protected if the silicate layer is disturbed.


http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/841/coolant-fundamentals

[cartod]

Ok, I left the water in the tank and hooked up a timer on the circulating pump.  It will come on 3 times a day for 15 min cycles.   I think I might keep it on there all summer unless someone advises otherwise. 

The dirty job is going to be next.  I'd like to get a little person or maybe a chimpanzee to go in the firebox with a hammer and scraper.   

[mlappin]

I'd say if you must drain and refill, then do it before you start the next heating season so it sits the summer with "dead" water.

Thats a pretty accurate description Littlejohn.