"Rob" wrote in message
. ..
The home I recently purchased has a 2 year old oil furnace that is hooked
into the original 1940's radiator heating system. Everything has worked
fine so far this winter, but I have never owned a hot-water/radiator
heating system before. What is generally recommended as to maintenance on
my part, if anything? Do I just need to have someone from the oil company
clean the burner each year, or does a water-based system require
additional upkeep and maintenance? Do I drain the pipes in the summer? I'm
completely clueless....

Rob

OK, let's start with the basics. You don't have a furnace, you have a
boiler. Furnaces heat air, boilers heat water or make steam.
Oil fired burners, such as you have on you boiler, need cleaning about once
a season, or every 1000 gallons. You can do some of this yourself, or you
pay about $120 to have a pro do it.

The outer shell has to be removed, then some covers on the heat exchanger
are taken off now, you clean this out with a shop vac and a wire brush made
for doing just that job. You need a HEPA filter on the shop vac or you blow
soot all around. My advice is to at least the first time have the oil
company do it and watch so you can see if it is a job you want to tackle. It
can be messy.

The service tech will also replace the nozzle, the tank filter, and using
instruments adjust the burner flame.

No, you don't drain the pipes. In most cases, there is very little that has
to be done on the water side until something finally does wear out or break.
You can either buy a book or have the service tech point out the components
of the system, such as expansion tanks, circulators, zone valves, etc.