I need to drain a water system down in an empty house that has an old back
boiler that was still in use until recently.

Would I be right in thinking that a back boiler *must* have a drain cock
somewhere in the system at the lowest point or were they sometimes installed
without one?

Tim

On Oct 25, 6:25*pm, "Tim Downie" wrote:
I need to drain a water system down in an empty house that has an old back
boiler that was still in use until recently.

Would I be right in thinking that a back boiler *must* have a drain cock
somewhere in the system at the lowest point or were they sometimes installed
without one?

Tim

Usually without. :-(

In message
,
harry writes
On Oct 25, 6:25*pm, "Tim Downie" wrote:
I need to drain a water system down in an empty house that has an old back
boiler that was still in use until recently.

Would I be right in thinking that a back boiler *must* have a drain cock
somewhere in the system at the lowest point or were they sometimes installed
without one?

Tim

Usually without. :-(
Very dangerous, I would have thought. Last winter we had a massive house
explosion near us with one fatality.
Elderly gentleman on his own died. Then came the very cold weather.
Elderly sister accompanied by her daughter came to sort out his
bungalow. Put on central heating followed by huge bang as frozen boiler
exploded. Blew the roof off and virtually demolished the bungalow.
--
hugh

"hugh" ] wrote in message news
In message
,
harry writes
On Oct 25, 6:25 pm, "Tim Downie" wrote:
I need to drain a water system down in an empty house that has an old back
boiler that was still in use until recently.

Would I be right in thinking that a back boiler *must* have a drain cock
somewhere in the system at the lowest point or were they sometimes installed
without one?

Tim

Usually without. :-(
Very dangerous, I would have thought. Last winter we had a massive house
explosion near us with one fatality.

Unlikely in this particular case as there is no CH boiler, only a gas fire in an old open fireplace. I don't know whether the chimney is even lined. All I do know is that if the gas fire is left on for a long time the HW tank bcomes vaguely tepid which suggests to me that there is a still functioning back-boiler built into the fireplace.

I doubt that the gas fire is capable of putting enough heat into the back boiler for any siginifant pressurisation to occur.

Tim

In message , Tim Downie
writes

"hugh" ] wrote in message
news
In message
,
harry writes
On Oct 25, 6:25 pm, "Tim Downie" wrote:
I need to drain a water system down in an empty house that has an old back
boiler that was still in use until recently.

Would I be right in thinking that a back boiler *must* have a drain cock
somewhere in the system at the lowest point or were they sometimes
installed
without one?

Tim

Usually without. :-(
Very dangerous, I would have thought. Last winter we had a massive house
explosion near us with one fatality.

Unlikely in this particular case as there is no CH boiler, only a gas
fire in an old open fireplace. I don't know whether the chimney is
even lined. All I do know is that if the gas fire is left on for a
long time the HW tank bcomes vaguely tepid which suggests to me that
there is a still functioning back-boiler built into the fireplace.

I doubt that the gas fire is capable of putting enough heat into the
back boiler for any siginifant pressurisation to occur.

Tim

I had assumed you were talking about an integral fire/back boiler such
as a Baxi. Presumably it had had a solid fuel system in place.
There would still be a need for a drain cock with the old system for the
same reason.
--
hugh