TROUBLESHOOTING (continued) PAGE 55
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OPERATING IN THE EVENT OF POWER FAILURE
Should your electricity go off during the heating season, there are several procedures that should
be followed in order that you may continue to safely operate your heating system.
1. Locate any “Flow-check” valves in the system, and unscrew completely the knob on top
of each valve. (This will allow a certain amount of heated water to circulate by
convection throughout the house, preventing the pipes from freezing and keeping the
house partially heated.) If you installed Auto-Mag automatic zone valves to by-pass the
Flow-check valves, they will open automatically with any power failure, giving you
maximum protection even when you are not at home. If you have a mixing valve, open it
to the highest setting, and then lock it into position. If you have a Termovar thermostatic
tempering valve on you boiler, you must install an Automag normally open zone valve or
comparable by-pass to allow circulation in the even of a power failure.
2. Open the by-pass damper and remove the sight glass cover and the sight glass located
on the ash door. It is important to remember that the heating system cannot safely use
the heat from a great deal of wood without the circulators running. Under such
conditions, extreme caution must be used to avoid over firing. DO NOT ADD LARGE
AMOUNTS OF WOOD INTO THE BOILER! Fire the boiler cautiously until you are able
to determine how quickly the boiler can consume fuel without overheating. Re-install the
sight glass to slow the fire and to maintain the boiler at 180°F or less.
3. When the power has returned, reset all flow-check and zone valves, reinstall the sight
glass and resume normal operation of the system.
NOTE: The above procedures do not apply to gravity systems, as they have no flow-check
valve and will continue to operate normally without electricity.
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