Keeping the Boiler Running All Summer

When we first moved into our house, the boiler was turned off. We had no idea why. The home inspector told us that it was turned off during inspection, so therefore he could not comment on the operation of it. What a great inspector! I guess it was too far of a reach for him to lean over on the wall and flick the little red switch on. Oh well…the boiler was only 3 years old, so we gave it the benefit of the doubt.

The first day we moved in, I went downstairs and turned the red switch to the “On” position. In about 5 seconds, I heard it kick on and start right up. The thing worked great, but that is not what this post is about. This is a helpful post to all those poor innocent souls who have been told that they should keep their boilers on all summer long to avoid rust on the inside. Let me explain.

Once I turned the boiler on in the middle of August, I questioned the operation of it during the hottest months of the summer. It only provided heat for the house, since we are using an electric hot water heater for everything else. I asked a few people if I needed to keep the boiler running all summer and I got the same response: “Yes, it will rust if you don’t.” I didn’t ask too many questions because this same response came from a few different sources. Well, today, Paul and I were having a conversation about how I already spent $150 this summer from just keeping the boiler warm. He said, “Well, that’s from heating up your water to use upstairs.” I told him that we have an electric hot water heater for that. He asked why I don’t just shut off the boiler then. He gave me a small chuckle, the way only Paul knows how to do, and explained that the boiler won’t rust unless…well something about oxygen in the lines. He said it would be fine. I didn’t believe him, so I called my oil company, Porco Energy. A woman answered the phone and I explained to her my concern. She then told me the exact thing Paul just told me, that I could turn the boiler off during the summer!