Draining all water from UFH pipes?

[Willandthebarn]

Winter is approaching and our barn conversion is without a boiler installed, and no mains electricity on the horizon, therefore, no way of heating the place. The ground floor screed has been poured, with the UFH pipes (pert-al-pex) filled and under pressure. My concern is the internal room temperature is ambient, therefore I would guess there is a risk of pipes bursting from freezing.

How would you all go about draining the UFH pipes of water?

 

[Rodders53]

How would you all go about draining the UFH pipes of water?

With great difficulty via a vacuum pump but likely never get it all out.
Add antifreeze.

e.g. https://sentinelprotects.com/uk-en/...ed-antifreeze/x500l-5l/groups/g+c+p+a+nr+view
Other brands are available.

 

[Willandthebarn]

With great difficulty via a vacuum pump but likely never get it all out.
Add antifreeze.

e.g. https://sentinelprotects.com/uk-en/...ed-antifreeze/x500l-5l/groups/g+c+p+a+nr+view
Other brands are available.

Good shout. Any ideas on how to dose and circulate between the zones. Again, no power to the site yet.

 

[Rodders53]

Not really. Seek advice from your installers; or some of the new build forums if no one else has advice on here?

You'd need to know the volume of water in pipes and the temp you want to protect down to for antifreeze mix.

1st thoughts would be to get a small generator or battery / inverter to run the pumps needed to circulate the fluid around the system. Likely a wet vac to remove a known amount that will be replaced by the glycol and then diluted/mixed and air bled as usual. (Manually opening manifold valves etc.,. to do both draining and refill / circulation).

You may need stuff to test the % antifreeze is in acceptable range at the end.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

You may need stuff to test the % antifreeze is in acceptable range at the end.

Take a sample, put it in a container, in a freezer - if it freezes, it's too weak.