Is the oil furnace located in the basement? Is the basement mostly underground?

If you going away for that long, freezing weather or not you should close the main water valve at the meter. During the winter season you can keep the heat on low it will be fine, the pipes will not freeze, but if something should go wrong with the heat while you have gone for a long and you know that temp will dip to single digits, drain all the water in the pipes at the lowest source...

Yes, the oil furnace is in the basement, but it is in a sectioned off area. I could leave the doorway open to the rest of the basement if that makes a difference.

Okay, so cut it off at the street, that is easy. Do I need to open a tap inside or something as well since there will be water in the pipes still?

Close the water valve at your intake. (See pic.)

Yes, drain the pipes. You can also use RV anti-freeze in traps.

We are only home on the weekends. Our furnace is set at 55. We always shut off main valve when we are gone. Leave the door open to the basement. For extra security put pipe rap on the pipes. It is easy to do. At camp our basement doesn't have heat and is not accessible from the home. The pipes are wrapped and insulated added. It doesn't freeze when we have the heat set at 55.

A good idea is to get a WiFi thermostat. Then you can monitor if your furnace is still working or if your electricity is on. I love the feature that I can remotely turn up the furnace so the house is toasty warm when we arrive.

I have considered doing that and am looking into it. lots to learn moving there.

A good point, I will have to do some investigating. It sure is challenging buying a house that far away, I can't just take a look and see. I have photos of the 'furnace' in the inspection. I'll get them out.

This is the tank and the furnace. These are the pictures the inspector sent, as I was already back in Mississippi when the inspection was done.

I'm going to stick my neck out with a guess, to keep the conversation going. Strictly a guess.

The black "tank" looks like a fuel oil tank, and the "furnace" appears to be not a furnace but an oil burning boiler, to heat water. Presumably for radiators/under floor radiant heating or, in a more sophisticated system, a hot water to air air handler for forced air distribution.

Again, strictly a guess.

The black tank is the oil tank. I believe you are correct, it is a boiler. Looking through all of the paperwork that appears to be the case. There are vents along the baseboards of the house on the main level.

not a pro but it looks like a boiler to me also. as i look at it i think i see where the hot water coil is.

steve do you have a hot water heater? if not most likely you hsve a boiler that also mskes your hot water

i wouldn’t turn off the water.

What look like "vents" are sometimes underfloor radiator emitters. A supply vent is typically not more than one per average sized room and 12-15 inches long by maybe 3-4 inches wide. A grill covering underfloor radiators could be numerous in each room and larger than the dimensions mentioned for a forced air supply duct.

Since your photos seem to picture a basement, do you see ductwork running in the underfloor area under where the "vents" are located in the rooms above? Or do you see pipes?

That appears to be a hot water boiler. If it were a steam boiler you’d have larger pipes connected.

If you live in MS most of the year, don’t have experience with this kind of heating system, and plan to only come up once a month, I HIGHLY recommend hiring a local person to check out your home once a week during the coldest months. Ask neighbors about how to use the heat system. You tube will be your friend. Yes there are WiFi things you can put in place but if the power goes out and the sensor doesn’t send a signal you could have a huge problem on your hands. It’s a rare occurrence but it does happen. Hopefully the sellers will recommend their plumber that knows the existing system and you can even schedule a lesson when they come to do the annual maintenance. Which is recommended for boilers. You’ll learn how to drain, how often, if you need to supply more water during the heating season. How often the oil tank needs refills, etc. that tank looks enormous but in the NE they need filling once a month in cold weather. Or more if the insulation is poor in the attic and home.

I’m sure my post reads as a Debbie downer. But after living in Boston for the last 20 years, we’ve had our fair share of boiler issues, most often on the coldest January Saturday when we are supposed to be skiing….. and that’s when plumbers are extra expensive!

Sarah, does a furnace break down on any other day but the coolest day of the year? I think they are programmed to do it. Lol

Steave, Well you can't shut off the water when your gone because the boiler will probably need it. Hopefully the boiler has a dedicated water line and there is a valve after it to shut off the water to the rest of the house.

You never know what will happen. A friend's neighbors house was flooded when they were on vacation during the winter. A pipe broke and a neighbor finally noticed a frozen waterfall outside the front door. By then there was extensive damage.

There is no water heater, but there is a heating coil, so I guess that pretty much confirms it is a water boiler. I am going to have the plumber who has worked on the house come by and give me the quick lesson on how not to kill my new house. haha. I'll get more pictures shortly, but I think you folks have hit the nail on the head.

I am only going to be in Mississippi most of the time until May, then I will be there full time. It's that period that the house will be empty for so long that I worry most about.

If you have a security system in the house that is minitored you can install a low temperature monitor that will notify the the security Co when it falls to a certain temp.

Steve welcome to Ct. It is a beautiful state and our winters can be mild or they can be……..

You have a hydronic heating system so if you are going to turn off the water and drain the plumbing system the house will have no heat. Doing this every 3 weeks doesn't seem practical.

The plan to set the temperature at 55 degrees while you are away seems fine. You will have to determine how cold the basement will get when the first floor is at 55 degrees. Every house is different.

The other concern is a prolonged power outage in the middle of the winter. Overhead power lines are susceptible to ice storms. You should ask if this happens in your area of Connecticut.

I'm no pro, but your furnace looks like it might be a forced hot water system that also heats water on demand. The 'vents along the baseboard' suggest it's a forced hot air system, though. The forced hot water are generally "closed systems" regarding water, but your local CT plumber will know in an instant if it's wise to turn the water off. Steam boilers are the ones that need all that fiddling with adding and draining water.

Regarding freezing, it depends upon where you are in CT. The Litchfield hills and the northern areas will have much colder winters than a shoreline community. Talk to the company that services the oil burner. They will advise you. You do know that it needs annual servicing - cleaning, filter changes at the oil tank, etc.? I'm in an eastern CT shoreline town in an older house and the basement never got below 50 (last winter was our first here). It's a forced hot air system and we kept it rather cool in the living areas, but the furnace and ducting tended to keep everything warmish.

The Simplisafe alarm company is an inexpensive DIY arrangement and they have both water detection and freeze detection pieces. Monitoring is cellular based and the no frills option is $15/month. Last black Friday they offered an incredible 50% off and I bought my second system from them. It's all wireless and easy to install.

There are many seasonal residents in my town and all tend to have a neighborhood handy man that checks the property periodically. Ask the plumber or HVAC company or a neighbor for a recommendation.

I was looking at the Simplisafe system, so I am glad to have met someone with some experience with it. We are going to be in Avon, near Hartford. I don't mind leaving the heat on 55 or so while away to keep things right.

I understand that I will need annual service on the unit, not sure how much that will cost each time, but I am sure it is worthwhile so things keep running well. I have a friend on the coast, in Westbrook, and he also said that winters tend to me more mild for him.

Steve, if you think you might go with Simplisafe, plan it out carefully now to be ready for black Friday (three weeks from this Friday!). They had put together bundles which didn't include everything I needed, so some was a la carte but at 50% off. If you need to add a component in the future, it will likely be full price.

The install is easy but planning may not be. If you've had alarm systems before, then you don't have to think as much. We had a hardwired system that I replaced with Simplisafe years ago. Had to adjust my thinking away from having every window wired. In the current home, I did every entry door plus several motion detectors and glass break detectors in key areas. We also have all the smoke and CO detectors as required in CT (code/placement for this stuff is different than in my previous MA home, ask local fire dept or look online for state regs. Beyond safety, adherence will prevent insurance problems if you ever have an incident). In CT the sellers of the home you are buying have to provide an affidavit that their smoke and CO detectors comply and if they don't, you get a $250 credit at the closing. Make sure to ask your real estate agent about this. Our place was not in compliance (old junk and not enough of it) so it was worth it to put in all new detectors connected to the alarm system.

The Simplisafe customer service has been satisfactory. Some reps are more engaged than others but they seem to do the right thing and immediately replaced a couple of pieces that were faulty.

Regarding the oil burner cleaning and boiler annual servicing, I think it averages around $200. Some companies offer contracts that cover emergency service calls and those will be higher depending upon the terms but usually include annual service. If your equipment is older, it might be worth the expense for the emergency coverage.

"There is no water heater, but there is a heating coil, so I guess that pretty much confirms it is a water boiler."

To be honest with you, the appearance in the photo confirmed it to be a water boiler.

Thanks TBL ill do some planning i know the smoke detectors are not in compliance the inspection made note of the lack of CO detectors and the old age of the smoke detectors .

Elmer Fudd, it may have confirmed it for you, but this is my first experience with them, so the help of this forum is much appreciated haha

Steve Goodgame, you have gotten good advice. We lived in Avon for over 30 years, and Simsbury prior to that. Winter weather can be unpredictable, ice storms not uncommon. If you have pipes on exterior walls, they could definitely freeze if unused. Making sure they are insulated is key. Some people recommend leaving water dripping lightly to keep that from happening. Establishing a relationship now with a good oil company that services your type of system is key, make sure they have a reputation for good emergency service, because problems never happen during normal hours.