DIYbanter - View Single Post - Turning off the water to a gas hot water heater for a week or so at a time

Pop`

wrote:
On Feb 12, 10:02 am, "Alex" wrote:
Hi everyone,

We have an older house we're fixing up and trying to sell, but being
we only visit the house on the weekends we're thinking of shutting
off the water at the street during the week. This house has a gas
hot water heater, so I wasn't sure if shutting off the water would
cause any problems with the water heater, which is about 3-4 years
old.

The reason we want to turn the water off is because for one, the
house is old and I don't want a leak to pop-up when we're not there,
and secondly we're afraid some folks in the neighborhood might take
water from the outside faucet because I've seen them doing this to
other houses.

Thanks for any advice.

Alex

You can turn the water off and it shouldn't cause any problems. It
is possible though that a cup or two of water could emerge from the
TPR valve, because when water is heated, it expands. With many
systems, the small amount of expansion is taken up by the municipal
water system, giving it a place to go. By closing off the valve, that
cup of water may emerge from the TPR valve, unless you have an
expansion tank in the system.

One obvious solution is to turn the water heater to the pilot setting,
which will also save you energy cost during the week it's off.

But ... if a leak develops anywhere and enough water drains from the tank,
it'll ruin it pretty quickly. Best to turn it to pilot of OFF if electric
when it's not needed. Saves fuel, too.