On Oct 28, 7:29*pm, wrote:
I live in a condo building that has one water heater for all 20 units
and a recirculating pump to keep the water warm to all units. I didn't
know we had a recirc. pump and was going to have some plumbing work
done. The plumber wouldn't do the work unless he could verify whether
we had one and if so, turn it off before turning off the building's
main water. He said that turning off the water without turning off the
pump would damage the pump. However, thinking back on previous
emergencies other people have had in the building, the water has been
shut off in the past, sometimes for several hours, without damaging
the pump.

Can turning off the water damage a recirculating pump?

I turn off my main and leave pump on if a leak is on first or second
floor, my pump is in the basement and would be the last thing to
drain. I would have to drain the water heater and that would also be
ruined for the pump to be ruined and my water heater is about $2000.00
vs 150.00 for a pump. So it depends on pump location, some buildings
have them in the middle as additional boosters, they can easily be
ruined if leak is below and pipes are drained. As long as it has water
in it, its ok, dont forget to oil it if it has ports.