Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

"Steve" wrote in message
...

. Would there be any
downside to shutting the main water off?
Heat is forced hot air.



Only downside is if there was a leaking the heating system and the water ran
low. Otherwise the potential from water damage if there is a freeze up is
much more severe.

Smart thing would be to pay a neighbor to check the house every day or two
and look at getting some sort of remote alarm.


Back in the pre-whiz bang electronic days we just used a simple line
voltage thermostat and a red light bulb in a front window. Nice
neighbors would be informed about who to call and tell the house was
getting too cold if they saw that light on.

************************************************** ************

Strange, just yesterday I responded to a post on this thread and
included a link to a photo I'd snapped of my neighbor's house which
froze up when they moved away and left it unoccupied during a New
England January in 2002. Here's the link:

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/freezer.jpg

Those are thick ribbons of dirty brown ice coming down that garage door,
from the burst pipes inside. It took over a year to repair the damage. I
watched them haul away three big construction containers of ripped out
flooring and wallboard which had been destroyed by water.

They finally finished repairing the place this spring, but it hasn't
sold yet, despite the price being lowered from $1.8 mil to $1.6 mil. I
think maybe the word is out about the flood and buyers are scared about
the possibility of mold.

To repeat what I posted yesterday, my own thoughts about the smarts of a
homeowner who'd leave a house unoccupied during a New England winter
without so much as a low temperature remote alarm system or even simply
turning off the house's main water valve are best left unsaid.

Happy Holidays,

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"