Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the water
heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.

But what about the water shutoff valves? Is it safe/wise to close the
main water shutoff valve? Will the water heater overheat because there
is no water pressure, even when it's set to "vacation"?

Here's a number of "trouble scenarios" I've thought of, but I may be
missing something:

1. Water heater leaks and dumps a large amount of water onto the drip
pan, overflowing the latter and causing damage to the floor.

2. House loses power and pipes get frozen (and cracked). Cracked pipes
floods the house when the power returns and the pipes unfrozen.

3. (Described above) Main water shutoff closed. Water heater overheats
because there is not water pressure.

Should I close the main water shutoff valve, as well as the shutoff
valves to the appliances, BUT open the faucets to allow freezing water
some room to expand, just in case the pipes got frozen?

Any thoughts?

"mtco" wrote in message
news:9W58h.1281$w37.1147@trnddc08...
Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the water
heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.

But what about the water shutoff valves? Is it safe/wise to close the main
water shutoff valve? Will the water heater overheat because there is no
water pressure, even when it's set to "vacation"?

Here's a number of "trouble scenarios" I've thought of, but I may be
missing something:

1. Water heater leaks and dumps a large amount of water onto the drip pan,
overflowing the latter and causing damage to the floor.

2. House loses power and pipes get frozen (and cracked). Cracked pipes
floods the house when the power returns and the pipes unfrozen.

3. (Described above) Main water shutoff closed. Water heater overheats
because there is not water pressure.

Should I close the main water shutoff valve, as well as the shutoff valves
to the appliances, BUT open the faucets to allow freezing water some room
to expand, just in case the pipes got frozen?

Any thoughts?

Stay home.

Seriously, one should not project all kinds of what ifs unless one enjoys
paranoia.

I kill the breaker to the hot water heater and shut off the main water
supply.

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:38:45 GMT, mtco wrote:

Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the water
heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.

But what about the water shutoff valves? Is it safe/wise to close the
main water shutoff valve? Will the water heater overheat because there
is no water pressure, even when it's set to "vacation"?

Here's a number of "trouble scenarios" I've thought of, but I may be
missing something:

1. Water heater leaks and dumps a large amount of water onto the drip
pan, overflowing the latter and causing damage to the floor.

2. House loses power and pipes get frozen (and cracked). Cracked pipes
floods the house when the power returns and the pipes unfrozen.

3. (Described above) Main water shutoff closed. Water heater overheats
because there is not water pressure.

Should I close the main water shutoff valve, as well as the shutoff
valves to the appliances, BUT open the faucets to allow freezing water
some room to expand, just in case the pipes got frozen?

Any thoughts?

Make sure you have replacement cost homeowners insurance.

Turn off the water heater.

Set the house to 55.

Have fun.

"mtco" wrote in message
news:9W58h.1281$w37.1147@trnddc08...
Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the water
heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.

Thats what I do.

But what about the water shutoff valves? Is it safe/wise to close the main
water shutoff valve? Will the water heater overheat because there is no
water pressure, even when it's set to "vacation"?

No, why should it?

Here's a number of "trouble scenarios" I've thought of, but I may be
missing something:

1. Water heater leaks and dumps a large amount of water onto the drip pan,
overflowing the latter and causing damage to the floor.

Then you can consider yourself lucky it leaks while the water was off!

2. House loses power and pipes get frozen (and cracked). Cracked pipes
floods the house when the power returns and the pipes unfrozen.

Takes days for a normal house to cool off like that. Leave a key with a
neighbor; odds are their power went off also.

3. (Described above) Main water shutoff closed. Water heater overheats
because there is not water pressure.

Why?

Should I close the main water shutoff valve, as well as the shutoff valves
to the appliances, BUT open the faucets to allow freezing water some room
to expand, just in case the pipes got frozen?

Could, but it won't help any.

Any thoughts?

mtco wrote:

Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house?


SNIP

People who don't live where it gets bitter cold may not
appreciate the danger of pipes freezing.

If you lose power and the heat goes out for 12-24 hrs
when it is 20 below zero, you can be pretty certain that
pipes will freeze. Maybe not *all* of them, just the
one that's most vulnerable.

Typical scenario where I live:
Pipe freezes on 3rd floor (OK, 2nd floor).
Pipe ruptures.
Thaws out or the ice plug pops out.
Water flows day and night, cascading down
the beautiful oak stairway and soaking all
the ceilings and all the new furniture, etc.

Kiss the house goodbye.

Even in a 1 floor slab house, freezing will
not only burst pipes and flood but toilet tanks
and bowls will go, water heater tank will burst,
all appliances with water connections will be
damaged.

And on and on.

The real fun begins when the adjuster arrives.

If you're going away, shut the Main water supply off.
At least that will avoid a big flood.
Beyond that are steps to drain piping and
winterize traps and bowls and tanks.

Pick your risk level and choose...

Jim

put in a temperature sensor and a water sensor on your home alarm
system with a dialer to your cellphone. have your neighbors set up in
advance with housekeys. bring their phone numbers along for your trip
away.
have mom come over to get the mail and visit the dog. once she heard
the gushing basement water of a frozen pipe and called our good
neighbor who fixed the break and everything was fine when i got home
after a week away.

mtco wrote:
Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the water
heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.

But what about the water shutoff valves? Is it safe/wise to close the
main water shutoff valve? Will the water heater overheat because there
is no water pressure, even when it's set to "vacation"?

Here's a number of "trouble scenarios" I've thought of, but I may be
missing something:

1. Water heater leaks and dumps a large amount of water onto the drip
pan, overflowing the latter and causing damage to the floor.

2. House loses power and pipes get frozen (and cracked). Cracked pipes
floods the house when the power returns and the pipes unfrozen.

3. (Described above) Main water shutoff closed. Water heater overheats
because there is not water pressure.

Should I close the main water shutoff valve, as well as the shutoff
valves to the appliances, BUT open the faucets to allow freezing water
some room to expand, just in case the pipes got frozen?

Any thoughts?

mtco wrote:
Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the
water shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the
water heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.


Frankly I am lucky to remember to turn the water heater off. I do
usually remember to turn the heat - AC down. I can't do too much since I
leave two cars at home.

I do suggest that turning the heat down and turning off the water heater
is the best idea. The other stuff is OK but it can get you into trouble.
First turning off the water at any time means you should turn off the water
heater - all the way off. Second the water shutoff valve on older homes
don't always work well after years of non-use. You can start a leak there
before you go and you may find your trip postponed while you get that fixed.

Have good paid up insurance and have fun.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

mtco wrote:
Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the water
heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.

Watch out for your set-back thermostats. Those zones will freeze first.

Where will the water from a broken pipe flow. I had a lot of trouble
with my water heater. I have a slab house and the leaking water heater
just flowed water into the garage and out to the driveway.

But sometimes sh*t happens. You can't protect against everything.

"mtco" wrote in message
news:9W58h.1281$w37.1147@trnddc08...
Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the water
heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.

But what about the water shutoff valves? Is it safe/wise to close the main
water shutoff valve? Will the water heater overheat because there is no
water pressure, even when it's set to "vacation"?

Here's a number of "trouble scenarios" I've thought of, but I may be
missing something:

1. Water heater leaks and dumps a large amount of water onto the drip pan,
overflowing the latter and causing damage to the floor.

2. House loses power and pipes get frozen (and cracked). Cracked pipes
floods the house when the power returns and the pipes unfrozen.

3. (Described above) Main water shutoff closed. Water heater overheats
because there is not water pressure.

Should I close the main water shutoff valve, as well as the shutoff valves
to the appliances, BUT open the faucets to allow freezing water some room
to expand, just in case the pipes got frozen?

Any thoughts?

One of the biggest sources of insurance claims is ruptured washing machine
hoses. All you need to do there is turn off the valves and then turn the
machine on for just a couple seconds to relieve the pressure on the lines.

Any thoughts?

Stay home.

Seriously, one should not project all kinds of what ifs unless one enjoys
paranoia.

I kill the breaker to the hot water heater and shut off the main water
supply.


Yep!

I do a "rural" variation of this: I shut off the power to the water heater
and also the power to the deep well pump.

If the "worse" happens, the total amount of water dumped would be less that
100 gallons and most of that would not do that much damage but simply run
out the basement back door.

If you have "city" water and the main shut off works OK, then after the
shutoff valve is close, you just relieve the residual pressure by opening a
tap for a few seconds.

I turn the main water valve off, turn the gas water heater to pilot,
and turn the heat down to 45. How low you can safely go on the heat
depends on the weather, the home construction, the type of heat,
location of pipes, etc.

An example of how trouble can occur. I was away for a week and had
done the above. Upon returning, when I turned the water back on, there
was now a leak coming from the plastic nut on the bottom of the toilet
tank, where the ballcock meets the riser supply line. Apparently, the
change in temp as the house cooled off was enough to cause it to begin
to leak. Had the water been on and just the temp set way back, I
would have returned to what could have been a real problem.

C & E wrote:
One of the biggest sources of insurance claims is ruptured washing machine
hoses. All you need to do there is turn off the valves and then turn the
machine on for just a couple seconds to relieve the pressure on the lines.

Home Depot now sells washing machine hoses that automatically cut off if
the flow suddenly exceeds (approx) 2.5 gph.

C & E wrote:


One of the biggest sources of insurance claims is ruptured washing machine
hoses. All you need to do there is turn off the valves and then turn the
machine on for just a couple seconds to relieve the pressure on the lines.

Ha! About 10 years ago, my mom was visiting us in Phoenix from
Illinois. We were sitting in the family room talking, and she started
worrying about whether she should have shut off the water before she
left. As we were talking, I gradually became aware of the sound of
running water, looked around, and noticed water creeping toward the
family room from the laundry room. Ran in there, shut off the burst
hose, and managed to suck up the water on the tile floor before it got
anywhere where it could do some damage. Replaced the washer hoses with
the ones that have the braided armor, and now I always turn off the
water to the washer when we go away for more than a day. Of course,
this didn't do any good for my mother's peace of mind - she worried
about her water until she got back home.

Jerry

electric automatic solenoid valves are available for washers. water
off unless machine is on.

My dad lives in phoenix, a realtive stopped to check on pets found
water running out of doors, a warter filter under kitchen sink had
burst. insurance paid for it all

I went on vacation from pittsburgh to visit my dad in phoenix. had nice
week away in warmth.

one week later the day I got home my furnace quit working. If that had
happened a week earlier my home would of been trashed with temps around
zero

On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:38:45 GMT, mtco wrote:

Suppose you are going away for 10 days, what should you do to the water
shutoff valves and the water heater in the house? I've seen
recommendations that you set the house thermostat at 55 F and the water
heater to "vacation" -- if the setting is available.

But what about the water shutoff valves? Is it safe/wise to close the
main water shutoff valve? Will the water heater overheat because there
is no water pressure, even when it's set to "vacation"?

Here's a number of "trouble scenarios" I've thought of, but I may be
missing something:

1. Water heater leaks and dumps a large amount of water onto the drip
pan, overflowing the latter and causing damage to the floor.

2. House loses power and pipes get frozen (and cracked). Cracked pipes
floods the house when the power returns and the pipes unfrozen.

3. (Described above) Main water shutoff closed. Water heater overheats
because there is not water pressure.

Should I close the main water shutoff valve, as well as the shutoff
valves to the appliances, BUT open the faucets to allow freezing water
some room to expand, just in case the pipes got frozen?

Any thoughts?


I did this. I went away for a few days. Turned off water, turned off
water heater[gas and electric].

That was me.

later,

tom @ www.Consolidated-Loans.info