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?

wrote in message
...
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?

Running a pump with no water flow can damage the pump.

wrote in message
...
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?

Yes, if it runs dry. and those bronze pumps aren't cheap

On Oct 28, 5:44*pm, "Bob F" wrote:
wrote in message

...

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?

Running a pump with no water flow can damage the pump.

Thanks Bob. Do you know if there's an amount of time it can run
without water or if certain kinds of pumps can be damaged more than
others? I trust that you and my plumber are telling the truth, I'm
just trying to explain why our pump was not damaged when the water has
been turned off in the past.

Thanks!

wrote in message
...
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?
If the pump drains dry, running it can damage the shaft seal. It is entirely
possible to turn the water off hundreds of times without that happening but
it is certainly can happen.

Don Young

wrote in message
...
On Oct 28, 5:44 pm, "Bob F" wrote:
wrote in message

...

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?

Running a pump with no water flow can damage the pump.

Thanks Bob. Do you know if there's an amount of time it can run
without water or if certain kinds of pumps can be damaged more than
others? I trust that you and my plumber are telling the truth, I'm
just trying to explain why our pump was not damaged when the water has
been turned off in the past.

Thanks!

It may very well have been damaged. It doesn't necessarily show up
immediately

wrote:
On Oct 28, 5:44 pm, "Bob F" wrote:
wrote in message
....
Can turning off the water damage a recirculating pump?
Running a pump with no water flow can damage the pump.

Thanks Bob. Do you know if there's an amount of time it can run
without water or if certain kinds of pumps can be damaged more than
others? I trust that you and my plumber are telling the truth, I'm
just trying to explain why our pump was not damaged when the water has
been turned off in the past.

....

Nope on the first, yep on the second--depends very much on the
particular pump design.

Probably because the valve(s) that were shut didn't include the recirc
pump inlet/outlet valves and there was adequate recirculation to avoid
running it dry for too long.

As somebody else noted, it's running the pump dry that matters and that
wouldn't be likely for quite a while even if makeup is off temporarily.

--

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.

Yes, running a pump empty can damage a recirculating pump.

However, recirculating pumps generally "recirculate" the same water over
and over again. Even if you turn off the incoming water supply, there
should still be water recirculating in the hot water lines (unless you turn
on a faucet or otherwise drain the pipes). Of course, you may not be able
to control whether someone in another unit uses water while you're working.

I'm not familiar with the typical condo plumbing situation, but I would
think common sense would dictate a separate shut off for each unit? In
other words, you should be able to turn off the hot water feed to your
condo, without affecting the hot water recirculating to other units.

But, if you can't isolate your condo from the main supply, and you need to
drain the system (to replace the main hot water heater or something), you
should definitely turn the recirc pump off first.

Anthony

"Claude Hopper" wrote in message
...
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?

Circulater pumps are water lubricated. Shutting off the water supply
won't hurt it, draining the water pipes will.

Pumps run without flow can get very hot. Which can cause damage.

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.