Turning off the water mains when traveling

[RunningBum]

I used to have 2 seasonal homes, and did the water shut off thing and turn the heat down to 50. I only had one problem, in that my utility room with the gas furnace and boiler was required by code to have fresh air venting in the form of 2 6" or 8" pipes. It made that room very cold and froze the plastic lines that fed to the in floor radiant heating. I hadn't thought to drain those.

When I talked to a plumber, he said I had to be close to having a big enough room to not need the vents, especially if I put a vented door to the inside or just left it open. I did the math and sure enough I was barely over, so I stuffed them with insulation and got a CO2 monitor, and leave the door open. The cats like to go in there and hunt for mice anyway.

So, if you have a similar setup with water pipes in a room with outside venting, consider plugging up those vents while you are away and leave the door to the room open. I'd also research it yourself or check with an HVAC person to make sure it's safe to do while you are away.

 

[CoolChange]

How much extra wear and tear does turning the main water valve on/off regularly place on it? I am just thinking of the massive damage which would result if that valve gave way.

Also, for those of you who do shut off the water at the main house inlet, what is the length of trip prompting this? I am thinking a burst pipe, valve, etc. could do a great deal of damage in the course of a day, weekend, etc.

Personally, I have never shut off the water when traveling; but, I will be leaving for two weeks in mid-winter this season and am considering it for that trip.

 

[Sunset]

I used to have 2 seasonal homes, and did the water shut off thing and turn the heat down to 50. I only had one problem, in that my utility room with the gas furnace and boiler was required by code to have fresh air venting in the form of 2 6" or 8" pipes. It made that room very cold and froze the plastic lines that fed to the in floor radiant heating. I hadn't thought to drain those.

When I talked to a plumber, he said I had to be close to having a big enough room to not need the vents, especially if I put a vented door to the inside or just left it open. I did the math and sure enough I was barely over, so I stuffed them with insulation and got a CO2 monitor, and leave the door open. The cats like to go in there and hunt for mice anyway.

So, if you have a similar setup with water pipes in a room with outside venting, consider plugging up those vents while you are away and leave the door to the room open. I'd also research it yourself or check with an HVAC person to make sure it's safe to do while you are away.

Of course if you are away, nobody other than the mice will die from CO2 poisoning

 

[Sunset]

How much extra wear and tear does turning the main water valve on/off regularly place on it? I am just thinking of the massive damage which would result if that valve gave way.....

It's just a regular tap, so you should be good for couple thousand cycles. Of course it will be stiff and hard to use the first few times.

Just to be safe, try it now to shut off, leave off for an hour, and then turn it back on. See that nothing weird happens, and you are there to deal with it if it does.

My house water has 2 on/off taps, one before the meter and 1 after the meter, so to be cautious I would turn off the one after the meter, and if it starts leaking I can turn off the other one while waiting for a plumber.

Did I scare you, I didn't mean to, I've turned my off a few times when doing plumbing repairs.

 

[ERD50]

Without adequate air flow into the furnace room, you not only risk CO build up (not CO2 - carbon dioxide, fizzy stuff in beer and soda. CO is Carbon Monoxide - very bad. CO2 mostly is dangerous just because it displaces oxygen, like in a fire extinguisher), but you run the risk of a back-draft.

The fire will start flaring out of the furnace, it can't get out the chimney w/o air coming in. This can cause a fire. Furnaces have 'roll-out' temperature detectors. But I saw a demo video on youtube, and that fire looked pretty nasty before the flame sensor got hot enough to kick the gas off. I would not want to rely on it.

If having the room open meets code, I would literally take the door off the hinges before you plug the air vents to that room. And take a picture. That way, if there is a problem, at least you could prove you were in code.

-ERD50

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

This is a timely subject since we will be hitting the road for a few weeks traversing the country visiting folks. We have several shutoffs...the one at the meter, one just after it comes in the house and another the shuts off water to the kitchen side of the house (came in VERY handy when we burst a pipe last winter and couldn't get it fixed for a few days!). Anyway, I am thinking of shutting the water off at the meter but is there any harm in leaving the water heater (gas) on the vacation mode? Is there any reason it would HAVE to be totally shut off?

 

[walkinwood]

This is a timely subject since we will be hitting the road for a few weeks traversing the country visiting folks. We have several shutoffs...the one at the meter, one just after it comes in the house and another the shuts off water to the kitchen side of the house (came in VERY handy when we burst a pipe last winter and couldn't get it fixed for a few days!). Anyway, I am thinking of shutting the water off at the meter but is there any harm in leaving the water heater (gas) on the vacation mode? Is there any reason it would HAVE to be totally shut off?

I don't know if there is any harm in leaving it in vacation mode, but I have shut mine off without any ill-effects.

 

[Sunset]

I used to turn off my water heater when vacationing for a week or more. But I found it a pain to turn back on, so now I just turn it down really low.
My dial does not have a vacation setting.

 

[CoolChange]

City Shutoff when Meter Inside House

....
1. Call the city, and have them turn the water off at the line that runs from the street. Four feet underground....

I like this idea for longer trips, especially in winter; but, my meter is inside the house, mounted on the basement wall, with one of those remote reader gadgets. (Gas meeter is the same.)

So, I am assuming no convenient way to shut off the water (me or the city) before it gets into the house. Am I missing something?

 

[meierlde]

I like this idea for longer trips, especially in winter; but, my meter is inside the house, mounted on the basement wall, with one of those remote reader gadgets. (Gas meeter is the same.)

So, I am assuming no convenient way to shut off the water (me or the city) before it gets into the house. Am I missing something?

Likely there is a small plate that hides the valve near where the main water line comes in. Where this valve may be depends on where in the country you live and the age of the house. In Tx typically the city shutoff will be near the meter since you don't have to bury the pipes very deep (6 inches will do). Otherwise from where the water pipe comes in, go towards the street and look for plate. Where it freezes as noted the valve and entry pipe will be up to 4 or more feet deep. (Last winter I read that in parts of In they did not bury the pipes deep enough and supply lines froze up)

 

[eytonxav]

We have a whole house shut off valve inside our house. In addition to what others have said, I would suggest that you do not quickly turn the shutoff valve back on upon your return, do it slowly/gradually.

 

[RunningBum]

Without adequate air flow into the furnace room, you not only risk CO build up (not CO2 - carbon dioxide, fizzy stuff in beer and soda. CO is Carbon Monoxide - very bad. CO2 mostly is dangerous just because it displaces oxygen, like in a fire extinguisher), but you run the risk of a back-draft.

The fire will start flaring out of the furnace, it can't get out the chimney w/o air coming in. This can cause a fire. Furnaces have 'roll-out' temperature detectors. But I saw a demo video on youtube, and that fire looked pretty nasty before the flame sensor got hot enough to kick the gas off. I would not want to rely on it.

If having the room open meets code, I would literally take the door off the hinges before you plug the air vents to that room. And take a picture. That way, if there is a problem, at least you could prove you were in code.

-ERD50

I meant CO, but thanks for that and your other warnings. When I did the calcs I was literally within a few cubic feet of not needing the vents, and that was with the door shut. But I will check it again and/or ask an expert.

 

[DTCS]

I turn off the water main to the house, which is outside, set the water heater to vacation ( I verify the pilot is still lit) and turn off the HVAC system when we leave for more than a weekend. We live in a non freezing climate. I also exercise the water valve about once a month as deposits can build up. I also have a cheap Internet security camera and give a neighbor a key. This gives me peace of mind.


DTCS