Turn off water heater when shutting off main water supply??

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Spoolup

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I will be doing some slow renovations on a property and the water will be shut down for a few weeks. Should I also turn off my water heater while I do this? The water heater is located in a closet on my patio. There are a few nights were the temp may drop below 32F so I am wondering if I should keep it on or off? If I keep it on low I couldn't imagine any damage unless the water some how evaporates overtime and doesn't replenish the water tank causing the heating element to go bad? If I turn off I was concerned with the water heater being exposed to potential below 32F a few nights and freezing the water inside. I don't have an easy way to drain it due to location of 3rd story balcony closet with no drain pipe. Your thoughts?


thanks
 

Gary Swart

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I don't think freezing is what you need to be concerned with, you want to be sure the tank is not drained while the heat source (gas or electricity) is still on.
 

Spoolup

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If the water heater was full initially and set at a low heat setting while my water is shut off, should that be a concern? I figure it's a closed system so it's unlikely I need to worry about evaporation and the tank will just continuously reheat the existing water on low for a few months.
 

JMac

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If the water heater was full initially and set at a low heat setting while my water is shut off, should that be a concern? I figure it's a closed system so it's unlikely I need to worry about evaporation and the tank will just continuously reheat the existing water on low for a few months.

So you would think....

Due to an experience I had several years back, I shut off my water when I will be out of town for more than a day. Every time before the one time in question about a year ago, I remembered to shut off the WH too. I had a very long weekend, and was gone for 4 days. Came back to a very screwed up WH. The WH was old, and really wasn't that good of one in the first place. I don't have any major leaks, but it wouldn't surprise me if I had a slow leak under the slab. Long story short, I had some chilly showers for the next few weeks while waiting to get the new WH in (not cold, just chilly as the WH did work some).
 

hj

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quote; I had some chilly showers for the next few weeks while waiting to get the new WH in

A FEW WEEKS?????? Who put it in? It normally only takes a couple of hours.
 

JMac

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quote; I had some chilly showers for the next few weeks while waiting to get the new WH in

A FEW WEEKS?????? Who put it in? It normally only takes a couple of hours.
Part of it was me deciding what to get and how to get it. I ended up getting it at Lowes, and to get the deal I had to have 'them' install it. I work for one of their vendors (in windows and walls, not plumbing), so I should have known I was in for a headache there. After I paid for the 'measure' it took the guy over a week to get to me, and that was after calling the store and the plumber on just about a daily basis. It was another 3 or 4 days for him to get back to the store with what was needed and another 3 or 4 days for the store to finally get back to me with the detail. Go in and pay for it and about another week to get it installed. The store associate I dealt was was a decent enough guy, and when he heard who I got, he understood my frustration, but told me once an installer was picked, they got to do the whole job and I couldn't get somebody else to install it after this one guy did the 'measure'.
(and yes, the actual install was only a couple of hours)
 

JerryR

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Part of it was me deciding what to get and how to get it. I ended up getting it at Lowes, and to get the deal I had to have 'them' install it.

I hope the wait was worth it. I'm not a pro. Last water heater I had fail was on a Saturday night. I noticed the leak at 6pm. I picked up a replacement 50 gallon electric WH from the local big box store and had It installed before my wife took her before bed shower.

While "cold" water is not very cold in Florida, it is still not pleasant taking showers without the hot water.
 

JMac

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It's not that I was without hot water, it just wasn't as hot as it should have been. It was maybe luke warm.
I ended up getting the GE hybrid, and I have had no issues with it. It is just the 2 of us in the house, and we are away a far amount, so I'm not realizing a lot of savings with it; but it isn't as much hassle when we are away as I can just put it in vacation mode instead of shutting it off and then remembering to turn it and the water back on when we get home (after long weekends anyway... still turn everything off when gone for longer periods).
 
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