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If all I turn off is the water main and nothing else, does that hurt the boiler and hot water heater? I think the answer is no as long as those devices are not completely drained?
Pinhole leaks in copper pipes appear too common these days and if nothing would break due to water main being off, I dont see the drawback to it? BTW, this is in the spring, summern, and autumn months so pipes freezing is not an issue for us.
The water main is what supplies that equipment with the water to operate.
If all I turn off is the water main and nothing else, does that hurt the boiler and hot water heater? I think the answer is no as long as those devices are not completely drained?
Pinhole leaks in copper pipes appear too common these days and if nothing would break due to water main being off, I dont see the drawback to it? BTW, this is in the spring, summern, and autumn months so pipes freezing is not an issue for us.
Have you ever turned off the water main? If not and it's very old you never know if turning it off could cause a leak or flood. It might be unlikely but when old valves are turned after years of not being used they could break. A few years ago the cold water pipe in my kitchen broke and when I turned the shut off valve under the sink that valve sprung a leak.
Have you ever turned off the water main? If not and it's very old you never know if turning it off could cause a leak or flood. It might be unlikely but when old valves are turned after years of not being used they could break. A few years ago the cold water pipe in my kitchen broke and when I turned the shut off valve under the sink that valve sprung a leak.
That is a good point. The valve itself could be the leak. As for me I have turned it off plenty of times before for service but thanks for the heads up.
I went on vacation for a week. Turned off my main and set my water boiler to vacation/low mode. Came back, turned everything back on and everything was fine.
But if the hot water heater is full, it stays full if nobody is in the house to use it?
Also, the boiler/furnace contains water (we dont drain in) and doesn't turn on during the warmer months anyway, no?
All it takes is a small pinhole leak to drop the level enough for there to be an issue. That's one of the reasons boilers are typically equipped with automatic make-up valves. If you are dead set on turning off your water main, then I'd strongly suggest turning off both appliances and the fuel supply to them.
As for when your boiler runs, that depends on when you turn it off. Most hot water boilers have an internal thermostat and runs until a specific water temperature is reached. The thermostats in the house tell the pumps to turn to move that hot water to the radiators.
You should be able to isolate individual devices like sinks, washers, toilets, and HWH individually. I always shut my sinks, toilets and washer because they have those flex hoses and those are the most likely to break. HWH usually start to weep long before they burst.
And the point about the low water in a boiler is very valid if you have a steam boiler. If you have a HW boiler it wont run dry unless you have a catastrophic leak anyway, in which case it wont matter...
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