Suggestions needed here,This will be the first winter where my wife and I are going on an extended trip. From end of December, to end of March.We live in Minnesota. Is it advisable to turn off the water and water conditioner in the home while we are on our extended trip? Reasoning is, if we lose power in the house, or for some reason lose the heat in the house, the pipes may freeze. We'd hate to come back to a house with busted pipes and possible flooding in house.Or, am I just over thinking this?Comments appreciated.

I left my water on so my neighbor who collected my mail could water the plants, and so the furnace (set at 52) attached humidifier works.

Absolutely my neighbor here in the north part of Minneapolis had whole basement flood when pipes froze - turns out the backup battery in his thermostat went out - not sure how that caused the problem but that is what his next door neighbor told meI have turned mine off for the last 7 winters while we are gone - not only the freezing but washing machine hoses are under pressure and have been know to burst

We turn ours off, even if we are only away for the weekend.There shouldn't be anyone there who needs the water on.If everyone turned their water off a lot of companies would be out of business.If you want to support a water extraction company and 10 or 15 different trades people, leave it on.I've made a lot of money over the years from houses that flooded.Mine had a flood ( while we were home ), my brothers had a flood etc

Caution: If you have hot water or steam heat, you will need to leave a water source on to provide makeup water to the boiler. Even if your heating system is tight, you will lose some water over 3 months. If your main water supply is the only source, then you should leave it on. You can have a separate supply line off the main supply to feed to boiler that will allow you to turn off the rest of the house, but if you do this, another caution is the PT valves.I had an expansion tank go on my hot water boiler and in 20 minutes the PT valve poured enough water into the basement to put 1 inch all around the floor. Imagine if that went for 3 months. The PT valve output should be piped outside or to a sump with a pump.

I turn our water off if we leave for a few days, winter and summer.If you need to leave water on for a boiler, turn off the water in the rest of the house, which is what I do.

Should we turn off the water? | Good Sam Community

41 Replies

Dutch_12078
Explorer III
Dec 02, 2016
When we leave our Adirondack cottage in cold weather, the water pump is turned off and the pressure in the pipes is relieved. The thermostat for the LP hot air furnace is set at 45 deg.F. We have two inside temperature sensors (and one outside) that wirelessly connect to an AcuRite AcuLink Internet bridge that uses our cable Internet connection to transmit the humidity and temp readings to a central server that we can access at any time from our PC's or an app on our phones. The AcuRite system is set to notify us if a sensor temp drops below a preset value, the sensor batteries are getting weak, or there's a loss of signal. Our two daughters lives just a short distance away and regularly check on the place, and in the event of a low temp alert, can be there in quickly to handle any problems.
DKY
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
I use a Tempstick to monitor house temp on my i-phone 24-7 and for water in basement a water bug it is hooked up on land line it will call your phone 3 to 5 times depending on setting and up to five phone #s $150 for TS & $55 for WB
cmcdar
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
Very important to note:

Even with natural gas or propane furnace with battery back up thermostat,

the furnace will NOT WORK if there is no power to the FAN!

The above does not apply if it is radiant heat.
tyoungs
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
If you have a digital thermostat with battery, and you leave heat functional while gone, make sure you install new battery in thermostat prior to leaving. Friends we know left for snowbird season, battery went dead in thermostat while gone (left heat on lower temp setting) and heat quit working, pipes froze, and had a real mess when their house sitter found issue on one of their regular checks.
thomas201
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
I agree with most advice above. Treat the house just like the camper. Water off, pink in the traps. Either make sure the toilet tank is empty or add pink there too!!!

If you have hot water heat, fill the system with the right antifreeze for hot water systems. Mine is down to 20 deg F. With hot water lots can go wrong. I choose to turn off the water and trust the tight system. I am risking a pump failure, the over-temp should save the boiler however.

I also have natural gas and a non electric stand by thermostat controlled vent-less heater in the basement. It is the last line of defense.
Sam_Spade
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
TNGW1500SE wrote:
Off. I have a pump and turn off the breaker. It's part of my "before leaving" checklist.

A couple of people have mentioned this now.
Simply turning off the pump will still leave the system pressurized and if a leak does occur as much as 20 gallons might run out anyway.

In addition to shutting off the pump you should bleed off the pressure too.
Hank_MI
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
Two years ago our furnace failed while we were in Fl for a 2 months. We have a well and the pump was off. I didn't drain the plumbing and pipes burst in 3 places. The pressure tank emptied out whatever water was in it, quite a mess. We now have a Wifi thermostat so I'll get an email if the temp in the house drops. I also will open all faucets and the system drain into the laundry tub in the basement.
cmcdar
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
I turn the heat down to 45 degrees.

BUT - What if there is a POWER OUTAGE?

I live in western New York. I would not enjoy myself worrying about a power outage. So I turn off the water. I have a basement so it is easy for me to drain my lines by turning off my water heater and connecting a hose to it and draining it out to the basement drain. I open all of the other faucets which allows the water to drain out.

Once done I pour rv antifreeze down drains and to fill toilet trap.

All this PLUS I keep the heat running = PEACE OF MIND.

It actually does not take long to do.
Aridon
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
Many insurance policies require the water be turned off in the even to of a long term absence from the property. Some even limit how long you can be away, here 4 -6 months depending on carrier.

Read your policy if you want to be sure.
chuckftboy
Explorer
Dec 02, 2016
usersmanual wrote:
lenr wrote:
We have a Honeywell touch screen thermostat that lets us log in remotely. It is very handy to be able to check on the house temperature, and we can also set the temperature set point.

does that require a live internet connection at the house ? for this to operate ?

Yes, these thermostats are wifi operated. My wife likes to set the house to a more comfortable temperature from her phone a few hours before we arrive home.